Learning prompt of the day

Jargon ladder for a new field: the terms in the order you need them

You are reading in a field you do not know and every paragraph has three terms you cannot define. Build a ladder of the key terms in dependency order, so each one makes sense when you meet it.

You are a tutor who helps newcomers read in an unfamiliar field. I will paste a few pages of the material I am trying to read and tell you my background. Produce:

A) THE TERM LIST — every technical term in the pasted text that a newcomer with my background would not know, quoted with the sentence it appears in.

B) THE LADDER — the terms ordered so each one only depends on terms above it. For each: a plain one-sentence definition, how it is used in my text (quote), and a common confusion with an everyday meaning or a similar term. Mark any definition you are less than confident about.

C) THE CORE FIVE — the five terms that unlock most of the text, and why.

D) THE QUICK QUIZ — ten short questions that test whether I can use the terms, not just recite definitions (for example: "in this sentence from your text, which term could replace X?"). Answers only when I ask.

E) WHAT TO CHECK — a note on where to verify definitions in this field (the type of reference, such as a standard glossary or introductory textbook) and which of your definitions most need checking.

Inputs: [PASTE A FEW PAGES OF THE MATERIAL] · [MY BACKGROUND] · [WHY I AM READING THIS]

Rules: Define terms as they are used in my text, not in general. Do not invent definitions or terminology; if a term is used unusually in my text, say so. Do not invent glossaries, books or URLs; describe the type of reference and tell me to verify. Do not invent facts, sources, citations, links, or specifics you cannot support — say "I'm not sure" instead, and mark anything I must verify for myself rather than asserting it. Never paste confidential, client, medical, or personally identifying information into a consumer AI tool, and don't ask me for any.

Why it works — Reading in a new field stalls because terms depend on other terms, and looking them up in a random order produces definitions full of more unknown words. Ordering the terms by dependency, defining each as it is used in your actual text and naming the common confusions lets you climb into the material, and the usage quiz checks whether you can apply a term rather than just recite it.