# Exam essay practice with rubric marking — Gemini Notebook prompt

> For essay-based exams. Writes a question in your exam's style, lets you answer under time pressure, then marks it against a rubric built from your sources — argument, evidence, coverage — instead of vague encouragement.


_Markdown version of https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/essay-question-practice — for AI and LLM crawlers. Content is identical to the web page._

---
- Category: Study & exam prep
- Goes in: Chat message

## The prompt

```
I am practising for an essay-based exam on [subject]. Questions are typically [describe format: "discuss" essays / compare-and-contrast / case analysis], answered in about [minutes] minutes.

1. Write ONE exam question in that style, answerable entirely from my sources. Not a softball — the kind that separates a 2:1 from a first.
2. Before I write, tell me only: how many marks it would carry and how many distinct points a full answer needs. Nothing else — no plan, no hints.
3. Wait for my answer.
4. Mark it against a rubric you build from the sources:
   - Argument: is there a thesis, or just topic coverage?
   - Evidence: which claims cite source material, which are unsupported? Page-reference what I SHOULD have cited.
   - Coverage: which of the expected points did I hit, which did I miss, and where in the sources the missing ones live.
   - Precision: terms used wrongly or loosely.
5. Give a mark band, the single change that would most raise it, and then a model answer outline — outline, not full prose, so I rewrite it myself.
```

## How to use it

1. Open your notebook at notebooklm.google.com.
2. Replace the [bracketed] parts with your specifics.
3. Paste the prompt into the chat box and send it.

Square brackets mark the parts you replace with your own topic or question.

## More study & exam prep prompts

- [The 7-day study schedule](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/seven-day-study-schedule.md)
- [The high-yield cheat sheet](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/high-yield-cheat-sheet.md)
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- [The three things to understand first](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/three-things-first.md)
- [Explain it to a non-specialist](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/non-specialist-explanation.md)
- [The cross-topic connector](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/cross-topic-connector.md)
- [The newcomer FAQ](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/newcomer-faq.md)
- [Build an FAQ from the sources](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/faq-builder.md)
- [Explain this topic through a completely different field](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/cross-disciplinary-analogy.md)
- [Weakness detection from your own notes](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/weakness-detection.md)
- [Find what your lecture notes missed](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/lecture-notes-gap-check.md)
- [Your personal tutor persona](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/personal-tutor-persona.md)
- [The Feynman teach-back](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/feynman-teach-back.md)
- [The per-chapter reading questions](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/per-chapter-questions.md)
- [The end-of-book big picture](https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/prompts/study/book-big-picture.md)

