Understand a hard reading before you discuss it
To understand a hard reading with AI, work through it in small pieces and write the one-sentence version yourself. Follow your school's AI policy. Do not submit a response the tool wrote.
Next step: do Step 1. Copy the box, fill in the blanks, and paste it into the chat.
A prompt is the message you paste. A Director check is a short look before you use the result.
What you'll need
- The reading, or the few pages you were assigned
- The discussion question or prompt, if you have one
- Your class AI rules
Step 1: Set the rules before you paste
Help me understand this reading for [class]. I need to be able to explain it in discussion.
Rules:
- Do not write my reading response, discussion post, or essay.
- Work one section at a time and wait for me.
- For each section: the claim in one sentence, 2 words I might misunderstand with a plain definition, and one question I should be able to answer.
- Use only the text I paste. If you are guessing, say "this is a guess."
- After your explanation, ask me to restate the claim in my own words before we continue.
Here is section 1:
[paste one section, not the whole book]
Step 2: Restate it before you scroll
Type your one sentence before you look back at the chat's sentence. If you can't, reread the paragraph. Do not ask for a better sentence to copy.
Step 3: Connect it to the discussion question
When you can restate two or three sections:
Here is the discussion question: [paste].
Here are my one-sentence restatements: [paste].
Ask me 3 questions that would show whether I can use this reading to answer the prompt.
Wait for my answers. Do not draft the post.
Step 4: Write the response somewhere else
Open a blank document. Write the answer yourself from memory and from the text. If a sentence only makes sense inside the chat, it isn't yours yet.
Director check: look before you use it
- Can you explain the author's claim without looking? Say it out loud in under 30 seconds.
- Did the chat add an example the author never gave? Fine for understanding. Do not attribute it to the author in class.
- Is the writing you will submit in your words, done after the chat was closed? If you copied the chat, start the paragraph again.
- Are you inside your school's AI rules? A ban on AI for this assignment means you stop, even if the chat is helpful.
One extra tip
If pasting is messy, upload the PDF in the free Gemini app and ask it to stop after each section until you type your own one-sentence summary. You still write anything that gets turned in.
When you can explain the page, questions from your notes belong on Turn lecture notes into flashcards. More class guides are on School.
Common questions
Can I ask AI to summarize the reading and submit that?
No. A summary you didn't write is not your work, and you still won't be able to discuss the text. Use the chat to unpack a paragraph, then close it and write your own sentence. Follow your teacher's and school's AI policy.
What if I don't understand the first page?
Start with one paragraph, not the whole PDF. Ask what the paragraph claims, which words are doing the work, and a plain example. Then reread that paragraph.
What if the explanation disagrees with the text?
The text wins. Highlight the sentence and ask the chat to try again using only that sentence.
By Joe Rangel · Last updated · More School guides