Find the One Idea Behind Your Stuck Homework
“I'm just stuck” hides the actual problem: one specific idea didn't land, and everything after it wobbles. This reads your problem for topic signals — percents, fractions, slope, units, equations — and marks the margin with the confusion that usually lives there, plus a retry ladder to walk back up. Local, no upload, no judgment.
- Diagnosis
- Keyword-matched confusion checklist, computed in your tab
- local
- What it replaces
- A tutor's first pass at finding the broken step
- $0.00
- Input
- The problem text plus your own attempt
- no card
- Output
- A margin note, a checklist, and a retry ladder
- recomputed
What you pay otherwise
| Route | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Private tutor | Names the broken idea, then re-teaches it | $40–80/hr |
| Answer-service app | Gives the final answer, hides the reasoning | subscription |
| Staring at it longer | Same confusion, more frustration | hours lost |
| This page | A named confusion and a ladder out of it | $0 |
The workflow
Paste the problem exactly, then paste your attempt
Copy the question word-for-word, then paste whatever you tried — even if it's two lines and a scribble of numbers. The tool compares the problem's topic signals against the shape of your attempt, so both fields matter.
Read the margin note before you touch the problem again
The margin names the most likely confusion — a missing unit, a swapped operation, a formula applied where it doesn't apply. It's a hypothesis, not a verdict: it tells you where to look.
Work the checklist from the top
Each matched topic ships with a short checklist (did you keep units? did you define the variable? did you check the sign?). Go top-down; the first item that makes you say “oh” is usually the one.
Climb the retry ladder one rung at a time
The ladder re-stages the problem from a simpler version to the real one. If a rung still doesn't move, the confusion is one rung down — and you now know exactly which concept to ask about.
Worked example
Sample: a percent-increase problem with a unit slip Topic signals percent, increase, original, final Likely confusion comparing to the wrong base Margin note “increased BY 15%” means 115% of original, not 15% of final Retry ladder rung 1: find 15% of 80 → rung 2: add it → rung 3: do it in one step Uploaded nothing — diagnosed in the tab
Numbers above are sample data produced by the tool's own pre-loaded example, run in the browser — not averages or measured benchmarks.
What breaks this
Pasting only the answer key's final line gives the tool nothing about your reasoning — the attempt is the whole point. Trusting a wrong hypothesis is the trap: the margin is a place to look, and the checklist either confirms it or points elsewhere. Retrying the exact same step repeatedly means the confusion is one rung lower — the ladder is built to expose that.
Try it now
A percent-increase problem with a classic base-swap slip is already loaded. Paste your own stuck problem and attempt to see the margin change.
Open the margin diagnostic →Go deeper: the confusion log
The margin diagnostic is free forever. The $4 one-time tier adds:
- Saved confusion log — keep the problems you got stuck on and what fixed them — estimate: ~15 min saved before an exam versus re-finding old homework.
- Study-sheet export — your log turned into a one-page review sheet — estimate: ~12 min saved versus re-typing it by hand.
- Marked-up copy — print the problem with your margin notes attached — estimate: ~8 min saved versus screenshotting and annotating.