Quick Reference
File: tertiary-guide/08-quick-reference.md
This page provides a condensed set of prompt starters drawn from the Tertiary Students’ Guide. Use it as a quick-access tool for study, assignments, research, and test preparation. Always adapt prompts to your context, verify outputs against trusted sources, and ensure your work reflects your own reasoning and understanding.
Remember: AI is a partner, not a substitute. Treat prompts as a starting point to explore, organise, and test your knowledge — not as finished work.
◆ Learning Support
▸ “Suggest techniques to help me memorise the stages of cellular respiration, and provide a practice quiz.” — Biology / Healthcare / Life Sciences
▸ “Here is my rough mind‑dump on globalisation. Organise these thoughts into categories and highlight gaps.” — Humanities / Social Sciences / Business
▸ “Act as my tutor in microeconomics. Ask me five questions about supply and demand.” — Economics / Business / Engineering
▸ “What would deep learning look like for the concept of opportunity cost? Provide probing questions.” — Economics / Business / STEM
▸ “Ask me questions to reveal what I already know about the French Revolution.” — History / Arts / Humanities
▸ “Act as a CEO in a sustainability meeting. Present your stance on green marketing.” — Business / Management / Environmental Studies
▸ “Here are my weekly reflections on market segmentation. Identify patterns and suggest prompts to deepen analysis.” — Business / Marketing / Social Sciences
▸ “Here are my notes from today’s psychology lecture. Summarise key points and generate practice questions.” — Psychology / Healthcare / Education
◆ Assessment Support
▸ “Explain the concept of consumer behaviour in simple terms with a practical example.” — Business / Marketing / Psychology
▸ “Compare the difference between segmentation and targeting in marketing.” — Business / Management / Data Analytics
▸ “Act as my academic tutor. Paraphrase this journal extract, explain key terms, and test my understanding.” — All disciplines
▸ “I understand elasticity to mean demand changes significantly when price changes slightly. Is this correct?” — Economics / Business / Engineering / Sciences
Tip: For practical disciplines (engineering, healthcare, CS), use examples from real-world scenarios to strengthen understanding.
◆ Assignment Guidance
▸ “What does ‘critically assess’ mean in an academic assignment? Provide a framework for answering responsibly.” — All disciplines
▸ “Here’s my assignment brief. Break down what each part requires and suggest a structure.” — All disciplines
▸ “How might this assignment relate to the key learning outcomes of a marketing strategy module?” — Business / Management / Humanities
▸ “Using this breakdown, create a four-week action plan in a table with steps, topics, resources, and deadlines.” — All disciplines
Tip: For laboratory or studio-based work (sciences, engineering, arts), include practical steps, prototypes, or experimentation in the action plan.
◆ Research & Writing
▸ “Suggest peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2024 on generative AI in legal research.” — Law / Humanities / CS
▸ “Here is a section from a journal article. Explain it in simpler terms and give me an analogy.” — All disciplines
▸ “Here are three theories of motivation. Create a diagram showing how they connect and differ.” — Psychology / Management / Healthcare
▸ “Here is my essay question and notes. Group ideas into themes and suggest topic sentences.” — Humanities / Social Sciences / STEM
▸ “Here is my draft legal memo. Revise for tone, structure, and clarity using IRAC format.” — Law / Policy / Social Sciences
▸ “Check these in-text citations and reference list for accuracy in APA 7th edition.” — All disciplines
Tip: For STEM or CS students, convert research summaries into diagrams, flowcharts, or pseudo-code to visualise logic.
◆ Test Preparation
▸ “Generate five practice questions on supply and demand, with answers hidden until I ask for them.” — Economics / Business / Engineering
▸ “Act as a client in a negotiation about intellectual property rights. Provide feedback on my arguments.” — Law / Business / Policy
▸ “Ask me ten short-answer questions on the theories of motivation, and correct my responses.” — Psychology / Management / Education
▸ “Give me three applied questions that test my understanding of elasticity in real-world markets.” — Economics / Business / STEM
▸ “Here are my answers to five practice questions on constitutional law. Mark them and suggest improvements.” — Law / Political Science / Humanities
Tip: For practical assessments (labs, simulations, coding), AI can help simulate scenarios, test problem-solving, and review stepwise reasoning.
◆ Integrity Reminders
▸ Never copy-paste AI outputs directly into assignments.
▸ Always verify references, examples, and factual information.
▸ Follow your institution’s AI and plagiarism policies.
▸ Ensure your final work reflects your own voice, reasoning, and disciplinary standards.
Meta-cognitive tip: After using AI, ask yourself — “Have I learned from this? Could I explain it independently?” This habit ensures AI remains a learning partner, not a crutch.
By keeping this Quick Reference accessible, you can:
- Jumpstart study sessions
- Scaffold assignments and research
- Practice for assessments
- Stay aligned with integrity principles
- Adapt to a wide variety of disciplines and learning styles
Use it as a compass — guiding your path through university learning, while ensuring your work remains authentic, credible, and reflective of your own thinking.