An AI history tutor that teaches you to think like a historian

Why did the First World War break out in 1914?

A good answer goes beyond "Franz Ferdinand was assassinated". The tutor helps a grade 10 student build an explanation in steps:

1. The trigger. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914.
2. The long-term causes. Alliances that tied the great powers together, rivalry over empires and the naval race, and growing nationalism in the Balkans.
3. How they connect. Austria-Hungary's response to the assassination drew in its allies and Serbia's, so a regional crisis became a European war within weeks.
4. Your judgement. Which cause mattered most, and why? The tutor asks the student to choose and defend one, then points out the evidence a critic might use against it.

Instead of handing over a paragraph, it asks: "Which of these causes do you think made war more likely rather than certain?"

Many history tests include sources: a speech, a cartoon, a diary entry or a photograph. The tutor teaches a simple routine you can use on any source:

Paste the source text or describe the image, and the tutor works through it with you, one question at a time.

Essay questions such as "How far do you agree that..." need an argument, not a list of facts. The tutor helps you:

• Decide your line of argument before you start writing.
• Group your evidence into paragraphs, each making one point.
• Use precise evidence: names, dates, numbers and quotations.
• Write a conclusion that reaches a judgement and explains it.

It gives feedback on your plan and your draft (structure, evidence, whether each paragraph answers the question) but it won't write the essay for you. For more on structure, see our guide to how to write an essay.

History tests reward knowledge you can recall quickly and use in an argument. The tutor helps you revise actively:

• Quick quizzes on key people, events and dates, starting with what you found hardest last time.
• Timelines you build yourself, with the tutor checking the order and filling gaps.
• Practice questions in the style your teacher uses, with feedback on how to improve your answer.

Retrieval practice like this works better than rereading notes; see our guide to active recall and how to study history.

History courses differ widely between countries and schools, so tell the tutor what your class is studying. Common topics include:

• Ancient and medieval history: Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, the Vikings, medieval kingdoms and empires.
• Early modern history: exploration, the Renaissance and Reformation, revolutions in America and France.
• Modern history: the Industrial Revolution, empire and independence movements, the World Wars, the Cold War, civil rights movements.

We don't claim to cover any curriculum in full, and the tutor will tell you when a question is outside what it can reliably answer.

Like any AI, the tutor can make mistakes with specific dates, names or numbers. Check important facts against your textbook or class notes, and follow your teacher's guidance on which interpretations to use. It can't see your textbook, so paste or describe the material you're working from.