20 practical, difficulty-rated ways Classics students at Hobart and William Smith Colleges can use AI — 10 easy, 6 medium, 4 hard. They start at “Translate a Latin passage” and run up to “Map ancient networks with data”, drawing on 15 tutorials between them. Every card carries a starter prompt already written for Classics, so you can copy it and go.
Before you use these on graded work: check your professor’s policy on AI.
It differs by course, and these examples are study aids — not permission.
All Classics AI use cases
Easy
Translate a Latin passage
Get a draft translation of a Cicero excerpt for comparison. The linked tutorial covers why open-ended chatting in your target language barely works, and how to use an LLM as one deliberate stage in a language-learning pipeline instead, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA realistic picture of what AI can and can't do for language learning, and where it genuinely speeds you up — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Translate a Latin passage — Get a draft translation of a Cicero excerpt for comparison.
Correct my mistakes, explain each correction briefly in English, then ask me a follow-up question to keep the conversation going.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Identify tense, mood, and voice of a tricky verb. The linked tutorial covers why open-ended chatting in your target language barely works, and how to use an LLM as one deliberate stage in a language-learning pipeline instead, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA realistic picture of what AI can and can't do for language learning, and where it genuinely speeds you up — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Parse Greek verb forms — Identify tense, mood, and voice of a tricky verb.
Correct my mistakes, explain each correction briefly in English, then ask me a follow-up question to keep the conversation going.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Condense a book of the Aeneid into key plot points. The linked tutorial covers MacMost's copy-paste method — pull an article into reader view, paste it into ChatGPT after 'summarize this:', then ask for a set word count or a 10-bullet version; also how to grab a YouTube transcript to summarise a video, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to compress a long reading or video into a summary of the exact length you need, and why pasting the source keeps it accurate — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Summarize an ancient text — Condense a book of the Aeneid into key plot points.
Give me (1) a three-sentence summary, (2) five bullet-point key claims, and (3) anything the author asserts without supporting evidence. Text below:
[PASTE THE TEXT HERE]
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Clarify chiasmus with examples from classical oratory. The linked tutorial covers a 10-step ChatGPT prompt system — standard definition, an explain-it-to-a-10-year-old version, real-life analogies, a simple diagram, then a comparison table — that you aim at any concept you're stuck on, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA repeatable prompt sequence that turns a confusing idea into a definition, an analogy and a diagram you can check against your course notes — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Explain a rhetorical device — Clarify chiasmus with examples from classical oratory.
Start with a one-sentence definition, then explain it as if I'm 10, then give a real-world analogy. Finish by flagging anything scholars genuinely disagree about — and tell me what you're unsure of.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Give quick backgrounds on lesser-known deities and heroes. The linked tutorial covers ChatGPT's Study Mode (type /study), an interactive tutor that guides you with questions step by step instead of just handing over the answer, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to switch ChatGPT into tutor mode so it drills you on terms and ideas rather than doing the thinking for you — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Define mythological figures — Give quick backgrounds on lesser-known deities and heroes.
Define each term in one clear sentence, then give a concrete example of each in context. Once I've read them, quiz me on them one at a time and tell me what I got wrong and why.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Brainstorm essay topics on Roman republican politics
Generate thesis ideas on Roman republican politics. The linked tutorial covers three brainstorming methods in ChatGPT — a reusable custom-instructions 'brainstorm paradigm', an AI-diagram tree that fans one topic into dozens of branches, and a SWOT prompt to pressure-test an idea, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayThree prompt patterns you can reuse to go from a blank page to a categorised list of options, plus a way to stress-test the one you pick — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Brainstorm essay topics on Roman republican politics — Generate thesis ideas on Roman republican politics.
Give me 10 options grouped into 3 themes, then mark the 3 most original and explain what makes them stronger.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Summarize the causes of the Peloponnesian War simply. The linked tutorial covers a 10-step ChatGPT prompt system — standard definition, an explain-it-to-a-10-year-old version, real-life analogies, a simple diagram, then a comparison table — that you aim at any concept you're stuck on, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA repeatable prompt sequence that turns a confusing idea into a definition, an analogy and a diagram you can check against your course notes — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Explain a historical event — Summarize the causes of the Peloponnesian War simply.
