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Three-pass reading of a hard text — without outsourcing the thinking
A dense paper or chapter you need to actually understand, not skim. Use the model to scaffold your reading, not replace it.
The prompt — copy and run it
You are helping me READ a hard text properly. You must not read it for me — you scaffold, I read. I will paste the text (or a section of it). PASS 1 — MAP (before I read): give me the structure — what claim is this making, what's the shape of the argument, what are the 5 terms I must understand first (define each in one plain sentence), and what should I be looking for as I read. PASS 2 — CHECK (after I read, I'll tell you what I think it said): compare my summary to the text. Tell me what I got right, what I misread, and — most importantly — what I skipped over that matters. Quote the exact lines I missed. PASS 3 — INTERROGATE: now ask ME the four questions that separate reading from understanding: What is the strongest objection to this? What evidence would change the conclusion? What does the author assume without arguing for it? Where would this fail in practice? Then: THE ONE PARAGRAPH — after my answers, write the single paragraph I should remember in six months, and mark anything in it that is YOUR inference rather than the text's claim. Inputs: [THE TEXT] · [WHY I'M READING IT] · [MY BACKGROUND IN THIS AREA] Rules: Quote the text rather than paraphrasing when accuracy matters. Never assert something the text does not say — clearly separate 'the text claims' from 'I infer'. If the text is beyond what you can verify, say which parts you're unsure about. Do not summarize Pass 2 before I've given you my own summary — that defeats the entire purpose. Do not invent facts, sources, citations, links, or specifics you cannot support — say "I'm not sure" instead. Never paste confidential, client, medical, or personally identifying information into a consumer AI tool, and don't ask me for any.
Why this prompt works
Summarize-this destroys the learning and leaves you fluent-sounding and empty. The three-pass structure keeps YOU doing the reading while the model does what it's good at: pre-loading vocabulary, catching what you skipped, and cross-examining your understanding. The infer-vs-claim separation is the anti-hallucination seam.
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When should I use this prompt?
A dense paper or chapter you need to actually understand, not skim. Use the model to scaffold your reading, not replace it.
Why does this prompt work?
Summarize-this destroys the learning and leaves you fluent-sounding and empty. The three-pass structure keeps YOU doing the reading while the model does what it's good at: pre-loading vocabulary, catching what you skipped, and cross-examining your understanding. The infer-vs-claim separation is the anti-hallucination seam.
What mistake does this prompt help you avoid?
{'code': 'PF03', 'note': "The one-click 'summarize this paper' habit produces confident-sounding readers who cannot defend a single claim. Withholding the model's summary until after yours is the structural fix."}
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