Learn · See · Use

Learn your words, see how writers use theirs — and write with your own.

Learn the words you need to know, see how writers use words in classic books, then write sentences and essay answers that AI marks.

Signing up needs a code from your teacher or from us. AI marking is paid for with in-app credits.

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Dashboard (sample)

YOUR WORD SKILLS

Reading Pack: The Creation Question

Tap any skill to see the words you missed

Each word's latest answer:RightMissedNot tried yet

With a reading pack, Daily Practice fills in Spotting, Remembering and Using. Word Building fills in as you add prefixes and suffixes to make new words.

Learn your words

Your vocabulary list comes from your class, a reading pack or words you save, and words you studied earlier come back for review.

Dashboard (sample)

YOUR WORD SKILLS

Reading Pack: The Creation Question

Tap any skill to see the words you missed

Each word's latest answer:RightMissedNot tried yet

With a reading pack, Daily Practice fills in Spotting, Remembering and Using. Word Building fills in as you add prefixes and suffixes to make new words.

Target VocabularySee exampleClose
Target Vocabulary (example)

  • A feeling of great warmth, passion, or enthusiasm for something.

    Source Context

    My ardour was indeed the astonishment of the students, and my proficiency that of the masters.

    — Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus

    I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.

    — Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus

See how writers use them

Read classics by Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle in the app, and tap any word to look up its meaning. Learn figurative devices such as simile and metaphor, then name the device in passages.

Reader (example)

Frankenstein · Chapter 1

…Everything was made to yield to her wishes and her convenience. He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind and to surround her with all that could tend to excite pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind. Her health, and even the tranquillity of her hitherto constant spirit, had been shaken by what she had gone through. During the two years that had elapsed previous to their marriage my father had gradually relinquished all his public functions…

Purple sentences use figurative language, like metaphors and similes. Tap one to find out more.

In this example, tap an underlined word or the purple sentence. Tap T to change the text size, the font and the colours. Looking up a word’s meaning is free.

Figurative devicesSee exampleClose
Figurative devices (example)

Foundation Quiz: Before You Start

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.

e.g. "Her smile was like sunshine."

The words 'like' or 'as' are usually present.

Free to practise.

Write with your own words

In a world where AI writes fluently, the words you know are yours.

Write sentences with the words you're learning, and answer set essay questions paragraph by paragraph. AI marks your writing and tells you what works, what to fix and how to improve. AI marking is paid for with in-app credits, and more credits cost real money.

Sentence marking (example)

fatalistic

“The soldier took a fatalistic view of the world, so he ignored the danger and never took responsibility.”

PARTIAL CREDIT (+10 XP)

Your sentence shows you understand 'fatalistic' through its effects, but doesn't explain what it means. Read moreShow less

Your sentence shows you understand 'fatalistic' through its effects — the soldier's indifference to danger is a plausible consequence of fatalistic belief. However, a reader who doesn't know the word wouldn't learn its meaning from your sentence alone, because you describe what a fatalist does (avoids responsibility) rather than what fatalism is (believing events are predetermined). Try adding a phrase that defines the belief, such as 'believing that all events are predetermined by fate'.

Tip to reach full marks: Try adding 'believing that all events are predetermined by fate' to show the meaning directly.

Deep Dive: Context Clues and Definitions Tap to exploreClose

When explaining a difficult word, you must provide a definition or strong context clue that describes what the word MEANS, not just a result or effect of it.

Corrected Version

“He took a fatalistic view of the world, believing that all events were predetermined by fate and could not be changed.”

Why This Works

I changed the second half to focus on the actual definition. 'Fatalistic' describes believing the future is already decided. Your original said he didn't take responsibility, which is a RESULT of being fatalistic, not the definition.

Model Examples

  • “She felt fatalistic about the result, convinced that everything was already decided by fate and nothing could change it.”
  • “He had a fatalistic attitude, meaning he believed that all outcomes were predetermined and no effort could alter them.”

Marked by AI, paid with in-app credits.

Essay markingSee exampleClose
Essay marking (example)

How does Shelley make us pity the creature?

