EssayEdge AI

Transform college application essays through structured AI scoring and optional human review. Preserve student voice while delivering actionable feedback.

🎯 Project Overview

EssayEdge AI is a full-stack SaaS platform that helps students improve their college application essays using:

AI-powered analysis (Claude Sonnet & Haiku)
7-dimension rubric scoring (authenticity, reflection, structure, specificity, clarity, mechanics, ethics)
Voice preservation through tone embeddings and comparison
Optional human review from vetted editors
Version tracking to monitor progress across drafts

🏗️ Architecture

Tech Stack

Frontend:

Next.js 14 (App Router)
TypeScript
Tailwind CSS
Shadcn/ui components
Zustand (state management, if needed)

Backend:

Next.js API Routes (serverless)
Prisma ORM
PostgreSQL (via Supabase)

AI/ML:

Anthropic Claude (Sonnet for analysis, Haiku for fast checks)
OpenAI (embeddings for tone comparison)
Structured JSON validation with Zod

Payments:

Stripe Checkout + Webhooks

Auth:

Supabase Auth (email/password)

Hosting:

Vercel (recommended)
Supabase for database + storage

📁 Project Structure

├── app/
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── essays/          # Essay CRUD
│   │   ├── analyze/         # AI analysis endpoint
│   │   ├── rewrite/         # Rewrite suggestions
│   │   ├── stripe/          # Payment checkout
│   │   └── webhook/         # Stripe webhooks
│   ├── dashboard/           # Student dashboard
│   ├── essay/[id]/          # Essay detail page
│   ├── pricing/             # Pricing page
│   ├── login/               # Auth pages
│   ├── signup/
│   └── page.tsx             # Landing page
├── components/
│   ├── ui/                  # Shadcn components
│   ├── essay/               # Essay-specific components
│   ├── dashboard/           # Dashboard components
│   └── landing/             # Landing page components
├── lib/
│   ├── ai/
│   │   ├── analyzer.ts      # Main AI scoring engine
│   │   ├── clients.ts       # AI client setup
│   │   └── prompts.ts       # Prompt templates
│   ├── supabase/            # Supabase client config
│   ├── stripe/              # Stripe config
│   ├── validations/         # Zod schemas
│   └── prisma.ts            # Prisma client
├── prisma/
│   └── schema.prisma        # Database schema
├── types/
│   └── ai.ts                # TypeScript types
└── .env.example             # Environment variables template

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
npm or yarn
PostgreSQL database (Supabase recommended)
Anthropic API key
OpenAI API key
Stripe account

Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd tic-tac-toe

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```

Set up environment variables:

cp .env.example .env.local

Fill in your actual values:

# Supabase
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_url
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your_service_role_key

# AI APIs
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key

# Stripe
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=your_stripe_secret
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=your_stripe_public
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=your_webhook_secret

# Database
DATABASE_URL=your_postgres_connection_string

# App
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

Set up Supabase:
- Create a Supabase project
- Copy the connection string to DATABASE_URL
- The Prisma schema will handle table creation
Initialize the database:
```
npx prisma generate
npx prisma db push
```
Run the development server:
```
npm run dev
```
Open the app: Navigate to http://localhost:3000

Setting Up Stripe Webhooks (Local Development)

Install Stripe CLI:
```
brew install stripe/stripe-cli/stripe
```

Forward webhooks to local server:

stripe listen --forward-to localhost:3000/api/webhook/stripe

Copy the webhook signing secret to .env.local

🎨 Core Features

AI Analysis System

Commons Check (Free)

Fast pass/fail flags
Quick improvement tips
Uses Claude Haiku (fast & cheap)

Full Analysis (AI Pro)

7-dimension rubric scoring (0-6 scale each)
Weighted overall score (0-100)
Detailed rationales for each dimension
Top 5 targeted fixes
Outline and sentence-level suggestions
School-fit analysis
Tone preservation check

Rewrite Suggestions

Paragraph-level rewrites
Voice preservation notes
Multiple goal types (intro, specificity, goals, tone, structure)

Rubric Dimensions

Authenticity/Voice (20%) - Does it sound like the student?
Reflection/Insight (20%) - Shows growth and self-awareness?
Narrative Structure (15%) - Clear beginning, middle, end?
Specificity & School Fit (15%) - Concrete details and school alignment?
Clarity & Style (10%) - Easy to read and engaging?
Mechanics (10%) - Grammar, spelling, punctuation?
Ethics/Originality (10%) - Authentic work, no red flags?

