Client Project · Case Study

PEEL Detective

Turning writing practice into a detective game

An AI-powered writing platform we're building for a school, so students practice the PEEL essay technique (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) by solving crime-scene mysteries instead of filling out worksheets, with feedback in seconds instead of days.

Client Project

Built for a school, under our software development service

Solo, AI-Assisted

One developer, built with AI-assisted coding

~6 Weeks

Planned build, from kickoff to launch

Pre-Launch

In final development now

The Challenge

Marking is slow, and the moment passes

Teaching the PEEL technique consistently is one of the most effective ways to improve student writing, but it's also one of the most labor-intensive to teach at scale. A teacher marking a class set of PEEL paragraphs by hand can spend hours on written feedback, and students often see it days later, once the lesson has moved on. Worksheets and essay prompts don't hold a reluctant writer's attention either, and without a consistent record of progress, it's hard to tell who actually needs extra support.

WHAT WE BUILT FOR STUDENTS

A mystery to solve, not a worksheet to fill in

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    Students pick a crime scenario from a growing library and investigate the clues before writing.
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    A structured writing space guides them through each PEEL section as they type.
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    AI reviews the submission in seconds, scoring all four PEEL elements out of five, twenty total.
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    Feedback explains exactly where the reasoning broke down, plus a model answer to compare against.
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    Students can revise and resubmit, or move on to a new scenario, with progress tracked over time.

What We Built For Teachers

Built to save time, not add to the pile

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    See every student's submissions, scores, and feedback for any scenario.
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    Spot class-wide weak spots, for example, if most students are struggling with “Explain.”
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    Track individual progress over time, including best scores and most-improved areas.
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    Write and publish a brand-new crime scenario in under five minutes, no technical skill needed.
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    Download progress reports to share with parents or school leadership.

The PEEL Learning Module

A refresher before students dive in

Before attempting a scenario, students can work through a built-in module that breaks down each PEEL element, with three sample answers at different quality levels and an explanation of why each one scored the way it did, plus an optional video walkthrough of the technique.

How It's Being Built

Solo development, AI-assisted

PEEL Detective is being built by a single developer using AI-assisted coding, the same approach behind our AI-Assisted Software Development service, which keeps a six-week build timeline realistic without a large team. Every AI-generated piece of the platform is reviewed and tested before it ships, with the same security and data-handling standards we'd apply to any client project. Faster and more affordable than a traditional build, without cutting corners on quality.

Where Things Stand

In final development, ahead of launch

PEEL Detective is in final development now, with the first batch of crime scenarios being written ahead of a trial with real teachers and students. It's on track to launch at peeldetective.com, and we'll add real classroom results here once students have used it, rather than lead with projections.

Building something for education, or another industry?

Tell us what you're building. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.