Prompt: Turn a Tutorial Into a Practice Checklist

Start here

Paste your tutorial text into an ordinary AI chat that accepts text. Add the label TUTORIAL: on its own line, then paste the full step-by-step guide after it. Optionally add a second label MY CONTEXT: with your goal, skill level, tools and time per session. Then paste the prompt below (it is appended to this page in full).

You get back a checklist table (Step, Action, Needs, Done when, Trace), a GAPS list of questions, FAILURE DRILLS, a practice plan, and a blank scorecard.

Check the output before trusting it: no checklist row should describe a step that is not in your tutorial; each row should carry QUOTED, INFERRED or GAP; every gap should be written as a question, not a guessed number; drills that lack a fix in the tutorial should say "not covered by tutorial" rather than invent one.

What this prompt does

It organizes and questions a tutorial you already have instead of expanding it. Steps stay traceable to the text, so a beginner can see where the guide is thin.

A fictional example of the checklist shape (not a real test result): a folding step might read "Step 1 | Fold each sheet in half | sheets of paper, flat surface | all folds are sharp and even | QUOTED."

What you need

• A tutorial you are allowed to paste, ideally without personal or confidential details.
• A goal and constraints if you want the practice plan tuned to them.
• General knowledge of the activity is enough; no terminal, account or tool setup is required.

Permissions and limits

Prerequisites and permissions: you only need a chat that accepts pasted text. The prompt does not browse, open links, schedule anything, or run commands, and it does not assume you own accounts or tools. The output is a draft study aid. Verify it against the original tutorial and, where the tutorial is unclear, against a qualified instructor or official documentation. For anything involving heat, electricity, chemicals, sharp tools, health or money, confirm the steps with an authoritative source first. Nothing here certifies that a procedure is safe.

source reviewed; runtime not tested

FAQ

What if I paste no tutorial? The prompt replies only with a request to paste the tutorial after TUTORIAL: and any goal after MY CONTEXT:. It does not invent steps.

What if my pasted text is not instructional? The prompt says so and asks for the step list instead of generating one.

I have no context to give. Can I skip it? Yes. It proceeds without context and notes where context would have changed the checklist.

Attribution

Original TokRepo prompt, CC BY 4.0. Reference: ChatGPT release notes. The complete prompt and its Chinese translation are appended separately.

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping me convert a tutorial I already have into a practice checklist I can work through myself. The tutorial text is the only source of steps. Your job is to organize and question it, not to expand it.

INPUT I will paste, after the label TUTORIAL:, the full text of a step-by-step guide (a software how-to, a lab procedure, a craft technique, a cooking method, a study routine, anything instructional). Optionally I will paste, after the label MY CONTEXT:, my goal, current skill level, tools available, and any constraints such as time per session.

TASK

1. Read the tutorial and extract every distinct step it actually states. Do not add, split, merge, or reorder steps beyond what the text supports, except when merging two sentences that describe one action; if you merge, say so.
2. For each step produce a checklist row with: step number as given or as inferred conservatively; the action in plain imperative language faithful to the tutorial; the input, material, or prerequisite the step assumes; and a short observable "done when" test drawn only from the tutorial or from an obvious physical or logical consequence (for example a file exists, a color is uniform, a batter coats a spoon).
3. Mark every step with one trace tag: QUOTED (the tutorial states it directly), INFERRED (a necessary intermediate action is strongly implied, with the sentence you relied on quoted briefly), or GAP (the tutorial proceeds as if something happened but never explains it).
4. Build a GAPS list of missing information a beginner would need before starting: unstated prerequisites, undefined terms, unmentioned tools, and any step whose "done when" test cannot be observed. For each gap write a specific question I should answer from another source, not a guess.
5. Build a FAILURE DRILLS list of three to seven small deliberate mistakes a learner commonly makes at these steps (for example wrong order, skipped setup, wrong measurement, applying pressure too early). For each, give the symptom to watch for and the correction the tutorial itself supports. If the tutorial does not support a correction, write "not covered by tutorial" rather than inventing one.
6. Propose a practice session plan: a first read-through pass, a guided pass with the checklist, and a solo pass, with a realistic time estimate per pass derived only from the number and length of steps and stated timings, labeled as an estimate.
7. End with a SELF-REVIEW scorecard I can fill in after each attempt: steps completed, steps where the done-when test failed, gaps that blocked me, and one thing to re-read.

OUTPUT FORMAT Markdown in this order: one-line summary of what the tutorial teaches; a Prerequisites section; the checklist as a table with columns Step, Action, Needs, Done when, Trace; the GAPS list as numbered questions; FAILURE DRILLS as a list of mistake, symptom, correction; the practice plan; the scorecard as a blank template. Keep the wording compact. Do not use code fences.

UNCERTAINTY AND MISSING INPUT If I paste no tutorial, reply only: "Paste the tutorial text after TUTORIAL: and any goal after MY CONTEXT:." If the text is not instructional, say so and ask for the step list instead of generating one. If MY CONTEXT is absent, proceed without it and note where context would change the checklist.

REVIEW CHECKS TIED TO MY INPUT Before finishing, verify: every checklist row traces to a quoted phrase or a clearly cited inference; no step exists that cannot be pointed to in TUTORIAL:; every GAP is phrased as a question; no failure drill carries a fabricated fix; time estimates are labeled estimates; the scorecard is empty and reusable. If any check fails, fix it before answering.

BOUNDARIES Work only from the pasted text and your own general knowledge of the activity. Do not browse, open links, assume I have accounts or tools, schedule anything, or tell me to run commands. This produces a draft study aid for me to verify against the tutorial and, where the tutorial is unclear, against a qualified instructor or the tool's official documentation. You are not certifying that any procedure is safe; for anything involving heat, electricity, chemicals, sharp tools, health, or money, tell me to confirm the steps with an authoritative source first.

WORKED EXAMPLE (fictional, for shape only) MY CONTEXT: I am learning to hand-bind a small notebook and have one hour per session. TUTORIAL (abridged): Fold paper in half. Align the fold. Pierce holes along the fold. Thread the needle. Sew through the holes. Tie off the thread. Illustrative checklist shape: Step 1 | Fold each sheet in half | sheets of paper, flat surface | all folds are sharp and even | QUOTED. Step 5 | Sew through the holes | threaded needle, pierced signature | thread passes each hole without tearing paper | QUOTED. GAP example: "How many holes and at what spacing should they be pierced?" because the tutorial says "pierce holes" without specifying. Drill example: pulling the thread too tight tears the fold; symptom is a split sheet; correction: not covered by tutorial. Runnable pass/fail checks for this example: the checklist contains no step such as "press the spine" that never appears in the tutorial; the hole-spacing entry is a question, not a guessed number; the drill for tight thread says not covered rather than prescribing a tension; the scorecard is blank.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes · Reviewed 2026-10-04

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