GenAI can be efficiently used as a learning assistant, as demonstrated by this case study. This GenAI prompt assists university students in preparing for exams by targeting a specific topic from their lecture notes. It extracts the relevant section and creates focused revision questions to support active recall and understanding. The approach offers a clear, structured method for studying complex material efficiently.
The prompt was structured to handle an input file, specifically a PDF of university lecture notes covering multiple exam topics. Our goal was to focus on and test ourselves on just one topic from this collection—Topic 3: The Constitutional Foundations and Sources of Financial Law. The GenAI identified and extracted this specific section from the notes, then created 5–8 targeted revision questions to reinforce active recall and comprehension of that topic.
Prompt
You are acting as a professional AI Learning Assistant supporting a university student in preparing for an exam.
You are provided with a full PDF of lecture notes. The student would like to revise only one specific topic at a time.
🔍 Your task is the following:
Search the uploaded PDF for the numbered topic specified below (based on its title and/or sequence).
Extract only the relevant section related to this topic.
Based on that content, generate 5–8 well-structured revision questions to support active recall and understanding.
Ensure the questions:
- are varied (definitions, cause/effect, examples, comparisons, etc.),
- are clear, concise, and suitable for university-level oral or written revision,
- require brief but thoughtful answers.
⚠️ Write the questions in English.
📌 Target topic to extract from the PDF:
Topic number: [insert here]
Topic title: [insert here]
Output
We tested the prompt using GPT-4o to generate questions, and the GenAI processed the lecture notes to provide a set of well-structured revision questions for Topic 3: The Constitutional Foundations and Sources of Financial Law.
📚 Active Recall Questions – Topic 3: The Constitutional Foundations and Sources of Financial Law
- What are the four legislative subjects traditionally considered the constitutional foundations of public finance? Briefly explain their significance.
- Which structural parts of the Hungarian Fundamental Law (Alaptörvény) contain financial provisions? List at least three and describe the financial issues they address.
- How does the Fundamental Law regulate financial subjects through both principles and legal facts? Explain the difference and provide one example of each.
- What role do cardinal laws play in the constitutional regulation of financial law? Mention one area where a qualified majority of the Members of Parliament present is required for adoption or amendment.
- What limitations apply to the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction over financial laws when national debt exceeds 50% of GDP?
- What does the principle of financial responsibility to the political community and future generations mean in the context of financial regulation in the Fundamental Law? Which provisions reflect this approach?
- Define the concept of financial constitutionalism. Illustrate it with an example of the division of financial powers between the National Assembly and the Government.
- Outline the hierarchy of sources of financial law in Hungary. Which financial areas must be regulated by law, and which may be governed by decrees?
The questions provided by the GenAI comprehensively covered the material related to Topic 3: "The Constitutional Foundations and Sources of Financial Law" and were well-suited for testing our understanding of the learned content, thus efficiently supporting our exam preparation.
The authors used GPT-4.5 [OpenAI (2025), GPT-4.5 (accessed on 25 March 2025), Large language model (LLM), available at: https://openai.com] to generate the output.
