Learning Commands · Assessment

Use Mastery Questions after each reading section

Turn the section you just read into written questions, answer them with the text closed, read what the marking says you missed, and rewrite: step by step in Mastery Questions.

8 min read

In Ritsu, Mastery Questions turns the section you just read into written questions and marks each answer against the key points of that text: which you hit, which you missed, and the misconception behind a wrong answer. Use it right after you finish a section, while the gap between reading it and being able to explain it is still small. You need a free account, and on the Free plan a file can be up to 40 pages.

Before you begin

  • A free Ritsu account. Each set and each graded answer uses a few credits from your plan's monthly allowance, and the tool stops before spending if there aren't enough. What each plan includes is on the pricing page.
  • The section, in a form you can hand over. Text you can copy, a file, a web page or a YouTube link. The file box takes PDF, DOCX, Markdown, Slides and Images, up to 20MB.
  • A size that fits your plan. On the Free plan a single file can be up to 40 pages and a video up to 30 minutes. For a whole textbook, slice it into chapters first with Split PDF.

How do you run Mastery Questions after a reading section?

  1. Open the tool. On the Mastery Question Generator page, click Question My Material. Once you have sets, the Mastery Questions page lists them, and Create New there starts another. The composer opens with a box that asks "What should the questions focus on?" (The screenshots on this page come from a set made on October 14, 2026 from a short note on demand, with scores and counts blurred.)

  2. Name the section in the focus box. Type the section's heading and the ideas it covers, for example "Demand vs. quantity demanded: what happens when the price of coffee changes, and what really shifts the demand curve." Your questions are written in the language you type here.

  3. Add the section's text. Click Paste text and paste only the section you just read. That keeps every question on the part you're working on. From a PDF, select the section's text in your PDF reader and copy it; if the text won't select (a scanned page), use File instead. (The other sources are below, under "Other ways to add a section".)

The composer with a focus line typed in, the Paste text tab selected and a pasted section in the box below it

  1. Check the settings line, then click Create Questions. The line under the box reads "Generating with:" and the settings the set will use: about 20 questions across all categories unless you change them. You can ask for about 12, 20, 30 or 45. For one section, start small: if the text can't support the count, you get fewer real questions instead of filler. While it works you see "Forging your mastery questions"; it changes to Set ready when the questions are done.

  2. Click Start Learning. The set opens on its overview: a title and a short summary of your section, the number of questions and categories, and the language. The sidebar lists the categories, from Foundation and Understanding through Application, Analysis and Evaluation to Creation & Synthesis. The material decides which categories get questions. At the top, Question Mastery /100 reads "Lights up as you answer".

The set's overview with its title, summary, Start Learning button and the question categories, and the sidebar listing the categories under Question Mastery

  1. Pick a category and answer one question with the text closed. Click a category in the sidebar. Each question has a line in italics that says what it tests, and an empty box: "Write your answer — reason it out, don't recite…". Close the section before you write, so the answer comes from you, not from the page. Three or four lines is enough to start. Click the send button (the paper plane at the bottom right of the box) to submit.

A category open on two questions, each with what it tests in italics and an empty answer box marked: your first answer sets your ceiling

  1. Read the marking. The feedback quotes your own words, says what was right, names what was missing, and ends with a follow-up question. Below it you get a score out of 100, the key points (a check for each one your answer reached, an empty circle for each it didn't) and, in amber, the misconception it found. Ritsu's answer opens only after your first attempt.

In the set behind these screenshots, the question asked how a change in the price of coffee and a change in the price of tea each affect the coffee market. The first answer said "both price changes shift the coffee demand curve." The marking checked two of the three key points, left "Own-price change equals movement along the curve" open, and named the misconception: "Believing own-price changes shift the demand curve rather than causing movement along it." That one line is what the rewrite had to fix.

Feedback on a first answer that quotes it, names the confusion, gives a score out of 100, checks two of three key points and states the misconception

  1. Click Retake and rewrite. The box opens again with your first answer in it. Fix the part the marking named, then submit. The new score appears with the key points checked again, and a line under Retake shows the question's mastery before and after. When the questions you answered for a section have ticked (75 or higher), that section is done; move on to the next one.

A rewritten answer with every key point checked, the Retake button and the line showing the question's mastery before and after

How does the score work on a rewrite?

  • The first attempt sets the question's mastery. That's why the box says "Your first answer sets your ceiling — retakes close half the gap."
  • Each rewrite adds half of what's left, scaled by its score. The product page's own example: a first answer of 58 leaves 42 to go; a rewrite that scores 88 adds half of that 42, scaled by the 88, so mastery becomes 76, not 88.
  • Mastery never goes down. A weak rewrite can't cost you anything.
  • A question ticks at 75. Your last ten attempts stay on record.

We checked the rule on the set in these screenshots: the first answer scored under half marks, the rewrite scored full marks, and the question's mastery rose by half of the gap that was left, as the rule says, not to the rewrite's score.

Question Mastery at the top of the sidebar is the whole set's score. Questions you haven't answered count as 0 inside their category, so it starts low and climbs as you work through the set.

A routine for each reading section

  1. Read the section once, properly.
  2. Make one set from that section alone (steps 1–4).
  3. Answer one question in Understanding and one in Application with the text closed.
  4. Rewrite the weaker of the two after reading the marking.
  5. Move on to the next section. Come back to the questions that haven't ticked before you start the next chapter.

Your sets stay listed under Mastery Questions, each with its answers and marking, so the thin answers are still there when you return.

Other ways to add a section

  • File. Drop a file or click to browse. A file brings in everything in it, so for one section of a long PDF, split it first, or paste the section instead.
  • YouTube. Paste a YouTube link. The tool pulls the video's transcript and writes the questions from it. Free plan: up to 30 minutes per video.
  • Website. Paste the address of a web page, such as an article you read online.

Limits and troubleshooting

Symptom Cause Fix
Nothing is sent when you submit Answers under 20 characters aren't sent Write at least one full sentence
"Submit a short first answer?" appears First answers under 200 characters get a warning, because the first answer sets the ceiling Click Cancel and add your reasoning, or Submit anyway
A very short answer scores low Answers under 40 characters are capped Write three or four lines
Fewer questions than you asked for The section can't support the count Expected; pick a smaller count, or use a longer section
A category has no questions The material decides which categories get questions Expected for a short section
The tool stops before creating a set Not enough credits left See the credits each plan includes on the pricing page
A strong rewrite barely moved mastery Each retake adds half of what's left Expected; a question ticks at 75

Q: Is there a timer?

No. Mastery Questions is a notebook you come back to, not a timed mock exam. Take the time a full answer needs: the first attempt sets the question's mastery, so a rushed first answer costs more than a slow one.

Q: Can I answer in another language?

Yes. Write in the language you think in. The marking is written in the language you answered in, and it judges the ideas in your own words, so different words can still get full credit.

Q: Is the score an official grade?

No. It's an evaluation of this answer against the key points in this material: not an official grade, and not a verdict on you. The feedback shows its reasons by quoting your words and naming what was missing.

Next: once every section of the chapter has a set, study the whole chapter in a learning session.

By Ritsu Team · Last updated October 19, 2026

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