In this tutorial you'll run one complete first session in Ritsu on one chapter: a study plan built from your file, one question answered with the book closed before you read the lesson, a graded verdict on that answer, and the session added to Review. It took about 15 minutes on our recorded run with a short, three-page physics chapter; a longer one takes longer. You need a free account and one chapter as a PDF of up to 40 pages.
Ritsu is an AI tutor that turns your own chapter into a study plan, then questions you on it and grades your answers.
| You'll make | Time (tested) | You need | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| A plan for one chapter, one graded answer and a review schedule | About 15 minutes on our run; about two and a half of them were Ritsu building the plan | One chapter as a PDF, a pen, 15 quiet minutes (more for a longer chapter) | Free (up to 40 pages per source) |
Try it in Ritsu as you read: Start Learning Free
Before you start
The usual order is to read the chapter, feel fine, and find out what you missed when a practice question exposes it. This session moves that question to the start, when a gap costs you nothing. You'll be asked about a lesson you haven't read yet, and a wrong or half-right answer is the expected result: it shows you, and the tutor, what to read for.
Pick one chapter you have to know this week, or one section of a longer one. Smaller is better for a first session, because you want to reach step 6 tonight.
- An account. A free one is enough; the sign-up link is above.
- The file. A PDF of up to 40 pages, the Free plan's limit per source. For a longer chapter, cut out one section first with the Split PDF button at the top of the New Session page, and upload that part.
- No chapter at hand? Open section 4.5, The Carnot Cycle, of OpenStax's free University Physics Volume 2 and save it as a PDF from your browser's print menu. It is the same topic as the screenshots below.
- One goal you can check. Write it as a task, not a topic: "solve exam problems on Carnot efficiency", not "learn thermodynamics."
How we tested. We ran these six steps on the live app on October 1, 2026, with a three-page chapter about heat engines, and recorded the screen. From the upload to the model answer took about 14 minutes, and Add to Review is one click more. The screenshots are frames of that recording; numbers on screen and account details are painted out.
Step 1: Upload the chapter and type one goal
Open ritsu.ai in a new tab, sign in and press New Session. Click File under the text box and pick your PDF. Then type your goal in the text box, where it says "Describe what you want to focus on…". Our run used: "Help me understand heat engines and the Carnot cycle well enough to solve exam problems."
You'll see the file marked Uploaded under the box and Start Learning lit.
If you see an upload error instead: check that the file is a PDF under 40 pages, then try again; the upload troubleshooting page covers the rest.
Step 2: Press Start Learning and read the plan
Press Start Learning and wait while the chapter is read and the plan is built. On our three-page chapter that took about two and a half minutes; a longer chapter takes longer.
You'll see a plan with a title, a short description and the chapter split into units in order, each marked Not started. Open the first unit to see its objectives and its Points of Knowledge, the focused ideas it covers (what a Point of Knowledge is). Read the titles, not the chapter.
If the plan is still building: leave the tab open. The units appear as they are written.
Step 3: Start the first unit and skip ahead to What's next
Press Start on the "Ready to continue?" card under the units. A short lesson opens. Don't read it yet: scroll past it to the What's next card at the bottom.
You'll see a short message that says Ritsu has "no evidence yet of where you stand" and an OK, Let's go button. The message invites you to read the lesson first. The button works either way, so for this session press it now, before reading: your first answer then shows what you knew walking in, and the lesson is still there afterwards.
If the lesson is still generating: wait for the Continue button to appear above the card (under a minute on our run), then scroll.
Step 4: Answer one question with the book closed
Ritsu now offers a few next steps as cards. You want the one that runs /askme, the command that asks you one open question to answer in your own words and then grades it. On a fresh lesson it is often the one marked Recommended; if no card shows /askme, type /askme in the message box at the bottom of the chat and press Enter. Keep the chapter shut, on paper and on screen. Write your answer in full sentences in that box and press Enter.
You'll see one question, Hint 1 and Hint 2 waiting underneath, and your answer posted below them. Hint 1 opens after a minute and Hint 2 after three, so try first.
If you typed /askme yourself: it asks a short series, one question at a time (how /askme works); answer the first one and stop there if you like. If you can't write anything: write your best guess in one sentence. A wrong answer still gives the verdict something to work on; a blank gives it nothing.
Step 5: Read the verdict before the model answer
Read the top of the reply first. Before you scroll to the model answer, write one sentence on paper: what did you miss?
You'll see the grade, then Feedback, a Next step, an Explanation and the Model answer last. Our first answer was marked Partial. The feedback credited the right half and named the gap: "you missed the second half of the question regarding why the working substance doesn't matter." Now read the model answer and compare it with your sentence.
If your answer was fully right: read the model answer anyway for anything it says that yours didn't, then press Continue.
Step 6: Add the session to Review
Go back to the session's plan page: in the sidebar, click the session at the top of the list. It carries the plan's title (ours was "Mastering Heat Engines and the Carnot Cycle"). If the sidebar is closed, open it with the button at the top left. Then press Add to Review at the top right.
You'll see the button change to In Review. The schedule is set for you: by default the material comes back after one day, then after three, seven, 16 and 35 days. When something is due it shows up under Review in the sidebar, where you answer from memory again.
If there is no Add to Review button: you are still inside a lesson. The plan page is the one with the units listed, as in step 2.
What you just did
You took a pretest: one question before the lesson, and the grade it earned shows you what to read for. One question is a small dose, and the studies below did not test an app, but they point the same way. In five experiments by Lindsey Richland, Nate Kornell and Liche Sean Kao (2009), people who tried to answer questions about an essay before reading it remembered more on a later test than people who simply had longer to read, even on the questions they first got wrong; a review of 53 studies by Tanmay Sinha and Manu Kapur (2021) found the same for trying a problem before being taught, except with the youngest learners. Review leans on spacing, which Nicholas Cepeda and colleagues (2006) found well supported across hundreds of experiments, as a general effect rather than proof of any one schedule; more in active recall with AI and spaced repetition.
Q: Should I read the lesson after answering?
Yes. Go back to it once you have the verdict. It now answers a gap you can name, which makes it easier to read for the part you missed.
Q: Can I trust the grade?
Use it as a second reader's opinion. The feedback says what it found in your answer and what it thinks is missing, so you can check each point against your chapter. If the two disagree, the chapter wins.
Q: What if my chapter is longer than 40 pages?
Cut it into sections with Split PDF and upload one section per session. Paid plans take longer sources; the limits are on the pricing page.
Q: How is this different from the textbook chapter tutorial?
This page is the first sitting: one question, one verdict, one review. Master a textbook chapter covers the whole chapter after that, with quizzes and flashcards.
Next steps
Try it in Ritsu on your next chapter: upload it, type one goal, and answer the first question before you read the lesson. Start Learning Free Free forever · No credit card · No time limit
- Keep going on the same chapter: master a textbook chapter with Ritsu.
- Help with sessions and commands: start your first learning session and the /askme command.
- See the whole flow on a chapter: the textbook chapter use case.
Sources
- Richland, L. E., Kornell, N., & Kao, L. S. (2009). The pretesting effect: Do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15(3), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016496
- Sinha, T., & Kapur, M. (2021). When problem solving followed by instruction works: Evidence for productive failure. Review of Educational Research, 91(5), 761–798. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543211019105
- Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
- OpenStax. University Physics Volume 2, section 4.5, The Carnot Cycle (read 2026-10-18). https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-2/pages/4-5-the-carnot-cycle
By Ritsu Team · Last updated October 18, 2026
