Write the World launches Clara, AI writing assistant for teens and schools worldwide
Clara uses question-based prompts to support students’ creativity and critical thinking while maintaining their own voice.
Write the World, a global nonprofit, founded at Harvard and focused on developing writing and critical thinking skills for teenagers, has introduced Clara, an AI writing assistant for students aged 13 to 19.
Clara is designed to guide students by asking targeted questions that encourage reflection, organization, and analysis, rather than generating text on their behalf.
Available on the Write the World platform, Clara uses a Socratic approach to help students develop and refine ideas, structure their work, and improve clarity and coherence.
Brittany Collins, Director of Education at Write the World, says, “Unlike chat-based AI tools that write for students, Clara supports teen writers by bringing out their creativity and unique voice. Clara is a writing companion that asks relevant, personalized questions to promote metacognition, analytical thinking, and creativity. It empowers teens to be authentic, confident, and competent writers.”
Feedback to improve writing confidence
Clara engages directly with students’ drafts, offering prompts such as, “What specific emotions or themes do you want to evoke with this setting?” and “How do you plan to support your analysis with examples from the text?” It is designed to help students work through brainstorming, drafting, research, and revision without outsourcing the writing process.
The tool supports a wide range of writing types, including essays, reports, creative writing, and journalism, and focuses on helping students improve structure, audience connection, grammar, tone, and flow.
Benjamin Klieger, who created Clara while at Stanford University Online High School, explains that it was developed to address gaps in timely feedback for students. “I had an experience where I wrote an essay and had to submit a rough draft followed by a final draft. However, it was only after the final draft was submitted that I received constructive feedback on my rough draft,” he says. “Instead of being an infallible source of answers, you can critically engage in a dialogue with Clara and push back on its feedback.”
More than 200 teenagers in pilot programs tested Clara before its release, with users reporting that the tool helped them think more deeply about their work and improve their writing.
Classroom version available for schools
Write the World is also offering Clara for Classrooms through a subscription model for middle and high schools. This version integrates with Google Docs, enabling teachers to provide differentiated support while reducing time spent on grading. It can be used across writing assignments in different subjects, from personal narratives and analysis essays to science reports.
David Weinstein, founder of Write the World, says, “Today, teachers are wrestling with how to integrate AI tools into the classroom as a constructive resource that spurs creativity and authentic ideas—how to fight against the risk of cognitive outsourcing to technology. We believe Clara uniquely returns the thinking and writing process to the lived experiences of students.”
Weinstein adds, “Clara unlocks the authentic voices of teen writers, helps them become critical thinkers, and promotes ethical values for AI use throughout the learning process.”