exam-cram-notes

name	exam-cram-notes
description	Use when creating short exam-cram or pre-exam quick memorization notes from course PDFs, PPTs, lecture slides, notes, problem sets, or study materials, especially for Markdown or Obsidian notes with formulas.

Exam Cram Notes

Goal

Create a compact Markdown note the user can review the night before an exam. It must be easy to scan, cover the requested material, and avoid textbook-style explanation.

Workflow

1. Read the requested course files or existing extracted text. For PDFs, use local PDF extraction tools; if a knowledge-base reader is available and appropriate, try it first but fall back to local extraction.
2. Identify the chapter structure, repeated slide titles, formulas, algorithms, comparisons, diagrams, pitfalls, and likely exam prompts.
3. Generate one Markdown note per requested unit unless the user asks to merge units.
4. Save to the requested destination when the user gives one; otherwise create the note in the current workspace.
5. Verify the file exists, headings are continuous, requested materials are covered, and formulas are not inside code blocks.

Output Style

• Keep it short: "scan at a glance" over completeness-by-essay.
• Still cover all topics in the requested files, including later slides after an apparent natural stopping point.
• Prefer bullets, compact formulas, small comparison tables only when they reduce length, and short exam Q&A.
• Use the user's language. Preserve important English technical terms.
• Use memorable one-line hooks, e.g. "sampling decides how many points; quantization decides how many values per point."
• Put "Most Testable" and "Last-Minute Review" sections near the end, translated if the note is not in English.
• If the user says it is too long, compress aggressively while preserving topic coverage.

Recommended Structure

# Course/Chapter Exam Cram Notes

## 1. Main Thread
## 2. Core Concepts
## 3. Key Formulas / Algorithms
## 4. Method Comparisons
## 5. Most Testable
## 6. Exam Q&A
## 7. Last-Minute Review

Adapt headings to the material. Number headings continuously, especially after editing an existing note.

Formula Rules

• Inline math: $...$
• Display math:

$$
formula
$$

• Never wrap LaTeX in backticks or ```latex code fences if it should render.
• Put display math on its own lines with blank lines before and after.
• Use simple KaTeX-compatible forms. Avoid exotic macros unless necessary.

Coverage Checklist

Before finishing, check:

• Every requested file/chapter is represented.
• Late-slide topics are included, not just the first half.
• Definitions, formulas, algorithms, comparisons, and common pitfalls are covered.
• The note is concise enough for pre-exam review.
• Formulas are renderable in Markdown/Obsidian.
• The destination file path is reported.

Common Mistakes

• Writing a long study guide instead of a cram note.
• Stopping at the first major topic and missing later filters, algorithms, or summary slides.
• Turning formulas into code blocks.
• Omitting the "why this matters" hook for formulas.
• Forgetting to save the note to the requested destination.