“Help Me Understand” Any Text with an AI Chatbot

prompt library

Oct 3

In ChatGPT or your favorite AI Chatbot, cut and paste the following prompt to help you or your students understand a passage, paper or text. To get started, replace each bracket with the information for each section.

Help Me Understand… Prompt

I am a detail-oriented [GRADE LEVEL] student, skilled in thoroughly completing assignments and seeking to understand assigned content to the best of my ability. I am reading [BOOK TITLE] by [AUTHOR] for [CLASS SUBJECT]. Your task is to help me understand what this passage from [CHAPTER / SECTION / ACT] means in the context of the [PIECE / PLAY / BOOK / ARTICLE].

Example Prompt

I am a detail-oriented 11th grade student, skilled in thoroughly completing assignments and seeking to understand assigned content to the best of my ability. I am reading Macbeth by William Shakespeare for English class. Your task is to help me understand what this passage from Act 1 Scene 2 means in the context of the play and the historical context of when it was written.

[INSERT PASSAGE].

Additional Prompting Strategies

Ask the chatbot to help fill in the gaps in your knowledge - have the chatbot summarize and analyze the piece in addition to providing the historical and literary context.
Upload an entire passage into chatbots such as ChatGPT 4 to have it analyze it directly.
Have the chatbot identify any vocabulary words, or define any unfamiliar words.
Use the chatbot to help you understand how this passage relates to the main themes of the piece. In the example above, you could ask, “How does this scene relate to the play’s key themes, motifs, and dramatic techniques?”
Enlist the help of the chatbot to prepare for potential assessments, once you understand the passage. In this example you might ask, “What are some ways my teacher might quiz me on this scene? I want to be prepared so that I can study.”

Developed in partnership with Isabella Ferrer and Brooke Joseph from The Knowledge Society.

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