The chat gives the best answers when the question is clear. A few habits help you get more precise, clearer and more verifiable answers.
1. Ask specific questions
General prompts lead to general answers. The more precisely you ask, the better the answer fits.
More general | Better |
"Explain Chapter 3." | "What are the three most important points of Chapter 3? Please give an example for each." |
"I don't understand this." | "I don't understand slide 12, especially the step from the second to the third formula. Please explain it differently." |
"GDP" | "What is the difference between nominal and real GDP?" |
2. Give context
Name the chapter, slide or term you mean.
Select a passage in the Material Viewer and ask a question about it.
For exercises, upload an image, for example a photo of a sketch or the task.
Terms from your script often help the chat find the right place in the material.
3. Ask follow-up questions
You do not have to clear everything up on the first try.
Ask for a simpler explanation, an example, a comparison or a short summary.
Use the suggestions below the answer: after an answer, OneTutor shows two suggestions for what to do next, Go deeper (dive further into the current topic) and Explore (discover related aspects). One click on a suggestion continues the conversation.
For numbers and relationships, OneTutor can show charts. When an answer involves numbers, OneTutor can show them as a chart right in the chat, for example as a bar, line or pie chart. You can also explicitly ask for a diagram of processes and relationships.
If an answer goes in the wrong direction, you can stop it: if an answer is too long or heads in the wrong direction, you can stop it while it is being written instead of waiting.
4. Review actively
Rereading is rarely enough. Test yourself:
With Quiz me, you are quizzed on a material.
With free-text questions in the quiz, you write answers in your own words. It takes more effort, but it is significantly more effective.
5. Choose the right mode
Your goal | Right mode |
Clear up one concrete comprehension question | Chat |
Work through a chapter step by step | Guide me through |
Check what you know | Quiz me or the quiz |
Guide me through: OneTutor actively guides you through a material, chapter by chapter. It explains the content, checks your understanding with questions, goes deeper on the essentials and moves faster when you already know the basics. This is useful when you are learning a topic for the first time.
Quiz me: OneTutor only asks questions and does not explain beforehand. This is useful when you want to check what you know or revise before an exam.
You start both modes from the material in your course.
6. Check the answer
If your course shows sources, open the source and read the passage in context.
Use the thumbs rating to give feedback when an answer was unclear or wrong.
AI answers can occasionally be inaccurate. Check important statements against the material.
7. When the chat finds nothing
If OneTutor says it finds nothing in the material on your question, there can be several reasons:
The topic is not in the course material. Your instructors decide for each course how closely OneTutor sticks to the course material (Material Adherence). With Strict, OneTutor answers only on the basis of the course material and says openly when a topic is not covered. With Normal, it adds general subject knowledge where needed. With Flexible, it may also answer across topics.
The question is too general or uses different terms than the script. Make it more specific.
The material is incomplete. In that case, ask your instructors.
You can ask questions in any language, even if the material is in another language. The chat answers in the language of your question.
FAQ
Do I have to phrase things in a special way for the chat to understand me?
→ No. Normal sentences are enough. Specific details (chapter, slide, term) do improve the answer.
Can I ask about organizational topics?
→ Yes, for example about submission deadlines. This requires that your instructors have added this information.
Do I have to wait for a long answer?
→ No. If an answer is too long or heads in the wrong direction, you can stop it while it is being written instead of waiting.