Methodology
Transparent calculations, deterministic citation formatting, bounded AI generation and explicit uncertainty.
Calculators
- Core academic formulas live in a shared TypeScript library with automated tests.
- Inputs remain editable so school-specific policies are not hidden inside formulas.
- Letter grades are shown as a reference scale, not as a universal policy.
Citation engine
- APA, MLA, Chicago, AMA, IEEE, ACS, ASA and CSE references are formatted by deterministic TypeScript rules, not generated by an LLM.
- Each style has its own author-list, punctuation, DOI/URL and source-type rules rather than a cosmetic template swap.
- Journal DOI import uses Crossref metadata. The service may also query PubMed/NLM for journal-abbreviation assistance when available.
- Imported metadata remains editable because publisher deposits can contain missing, stale or differently capitalized fields.
- Chicago exposes both Notes & Bibliography bibliography entries and Author-Date reference entries. CSE is explicitly scoped to Citation-Sequence.
- IEEE and ASA book inputs require publisher location because those reference patterns retain it; styles that no longer require it do not insert it.
- Automated tests cover author truncation, DOI normalization, URL punctuation, journal articles, websites, books, book chapters and style-specific location rules.
AI tools
- AI remains disabled until a provider, Turnstile, runtime rate-limit storage and production abuse controls are configured and tested.
- Request bodies and text inputs are size-limited, and server-side validation rejects unknown generator options.
- The current KV hourly counter is an abuse and cost guardrail rather than an accounting system; AI should remain disabled until its production behavior is verified under load.
- Essay feedback is designed to critique rather than write a replacement submission.
- Study tools tell users to verify facts against course material.