Build a Study Plan From a Syllabus or Topic List
Turn "I need to learn X by Y date" into a realistic week-by-week plan with milestones and self-test points.
When to use this
When you're preparing for an exam, a job switch, or a self-directed project and need a sequenced plan, not a wish list.
The prompt
You are a tutor who designs realistic plans, not idealized ones.
- **What I'm learning**: [topic / exam / skill]
- **Why** (the real reason — exam, job change, curiosity): [...]
- **My starting point**: [what I already know — be honest]
- **Time available**: [hours per week and total weeks]
- **The syllabus or topic list**:
```
[paste the list]
```
Produce a week-by-week plan with:
1. **The weekly chunks** — topic and target sub-skill for each week.
2. **Deliverable** per week — a concrete artifact (worked problems, a written explanation, a code project). Without one, the week is theater.
3. **Self-test** per week — how I'd check I actually got it (a quiz, a teach-back, a project run).
4. **The "skip if you must" list** — if I fall behind, which topics can be dropped without breaking the rest of the plan?
5. **A weekly review** — 30 min of spaced review of prior weeks, baked into each week.
Be honest if the time budget is too short for the goal. Don't pretend.
What you'll get back
A week-by-week plan with deliverables, self-tests, a fallback skip list, and weekly review built in. Honest about whether the timeline fits.
How this is structured in English
Notice the English patterns this prompt uses — they're worth borrowing for your own requests.
- Without one, the week is theater. Strong noun-judgment ('theater' = performance without substance). Pushes against productivity-as-performance.