Start with a one-sentence definition, then explain it as if I'm 10, then give a real-world analogy. Finish by flagging anything scholars genuinely disagree about — and tell me what you're unsure of.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Turn a Greek word list into practice quiz cards. The linked tutorial covers why open-ended chatting in your target language barely works, and how to use an LLM as one deliberate stage in a language-learning pipeline instead, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA realistic picture of what AI can and can't do for language learning, and where it genuinely speeds you up — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Create vocabulary drills — Turn a Greek word list into practice quiz cards.
Correct my mistakes, explain each correction briefly in English, then ask me a follow-up question to keep the conversation going.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Write a first draft abstract for an undergraduate symposium. The linked tutorial covers AI Academy's approach to long-form writing: never ask for the whole essay at once — break it into smaller prompts across two tabs and a document so you keep control of the argument, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA workflow that automates the writing but not the thinking, so the argument stays yours and the draft stays checkable — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Draft a conference abstract — Write a first draft abstract for an undergraduate symposium.
Help me write this, don't write it for me. First ask me 3 questions about my argument, then propose a thesis and a section plan. Do not draft full paragraphs until I approve the plan.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Explain dactylic hexameter with a scanned example line. The linked tutorial covers a 10-step ChatGPT prompt system — standard definition, an explain-it-to-a-10-year-old version, real-life analogies, a simple diagram, then a comparison table — that you aim at any concept you're stuck on, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA repeatable prompt sequence that turns a confusing idea into a definition, an analogy and a diagram you can check against your course notes — enough to use on Classics work this week.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Clarify meter in poetry — Explain dactylic hexameter with a scanned example line.
Start with a one-sentence definition, then explain it as if I'm 10, then give a real-world analogy. Finish by flagging anything scholars genuinely disagree about — and tell me what you're unsure of.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Evaluate how three translators handle a difficult Homeric passage. The linked tutorial covers a compare-and-contrast prompt in ChatGPT (demonstrated on Buddhism vs Hinduism) that asks for similarities and differences, then expands any point you want more depth on, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA prompt for structured comparisons, and how to push ChatGPT to elaborate on the specific dimension you care about — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Compare translations — Evaluate how three translators handle a difficult Homeric passage.
Give me a table of the key similarities and differences, then one short paragraph on which difference matters most and why.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Combine scholarly arguments into a coherent literature review. The linked tutorial covers ResearchRabbit — seed it with one paper, then explore the citation network visually to surface related work and spot gaps, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA way to map a literature landscape from a single starting paper instead of searching keyword by keyword — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Synthesize secondary sources — Combine scholarly arguments into a coherent literature review.
Group the sources below into themes, show where they agree and disagree, and name the gap that's left. Do not invent sources.
[PASTE SOURCES OR ABSTRACTS HERE]
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Trace how a myth was reused across later literary periods. The linked tutorial covers a timeline prompt for ChatGPT — paste your notes and ask for a clean chronology with date, event and why-it-matters columns, explicitly telling it not to invent facts and to flag anything uncertain, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA prompt that turns messy notes into a sorted timeline, with a built-in guard against invented dates — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Build a reception timeline — Trace how a myth was reused across later literary periods.
Turn this into a clean chronological timeline with columns for date, event, and why it matters (one sentence each). Do not invent dates — flag anything uncertain.
[PASTE YOUR NOTES HERE]
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Assess bias and context in an inscription or Tacitus passage. The linked tutorial covers ChatGPT's Study Mode (type /study), an interactive tutor that guides you with questions step by step instead of just handing over the answer, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to switch ChatGPT into tutor mode so it drills you on terms and ideas rather than doing the thinking for you — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Analyze a primary source — Assess bias and context in an inscription or Tacitus passage.
Define each term in one clear sentence, then give a concrete example of each in context. Once I've read them, quiz me on them one at a time and tell me what I got wrong and why.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Plan a seminar research paper: argument, evidence, structure
Outline argument, evidence, and structure for a seminar essay. The linked tutorial covers using ChatGPT across the research-paper workflow — finding a topic where a genuine gap exists, then structuring the paper around it, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to pick a defensible topic and lay out the sections before you start writing — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Plan a seminar research paper: argument, evidence, structure — Outline argument, evidence, and structure for a seminar essay.
