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This prompt works for any labelled diagram you can describe in words. No files or internet are needed.

What to paste: the prompt below, then your own details filling its four input slots — (1) diagram description, (2) context, (3) known labels (optional), (4) purpose (optional). Example for slot 1: "a single cell, arrows from nucleus to ribosome; labels: nucleus, nucleolus, ribosome, mRNA, cytoplasm."

Where: any ordinary AI chat that accepts text. Paste the prompt first, then your inputs in the same message.

How to check the output: all six sections (A–F) should appear; every label you listed should appear once in the table; each row's Status should read supplied or needs-verification; every needs-verification row should also appear in section E; the self-test questions should be answerable from sections A–C alone.

If the AI produces a glossary without asking for your diagram description or context, it ignored the rules — send the prompt again and include those fields. If a term is used in two senses, the prompt should list both candidates rather than quietly choosing one.

What this does

Turning labels into your own words is what makes a diagram stick. This prompt walks a chat through a fixed six-part output: a one-line summary, a five-column glossary table, relationship bullets, a self-test with answer key, a gap list, and a study order. It mirrors the original template's structure so you get the same shape every time.

Inputs

• Diagram description (required) plus rough layout, arrows and groupings
• Context (required): subject and your study level
• Known labels (optional) — skips ones you can already define
• Purpose (optional), e.g. exam revision or teaching prep

Limits and permissions

The model cannot read your files, accounts, or the internet; it only works from what you paste. It does not certify correctness — you verify every needs-verification row against your textbook or instructor. Nothing is shared or sent anywhere by the prompt itself; you choose what text to paste. Source reviewed; runtime not tested.

FAQ

Is my diagram file uploaded? No. You paste text describing it.

What if I don't know a label's meaning? Leave it out of "known labels"; the prompt flags it needs-verification and lists it in section E.

Complete reusable prompt

Diagram Label to Plain-Language Glossary

You are helping me understand a labelled diagram by turning every label into a short, plain-language glossary entry in my own words, anchored to the diagram I supply. You do not have access to my files, accounts, or the internet. Work only from what I paste below.

Inputs I will provide

1. Diagram description (required): either (a) the exact label text with rough layout/connections, or (b) a short prose description of what the diagram shows and where each label sits. Note any arrows, brackets, or groupings.
2. Context (required): subject, course/topic, and the level I am studying at (e.g. intro biology, GCSE physics, beginner networking).
3. Known labels (optional): labels I can already define, so you do not waste space on them.
4. Purpose (optional): exam revision, teaching prep, onboarding doc, etc.

If any of inputs 1 or 2 is missing or too vague to identify the diagram type, stop and ask me for it before producing the glossary.

Task

Produce the glossary in this exact structure:

A. Diagram summary — one or two sentences: what the diagram depicts and how the labels relate (parts of a whole, stages in a process, layers, etc.).

B. Glossary table — one row per distinct label, in this column order:

• Label (exactly as I wrote it)
• Plain-language meaning (one sentence, no jargon beyond the level I stated)
• Role in this diagram (why this label matters to the whole)
• Common confusion (a lookalike or easily mixed-up term, or 'none obvious')
• Status: supplied if the meaning is clear from my description, or needs-verification if you are inferring.

C. Relationships — 3 to 7 short bullets describing how the labels depend on, feed, or contain one another, using only the arrow/grouping information I gave.

D. Recall self-test — 5 to 8 questions where the answer is a label or a one-line definition, plus an answer key at the end.

E. Gaps and uncertainties — bullet list of labels whose meaning I did not supply enough information for, and what additional detail would resolve each.

F. Study suggestion — two or three sentences on a sensible order to learn the labels (e.g. outer-to-inner, start-to-finish).

Rules

• Do not invent structures, arrows, or labels that are not in my description.
• If a label is ambiguous (same term, two possible meanings), say so and list the candidate meanings instead of choosing silently.
• Keep definitions to one sentence each; do not pad.
• Use Markdown tables; do not wrap the whole reply in a code block.
• Never claim the diagram 'shows' something I did not describe.
• You are preparing a study draft, not certifying correctness. I will check every needs-verification row against my textbook or instructor before relying on it.

Worked fictional example

Input I might paste:

Context: Intro biology, first-year university. Diagram: a single cell with arrows from the nucleus to the ribosome. Labels: nucleus, nucleolus, ribosome, rough endoplasmic reticulum, mRNA, cytoplasm.

Expected output shape (shortened):

A. Summary — A eukaryotic cell diagram showing the path from DNA storage to protein synthesis.
B. Table with six rows; e.g. mRNA → plain meaning 'a portable copy of a gene's instructions'; role 'carries the message from nucleus to ribosome'; confusion 'tRNA'; status needs-verification.
C. Nucleus contains nucleolus; mRNA leaves nucleus and meets ribosome; ribosome sits on rough ER.
D. 'Which label carries the gene copy out of the nucleus?' → mRNA.
E. The description does not say what the arrows between cytoplasm and rough ER mean; add that detail.
F. Learn nucleus → nucleolus → mRNA → ribosome → rough ER, then cytoplasm last.

Pass/fail checks before you finish

1. Every label I listed appears exactly once in the table.
2. Every needs-verification row has a matching entry in section E.
3. No row introduces a structure I never described.
4. Section D questions are answerable from sections A–C alone.
5. If I supplied no diagram description, you asked for it instead of guessing.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes · Reviewed 2026-10-04

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.