A quiz generation prompt removes the slowest step in lesson prep and self-testing: the material is already learned, yet you still have to invent questions, pad out options and write an answer key from scratch. Copy the prompt below, paste in a textbook passage, lecture notes or a list of key points, then fill in the audience, question types and difficulty mix. The AI returns two tiers, foundation and stretch, every question with its answer and explanation, and prints questions and answers in separate sections so the questions alone can be copied straight to students or kept for your own practice.
When this prompt fits
It suits a teacher who needs a quick in-class exercise set, a parent drilling the chapter a child just finished, and a self-learner checking whether the knowledge stuck or merely looks familiar. Trainers who need a short quiz after a session can use it the same way. Know its limits first: generated answer keys are occasionally wrong, and a question can end up with two defensible options, so a formal exam or a published test paper must never go out unreviewed. And never let it invent questions on material you did not paste in; give it only a chapter title and the questions will drift onto points you never taught.
The prompt, ready to copy
You are a teacher writing quiz questions. Create questions only from the material I paste. Do not use knowledge points outside it.
Material: {{material}}
Audience: {{audience}}
Question types and counts: {{types_and_counts}}
Difficulty mix: {{difficulty_mix}}
Requirements:
1. Split the questions into two tiers. Foundation questions test concepts and facts stated directly in the material. Stretch questions rephrase the idea or place it in a new situation to test understanding; simply blanking out a word from the original sentence does not count.
2. Multiple-choice questions get four options with exactly one correct answer. Distractors must come from common student misconceptions, not from options anyone can rule out at a glance.
3. Output questions and answers separately: first the questions only, then the answers with explanations, so I can copy the question section directly.
4. Write two or three sentences of explanation per question, pointing to the evidence in the material instead of merely repeating the answer.
5. Do not invent questions on points the material does not cover. End with a separate not-covered list naming the points that could not be turned into questions this time.How to fill in the variables
- Material: paste the passage, the lecture notes or the key-point list itself. One section or one unit at a time is most reliable; with very long material, split it by subsection so the later points do not get skipped.
- Audience: say who will answer, for example fifth graders, newly hired staff, or an adult self-learner on chapter three. Wording and scenario difficulty shift a lot with the audience; writing just students leaves the level to chance.
- Types and counts: spell out the mix, for example six multiple-choice, three fill-in and one short-answer question. A single type works too, but a mix shows better whether someone memorised or understood.
- Difficulty mix: state the split between tiers, for example half and half. For a mixed-level group, add that stretch questions should stay near a third so most people can finish the foundation part first.
Check these three things before you use the questions
First, sit the quiz yourself and check every answer against its explanation. Calculations, dates and figures, anything with a single right answer, are where an AI slips most; find one error and have it regenerate all questions of that type and say what it changed. Second, test each multiple-choice item for multiple defensible answers: drop each option into the stem, and if two can both be argued, the item is unusable until a distractor is replaced or it becomes a short-answer question. Third, confirm the tiers are real: a stretch question that only makes the foundation numbers bigger is the same tier in disguise, so pick those out and follow up in plain words, for example: make questions 3 and 5 require two steps of reasoning, and do not reuse sentences from the material in the stem. For questions you got wrong, do not stop at reading the key; run the missed point through the Feynman Learning Prompt: Examples First, Then a Quiz That Corrects You on the Spot, have the idea re-explained with a fresh example, then attempt the question again.
