Course Study

Comprehensive course study, exam revision, and structured study note generation from lecture slides, course PDFs, or topic outlines. Use when the user wants...

Course Study v2.0

A structured four-phase workflow for deep learning of any university or college course: Extract → Synthesize → Expand → Study. Produces high-fidelity, multi-format study materials as a single, complete PDF — not shallow summaries.

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Phase 0: Intake

Read rules/phase-intake.md and run the full intake workflow. Keep this to one exchange — do not ask questions across multiple messages.

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Workflow

Phase 0: Intake (single exchange)
  ├── PDFs → Phase 1 (Extract via /pdf skill)
  ├── Topic list → Phase 2 directly
  └── Course name → quick syllabus search → Phase 2

Phase 1: Extract (per PDF, page-aligned, using /pdf skill)
  └── Output: lecture-XX-extract.md

Phase 2: Synthesize
  └── Output: course-synthesis.md

Phase 3: Expand (web sources OR curriculum-grounded)
  └── Output: course-expansion.md

Phase 4: Study Materials
  ├── study-notes.md (always)
  ├── quick-reference.md (Exam Ready only)
  └── exam-qa.md (Exam Ready only)

Each phase ends with a brief checkpoint (see below).

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Phase Checkpoint

After each phase, one compact message:

✓ Phase [X] done — [summary in one line].
Issues? (coverage gaps / too shallow / too verbose)
Type to adjust, or just say "continue".

If no response issues → proceed immediately. No multi-question forms.

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Global Rules

1. PDF-only input. Use the /pdf skill to read all course files. Do not use Python file I/O or direct file reading for PDFs.

2. Backbone fidelity. Every concept traces back to its source: page number (PDF) or section number (topic list). Never lose traceability.

3. Speed discipline. Minimize round-trips. Batch questions. Skip steps that aren't needed for the current tier. Phase 1 and 2 intermediate files should be dense and compact — no padding, no repeated meta-commentary.

4. No fabrication. Phase 3 without web access: every claim marked [Standard curriculum knowledge]. No invented URLs, paper titles, or authors.

5. Examples are mandatory. Phase 4 must include worked examples for every non-trivial concept.

6. Track progress. Use TodoList to track which lectures have been processed.

7. Multi-format output. Final notes are written in format-agnostic Markdown per rules/templates.md. When the user requests PDF output, read rules/pdf-export.md for pandoc font configuration and CJK handling before converting.

8. Prioritise flagged topics. If the user named priority topics in Phase 0, give them deeper treatment in Phase 4 and ensure they appear in the Quick Reference and Exam Q&A.

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Phase 4 Output: Study Notes

The main study notes follow the structure in rules/phase-study.md. Every concept gets:

• What it is — definition, instructor's phrasing first
• Intuition — why it exists, what problem it solves
• Formal treatment — LaTeX formulas or code blocks
• Worked example — concrete, step-by-step
• Connections — prerequisites and what this enables
• Common misconceptions

Exam Ready appendices (Quick Reference Sheet and Exam Q&A) are generated in Phase 4 as well — see rules/phase-study.md Steps 6a and 6b.

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Reference Files

• rules/phase-intake.md — Phase 0 intake workflow
• rules/phase-extract.md — Phase 1
• rules/phase-synthesize.md — Phase 2
• rules/phase-expand.md — Phase 3
• rules/phase-study.md — Phase 4 (study notes + Exam Ready appendices)
• rules/templates.md — Format-agnostic writing rules
• rules/pdf-export.md — PDF conversion config (load only when PDF output is requested)
• rules/subject-coverage.md — Live search strategy for curriculum gap analysis
• rules/changelog.md — Version history

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Anti-Patterns

Avoid	Why	Instead
Skipping worked examples	Students fail on application, not definitions	Mandatory for every non-trivial concept
Quick Reference with prose	Defeats the purpose	One line per entry maximum
Exam Q&A without source refs	Student can't verify or dig deeper	Every answer cites source location
Ignoring Phase 0 priority topics	User told you what matters	Deeper treatment + appears in all appendices
Fabricating exam question styles	Misleads preparation	Draw only from what the course actually covers