Study from a Document or Video

You turn a source the learner must learn from into material that helps them remember it: notes that follow the source's structure, questions that make them recall and apply it, and flashcards they can review over weeks. Everything traces back to a page or a timestamp, nothing is invented, and every section of the source is covered, not only the first few.

When to use

• "Help me learn this chapter."
• "Summarise this lecture and make me notes."
• "Turn this video into flashcards."
• "I have to read this 60-page report by Friday."
• "Make a study guide from these slides."

What you need

• The source: a file (read_file; PDFs converted with pdftotext -layout file.pdf out.txt in the terminal, installing poppler-utils if missing), a web article (web_extract), slides or photos of pages (vision_analyze), or a video.
• For videos: the transcript. Open the video in the browser and use the platform's transcript panel (browser_navigate, browser_click, browser_snapshot), or use a captions file the learner or course platform provides. If there is no transcript, ask the owner via clarify for one or for the audio file.
• Files the learner keeps in Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox can come through a connected app.
• The purpose: an exam (which one, which syllabus), a project, general understanding. The learner's level.
• How long they have to learn it.

Method

1. Survey first. Read the table of contents, headings, introduction, conclusion, figure captions and any learning objectives. For a video, skim the transcript and note topic changes. Write a one-paragraph map of what the source covers and how it is organised.
2. Split into sections. Use the source's own structure: chapters and headings for documents, the PDF outline if there is one, slide groups for decks. For a video without chapters, cut the transcript into roughly 5-minute segments and give each a title. Keep a reference for every section: page range or start and end timestamp.
3. Make notes per section. For each section separately: the main point in one sentence, key ideas (3 to 7 bullets), definitions, worked examples or evidence, formulas, and how it links to earlier sections. Paraphrase; quote only short phrases where the exact wording matters, with the page or timestamp. Process sections one at a time so long sources get full coverage; for very long sources, delegate_task can draft notes for blocks of sections in parallel, then you review them for consistency.
4. Synthesise. From the section notes, write a layered summary: one sentence, one paragraph, then a one-page outline. Build a glossary of key terms and a concept map (a list of "A causes / is part of / contrasts with B" relations, or a simple diagram) showing how the main ideas connect.
5. Separate source from additions. Mark clearly anything you add that is not in the source (background, a clearer example, a correction). If the source looks wrong or out of date, flag it with a reliable reference rather than silently changing it.
6. Write retrieval questions for every section. Allocate questions in proportion to each section's length and importance, with at least 2 per section so nothing is skipped. Mix recall ("What are the three stages of...?"), explanation ("Why does...?") and application ("Given..., what would happen?"). Put answers, with page or timestamp references, in a separate answer key.
7. Make flashcards. One fact or idea per card; question on the front, short answer on the back; cloze cards for definitions and lists. Export as a tab-separated file that spaced repetition apps such as Anki (free) can import: front<TAB>back<TAB>tags. Format in references/study-pack-template.md.
8. Plan the first reviews. Suggest when to come back: a short self-test tomorrow, then after a few days, then about a week later. Offer a cronjob reminder for the review dates if the learner wants it, and save the topic and review dates to memory.
9. Check with the learner. Ask them to answer 5 questions from memory. Use the misses to tell them which sections to reread, and offer to explain the hardest one (see also explain-at-learner-level).

Output

A study pack (markdown file written with write_file, plus the flashcard TSV):

1. Source details and the one-paragraph map.
2. Layered summary.
3. Section notes, each with page or timestamp references.
4. Glossary and concept map.
5. Key examples and formulas.
6. Retrieval questions (all sections) and a separate answer key.
7. Flashcards file.
8. Review plan, and a list of points to check or ask the teacher. Template in references/study-pack-template.md.

Checks before you finish

• Every section of the source has notes and at least 2 questions.
• Every note and answer points to a page or timestamp.
• Nothing is presented as from the source that is not in it; additions are marked.
• Quotes are short and referenced; the full text is not reproduced.
• Flashcards are atomic (one idea each) and the TSV imports cleanly (no stray tabs or line breaks inside fields).
• The pack fits the learner's purpose and time.

Pitfalls

• Front-loaded coverage. Long sources often get thorough notes for chapter 1 and thin notes for the rest. Work section by section and check coverage.
• Summaries instead of learning. Reading a summary feels productive but builds little memory. The questions and flashcards are the core.
• Copying the source. Long verbatim extracts help nobody and raise copyright problems. Paraphrase and reference.
• Inventing to fill gaps. If a transcript is garbled or a page unreadable, say so; do not guess.
• Trusting auto-captions blindly. Automatic transcripts mangle technical terms and names. Cross-check key terms against slides or the course text.
• Overloaded flashcards. Cards with paragraphs on the back do not get remembered. Split them.