Pricing Tiers

Package	Price	Features
Free	$0	1 Commons Check (650 words max)
AI Lite	$9	Commons Check + basic rubric + 5 fixes
AI Pro (Single)	$29	Full rubric + rewrites + school-fit + tone check
AI Pro (Monthly)	$49/mo	Up to 6 essays per month
Human Lite	$79	1 professional review (48h turnaround)
Human Full (1)	$129	1 in-depth review with revision
Human Full (3)	$279	3 review rounds
Human Full (5)	$399	5 review rounds (complete coaching)

📊 Database Schema

See prisma/schema.prisma for the complete schema.

Key models:

User - Students, reviewers, admins
Essay - Essay metadata (type, prompt, school, word limit)
EssayVersion - Versioned essay content
AIAnalysis - AI analysis results
CommonsFlag - Individual flag results
Rewrite - Rewrite suggestions
Order - Payment records
Review - Human review assignments
Reviewer - Reviewer profiles

🔐 Security & Privacy

All essays encrypted at rest (Supabase default)
Essays NOT used to train models (unless opted in)
Age gate: 16+ for MVP (avoids COPPA complexity)
PII minimized
Parental consent flow ready for <16 users
Data retention: 18 months (configurable)
Export and deletion self-serve

🧪 Testing

AI Analysis Test:

# Create a test essay via API
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/essays \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -d '{
    "type": "PERSONAL_STATEMENT",
    "promptText": "Discuss a challenge...",
    "content": "When I was twelve..."
  }'

# Run analysis
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/analyze \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -d '{
    "versionId": "<version_id>",
    "analysisType": "full"
  }'

📈 Deployment

Vercel (Recommended)

Connect your repo to Vercel
Add environment variables in Vercel dashboard
Deploy

Database Migrations

# Generate migration
npx prisma migrate dev --name your_migration_name

# Apply migrations in production
npx prisma migrate deploy

Stripe Webhook Setup (Production)

Go to Stripe Dashboard → Webhooks
Add endpoint: https://your-domain.com/api/webhook/stripe
Select events: checkout.session.completed, checkout.session.expired, charge.refunded
Copy signing secret to production env vars

🛠️ Development Workflow

Create feature branch
Make changes
Test locally
Run Prisma generate if schema changed
Push and deploy

📝 API Documentation

Essays

Create Essay

POST /api/essays
Body: {
  type: EssayType,
  promptText: string,
  targetSchool?: string,
  wordLimit?: number,
  content: string
}

Get Essays

GET /api/essays
Returns: { essays: Essay[] }

Analysis

Run Analysis

POST /api/analyze
Body: {
  versionId: string,
  analysisType: 'commons_check' | 'full',
  toneSample?: string
}

Rewrites

Generate Rewrites

POST /api/rewrite
Body: {
  versionId: string,
  goals: string[],
  toneSample?: string
}

Payments

Create Checkout Session

POST /api/stripe/checkout
Body: {
  package: PackageType,
  essayId?: string
}
Returns: { sessionId: string, url: string }

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 93 Commits
app		app
components		components
docs		docs
lib		lib
prisma		prisma
public		public
scripts		scripts
supabase		supabase
types		types
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
SUPABASE_SETUP.md		SUPABASE_SETUP.md
TECHNICAL_SPEC.md		TECHNICAL_SPEC.md
eslint.config.mjs		eslint.config.mjs
middleware.ts		middleware.ts
next.config.ts		next.config.ts
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
postcss.config.mjs		postcss.config.mjs
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

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EssayEdge AI

🎯 Project Overview

🏗️ Architecture

Tech Stack

📁 Project Structure

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Installation

Setting Up Stripe Webhooks (Local Development)

🎨 Core Features

AI Analysis System

Rubric Dimensions

Pricing Tiers

📊 Database Schema

🔐 Security & Privacy

🧪 Testing

📈 Deployment

Vercel (Recommended)

Database Migrations

Stripe Webhook Setup (Production)

🛠️ Development Workflow

📝 API Documentation

Essays

Analysis

Rewrites

Payments

🎯 Roadmap

MVP (Weeks 1-2) ✅

v1 (Weeks 3-4)

v2 (Future)

🤝 Contributing

📄 License

📧 Support

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