Features
Who it's for

Features

Who it's for

Features · Learn

Understand your sources well enough to defend them.

At your defense, examiners ask what you know. PaperQED questions you on your own draft, quizzes you on the papers you read, and coaches you with hints that point back to the source, until you can explain every claim with confidence.

Create a free account

Why it works: you do the thinking

PaperQED gives you a sharper question, the source to check it against, and practice explaining it out loud. That's what the defense room asks of you.

  1. It asks before it tells

    The tutor, the defense simulation and the research question tool lead with questions. Hints get more specific only when you need them.

  2. Every answer leads back to a source

    Hints, quiz explanations and checklist items point to a passage in the paper, so you learn straight from the source.

  3. Built from your own work

    Questions come from your draft and the papers in your library, so what you practise is what you'll actually be asked.

Learn your sources well enough to stand behind every claim.

Rehearse your thesis defense before the real one.

The defense simulation reads your own draft and sources, then questions you the way an examiner would: why this group, which source backs this claim, what about the study that was retracted. Every question shows which paragraph of your draft to strengthen.

  • Questions come from your chapter, not from a generic list of “common defense questions”.
  • Follow-up questions press on the weak spots, the way real examiners do.
  • Each question links to the paragraph it's about, so you know exactly what to revise.
  • Run it again after you revise and see whether the same questions still catch you out.

Learn more about this feature

Rehearse your thesis defense before the real one. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 2. Rehearse your thesis defense before the real one. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

A tutor that asks the question instead of handing you the answer.

Ask the Socratic tutor about a paper or about your own claim. It replies with a question and a hint that points to the right part of the source, so the reasoning is easy to check and easy to remember.

  • Hints get more specific step by step, only when you ask for the next one.
  • Every hint points to a section or paragraph of the actual paper.
  • Work through your doubts before a supervision meeting, so the meeting can go further.
  • Talk to it in your own language.

Learn more about this feature

A tutor that asks the question instead of handing you the answer. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 3. A tutor that asks the question instead of handing you the answer. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

Turn a broad topic into a research question you can actually answer.

Start from “something about digital literacy”. The research question tool asks you one thing at a time: what you want to find out, about which group, and what you could measure within a semester. Related papers appear at every step.

  • Narrow a vague topic into a focused question over a few rounds of questions.
  • Related papers at each step show what has already been studied.
  • Arrive at your proposal seminar with a question you can explain and defend.

Learn more about this feature

Turn a broad topic into a research question you can actually answer. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 4. Turn a broad topic into a research question you can actually answer. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

Judge a study's method the way a reviewer would.

The critical appraisal checklist walks you through a paper's methodology: the sample, how groups were assigned, the comparison group, the measures and possible bias. Each item asks you a question and points to where the paper answers it.

  • Learn the questions examiners and reviewers ask about methods.
  • Each item links to the part of the paper that answers it.
  • Spot a study's limits before your chapter leans on it.

Learn more about this feature

Judge a study's method the way a reviewer would. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 5. Judge a study's method the way a reviewer would. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

Quiz yourself on the papers you actually read.

PaperQED builds quizzes and flashcards from the papers in your library: the research question, the sample, the key result, the limitations. Every answer links to the passage it comes from.

  • Find out whether you understood a paper or only skimmed it.
  • Wrong answer? See the exact passage that explains why.
  • Flashcards for key terms and findings, to review between classes.
  • Made from your own sources, so you revise exactly what your thesis depends on.

Learn more about this feature

Quiz yourself on the papers you actually read. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 6. Quiz yourself on the papers you actually read. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

Questions as you read, with explanations tied to the source.

In the paper reader, short comprehension questions check that you understood each part before you move on. Explanations link to the original paragraph, so you can always see what they are based on.

  • Questions sit next to the section they're about.
  • Every explanation links back to the paragraph it explains.
  • Campuses can set a student policy with guided explanations and questions, to match a course's learning goals.
  • The same sources throughout, from the first question to the defense.

Learn more about this feature

Questions as you read, with explanations tied to the source. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.
Figure 7. Questions as you read, with explanations tied to the source. The PaperQED app, shown with sample data.

How it fits your week before the defense

One week, five sessions, all on your own sources.

  1. Step 1: Read with questions

    Go through your key papers in the reader and answer the comprehension questions as you go.

  2. Step 2: Ask the tutor

    Bring the parts you're unsure about. Follow the hints back to the source until it clicks.

  3. Step 3: Appraise the studies you rely on

    Run the checklist on the papers your argument depends on, so their limits don't surprise you.

  4. Step 4: Quiz yourself

    Use quizzes and flashcards to lock in samples, results and limitations.

  5. Step 5: Rehearse the defense

    Answer the examiner's questions on your draft out loud, then strengthen the paragraphs it points to.

Questions

  • Isn't studying with AI a kind of cheating?

    PaperQED asks questions, gives hints and points to sources, so you learn the material and can explain it. Campuses can also set a student policy with guided explanations and questions.

  • What does the defense simulation do?

    It asks the questions an examiner might ask about your draft, adds follow-ups and shows which paragraph to strengthen. Each question links to the sources behind it, so you can prepare from them.

  • Where do the questions come from?

    From your own draft and the papers in your library. Quiz and comprehension questions link to the passage they're based on, so you can check every answer against the source.

  • Can my campus adjust how the learning tools work?

    Yes. In the campus admin, a campus can set a student policy so students get guided explanations and comprehension questions as they read. The reader and the sources stay the same for everyone.

  • Can I use these features today?

    Yes. The tutor, reader questions, research question tool, appraisal checklist, quizzes, flashcards and defense simulation are all available now. Create a free account and try them on your own sources.

Walk into your defense ready

Create a free account and start rehearsing your defense today.

Create a free account ∎