Give a topic-sentence outline only — not full prose. For each section, state the argument it makes and the evidence it would need.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Query loaded commentaries to cross-reference themes across works. The linked tutorial covers Google NotebookLM — load PDFs, Drive docs, websites and YouTube videos as sources, then get summaries, ask questions answered only from those sources, and generate mind maps, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to build a private research assistant grounded in your own documents rather than the open internet — worth checking against your Classics course material before you lean on it.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Use NotebookLM on texts — Query loaded commentaries to cross-reference themes across works.
Answer using only the sources I upload, and cite which source each claim comes from. If my sources don't answer the question, say so instead of guessing.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Configure and test a GPT trained on grammar conventions. The linked tutorial covers building a Custom GPT from scratch in ChatGPT and feeding it your own past writing so its output sounds like you rather than generic AI, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to set up a reusable assistant with your instructions baked in, so you stop re-explaining context every session — bring the result to a Classics professor or TA before it goes near graded work.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Build a custom translation GPT — Configure and test a GPT trained on grammar conventions.
Draft the name, description, instructions and 4 conversation starters for this Custom GPT. The instructions should tell it to ask clarifying questions and to admit when it doesn't know.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Run stylometric word-frequency analysis and verify the outputs. The linked tutorial covers pasting a broken snippet into ChatGPT with the prompt 'scan the following code for potential problems' — it finds the bug (a divide-by-zero), explains why it happens and returns a fixed version, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA debugging prompt formula, plus the habit of re-running the fixed code to confirm the error is actually gone — bring the result to a Classics professor or TA before it goes near graded work.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Analyze a text corpus computationally — Run stylometric word-frequency analysis and verify the outputs.
Tell me what's wrong, explain why it happens, then give the corrected version. Walk through the fixed code line by line with a concrete input.
[PASTE YOUR CODE AND THE ERROR HERE]
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Plan methodology for comparing dialect features across inscriptions. The linked tutorial covers designing a study end-to-end in ChatGPT — research questions, hypotheses, survey items, sample size and sampling method, R code for the analysis, then implications and titles, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayA full research-design workflow, including how to answer a reviewer who says your sample is too small — bring the result to a Classics professor or TA before it goes near graded work.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Design an epigraphy study — Plan methodology for comparing dialect features across inscriptions.
Propose a research question, hypotheses, method, sample and sampling strategy, and the analysis plan. Then critique the weaknesses of your own design.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
Model trade or citation relationships and validate the results. The linked tutorial covers dragging a dataset straight into ChatGPT and prompting it to describe the data, produce descriptive statistics per column, and chart the columns you care about, and the starter prompt below already frames it for Classics.
What you'll take awayHow to interrogate a spreadsheet conversationally, and why the 'analyzing' step means it ran real code rather than guessing — bring the result to a Classics professor or TA before it goes near graded work.
Starter prompt — paste into ChatGPT
I'm a Classics student at HWS. My task: Map ancient networks with data — Model trade or citation relationships and validate the results.
I'm uploading my dataset. First describe what's in it and flag any data-quality problems, then answer my question, and show the code you ran so I can check it myself.
Keep the terminology, examples, and level of detail appropriate for an undergraduate Classics course.
This page lists 20 practical AI use cases written specifically for Classics students at Hobart and William Smith Colleges — 10 easy, 6 medium, 4 hard by difficulty. They range from everyday coursework help such as translate a latin passage and parse greek verb forms through to project-scale work like map ancient networks with data. Each one comes with a starter prompt you can paste straight into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
Which AI use cases should a Classics major try first?
Start with the 10 rated Easy — they need no setup and work on the first try. For Classics that means translate a latin passage, parse greek verb forms and summarize an ancient text. Once those feel routine, move up to the Medium tier, which includes compare translations and synthesize secondary sources.
What do I need to start using AI as a Classics student?
A free account with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini is the whole list — no coding, no paid subscription, and nothing to install. The 20 Classics use cases here draw on 15 tutorial videos between them, and each card ships with a starter prompt already framed for Classics coursework, so the first thing you do is paste, not write.
Is it OK to use AI for Classics coursework at HWS?
Your Classics professor decides, and the answer changes from course to course and even between assignments — so read the syllabus before any of this touches graded work. Everything on this page is a study aid: a use case like "Map ancient networks with data" exists to get you through Classics material faster, not to produce something you submit as your own. If the syllabus is silent, ask before you use it.