Paragraph Scores (Supported level)

Paragraph 14.2/5
  • Point5/5
  • Evidence4/5
  • Explanation4/5
  • Link4/5

Your point that loneliness turns the creature cruel is your strongest reading. You wrote “every door that closes on him makes him crueller”, and your quotation backs it up. Your last sentence repeats your point instead of linking it to pity. A stronger last sentence might read: “This makes us [what we feel], because [your own reason].” How does his cruelty change what we feel for him?

Paragraph 23.1/5
  • Point4/5
  • Evidence4/5
  • Explanation2/5
  • Link3/5

You chose a quotation that fits your point. But this paragraph mostly retells the story: you wrote “Felix attacks him and he runs back to his hovel.” A stronger sentence might read: “The word ‘[a word from your quotation]’ makes us pity him because [your own reason].” Which words in your quotation make us pity him most?

Paragraph 33.45/5
  • Point4/5
  • Evidence4/5
  • Explanation3/5
  • Link3/5

You chose a strong quotation for Victor's horror at what he has made. You wrote “Victor calls him a wretch, which shows he hates him.” That says what the word means, but not what it makes us feel. A stronger sentence might read: “When Victor calls him a ‘wretch’, we [what we feel], because [your own reason].” Why might Shelley have Victor use that word?

Words in [brackets] are gaps for you to fill with your own argument.

Essay Evaluation28/40 (70%)

  • Argument Coherence8/10Your argument builds clearly from one paragraph to the next.
  • Evidence Integration8/10Your quotations are well chosen and placed where they do the most work.
  • Analytical Depth6/10You often explain what happens rather than how Shelley's language makes us feel it.
  • Writing Quality6/10Some long sentences lose their thread; try splitting them.

Overall Feedback

Your strongest point links the creature's loneliness to his violence. You wrote that “every door that closes on him makes him crueller”, and your quotation supports it. Your second paragraph retells the story instead of analysing it. Why might Shelley let the creature tell his story in his own words?

Your Quotations

Found in the book “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.”

This check does not change your score. A quotation marked "not found" may be misremembered, from a different edition, or paraphrased — check it against the book.

Paid with in-app credits when you start; marked by AI after you submit.

More for students
See prices

The app starts in Plain English. Prefer the Blade Runner terms? Switch Language Mode in Settings. You can also choose a light or dark theme.

Practise together

Squad up with up to three classmates in live Squad Link sessions.

For teachers and admins

Set the words — your students get the practice, and you see which words your class finds hardest.

Upload word lists and documents (AI prepares their words, paid with your in-app credits), add video links, choose reading packs and set deadlines. Teacher accounts are not open yet: ask us to be among the first.

Teacher Tools

Word Difficulty (example)

  • malignity62% wrong
  • abhorred48% wrong
  • candour35% wrong

Example: a class of 24 reading Frankenstein.

Vocabulary ManagerSee exampleClose
Teacher Tools

Vocabulary Manager (example)

Strand management for Year 9 English

Merge + Create Strand

  • Gothic vocabulary active 24 words Curated
  • Chapters 1–5 active 18 words Curated
  • Exam revision inactive 12 words Manual

Sort the words from your word lists into sets (strands), and edit your group's own words. Only the active sets go into your students' practice of the group's words; an inactive set waits until you switch it on again. This uses no credits.

More for teachers

For parents

WordRunner is built by a parent who wants children's data protected.

Accounts are for ages 13 and up. In the EU, the UK and Switzerland, a child under 16 needs a parent's consent, which we ask for by email.

Planned, not available yet: ideas for helping at home, emailed by your child's teacher.

More for parents

OUR STORY

Who we are

WordRunner began with my daughter's test on vocabulary, grammar and figurative language. I write fluently, but I couldn't explain the rules. So we used AI to write practice sentences and mark her answers, and it worked. We kept building on that idea together, and it grew into WordRunner, named after one of our favourite films, Blade Runner (opens in a new tab).

Every word you master is a replicant (opens in a new tab) retired. That's how a WordRunner operates.

We plan to pilot WordRunner with a school class and with small groups. To ask about taking part, contact us.

Data and safety

  • Learning data stored in Switzerland · AI marking in the EU · sign-in accounts held by Google in the US
  • No advertising trackers, no data sold, and we don't use your answers to train AI
  • Designed to meet Swiss data-protection law and the GDPR

Contact us

Ask for a demo, a class group, or a code to try WordRunner.