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The 5 Best Homework Help Apps You Can Use

General Education

We know that homework can be a real drag. It’s time-consuming, and can be difficult to complete all on your own. So, what can you do if you’re struggling?

You might try looking online or in the app store! If you’ve already looked around you probably know that there are tons of homework sites for students and homework apps out there that all say they can help you improve your grades and pass your classes. But, can you trust them? And what are the best apps for homework help?

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help apps–free and paid . We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help apps
• The cost of homework help apps
• The five best apps for homework help
• The pros and cons of using apps that help you with homework 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using apps that help you with homework
• Tips for getting the most out of homework sites for students 

So let’s jump in!

The Basics About Apps that Help You With Homework–Free and Paid

The bottom line is, homework sites and homework apps are intended to help you complete your take-home assignments successfully. They provide assistance that ranges from answering questions you submit through a portal all the way to one-on-one tutoring, depending on the help you need! 

The big plus for both homework help apps and websites is that they usually offer help on-demand. So if you can’t make it to after school tutoring, or if you're studying late into the night (it happens!), you can still access the help you need! 

If you’re specifically looking for an answer to the question: “what is the best homework help website ?,” you can check out our article on those here! [LINK COMING SOON]

What’s the Difference Between a Homework Help Website and an App?

So if they’re both designed to give you a little boost with your take-home assignments, what makes homework apps and websites different from one another? First off, homework help websites are optimized to be used on a desktop, while apps are designed to be run natively on mobile devices. So depending on which devices you have access to, you may decide to use a website instead of an app…or vice versa! 

The other big difference between homework help apps and websites is that they sometimes offer different features. For instance, with the Photomath app, you’ll be able to submit photos of math problems instead of having to type everything out, which is easier to do by using an app on your phone. 

If you’re trying to decide whether to go with a website or app, the good news is that you may not have to. Some homework help websites also have companion apps, so you can have the best of both worlds!

What Makes a Homework Help App Worth Using

Apps that help you with homework should ideally help you actually learn the material you’re struggling with, and/or help you turn in your work on time. Most of the best apps for homework help allow you to ask questions and provide answers and explanations almost immediately. And like we mentioned earlier, many of these apps let you send a picture of a question or problem instead of writing it all out.

But homework help apps offer more than just quick answers and explanations for your assignment questions. They also offer things like educational videos, lectures, tutorials, practice tests and quizzes, math solving tools, proofreading services, and even Q&A with experts.

And the best part is, most offer these services 24/7! 

What You Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of apps willing to prey on desperate students. Before you download any apps (and especially before you pay to sign up for any services), read reviews of the app to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

Keep in mind: the more a company advertises help that seems like cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. Actual subject matter experts aren’t likely to work with those companies. Remember, the best apps for homework help are going to help you learn the concepts needed to successfully complete your homework on your own. 

If you’re not sure if an app is legitimate, you can also check to see if the app has an honor code about using their services ethically , like this one from Brainly. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” in more detail a little later!) 

How Expensive Are Apps That Help You With Homework?

A word to the wise: just because a homework help app costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. And, just because a homework help app is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best apps, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

Most of the apps out there allow you to download them for free, and provide at least some free services–such as a couple of free questions and answers. Additional services or subscriptions are then charged as in-app purchases. When it comes to in-app purchases and subscriptions for homework help, the prices vary depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to around $60 dollars per month, with the most expensive app subscriptions including some tutoring (which is usually only available through homework help websites.)

The 5 Best Apps for Homework Help

Okay, now that you’re up to speed on what these apps are and how they can help you, we’ll run you through the best five apps you can use. 

Keep in mind that even though we recommend all of these apps, they tend to excel at different things. We’ve broken these apps into categories so that you can pick the best one for your needs! 

Best Free Homework Help App: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

While there are lots of free homework help apps out there, this is our favorite because it actually supports learning, rather than just providing answers. The Khan Academy app works like the website, and offers the same services. It’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your educational needs. 

After you download the app, you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help apps, including several AP classes.

Best Paid Homework Help App: Brainly

• Price: $18 for a 6 month subscription, $24 for a year 
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance 

Brainly is free to download and allows you to type in questions (or snap a pic) and get answers and explanations from both fellow students and teachers. Plus, subject matter experts and moderators verify answers daily, so you know you’re getting quality solutions! The downside is that you’re limited to two free answers per question and have to watch ads for more if you don’t pay for a subscription. 

That said, their subscription fees average around only $2 per month, making this a particularly affordable option if you’re looking for homework help on a budget. Brainly subscriptions not only cover unlimited answers and explanations on a wide variety of school subjects (including Art and World Languages which aren’t always included in other apps), they also provide tutoring in Math and Physics!

Best App for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or up to $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This app allows you to take a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath subscription services also include animated videos that break down mathematical concepts–all the way up to advanced Calculus!--to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic textbook solution service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools, access to one-on-one tutoring, and additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Best App for STEM and English Homework Help: Studypool

• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit
• Best for: Science and English homework help in one app

When it comes to apps for science and English homework help, there aren’t lots of great resources out there, much less out there all in one place. While Grammarly is a good service for proofreading, SparkNotes has some decent summaries, and Khan Academy covers science, the best of the bunch if you need help with both subjects Studypool. Instead of using lots of different apps for STEM and English help, they’re combined together here! But while Studypool has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

The Studypool Q&A model is a little different than other homework help apps. After you create a free account, you ask questions, and tutors submit bids to answer them. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access thousands of notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded.  

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! It’s also not clear how they choose their tutors, so you’ll need to be careful when you decide who you’d like to answer your homework questions. That said, if you only need a few questions answered per month, this could be cheaper than other monthly subscription services.

Best Homework Scheduling App: MyStudyLife

• Best for: Keeping track of your schedule and deadlines

If the reason you’re looking for homework help is less about finding answers to questions and more about needing assistance with organization and time-management , MyStudyLife is a great option. This is a cross-platform planner that allows you to store your class schedule, upcoming tests, and homework assignments in the cloud so you can access it all wherever you are, and on any device. 

One of the unique things about it is that it easily works for daily or weekly rotating class schedules that can get confusing, helping you keep track of when you need to finish your homework based on your changing schedule. You can get reminders for upcoming classes and assignments as well as past-due homework and any revisions you may need to do. It can even let you know when you need to start studying for a big test!

Best of all, you can actually schedule assignments and study sessions for multiple nights, and specify how much of the task you got done each night. That way you’ll know how much additional time you’ll need to spend! 

While homework apps might seem like magic, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before you commit to one. 

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Apps?

Homework help apps can be useful tools if you’re struggling in any of your classes. But there are a few problems you might run into if you don’t use them ethically and responsibly. 

Below we’ll cover some of the good and the not-so-good parts of using homework help apps to complete your take-home assignments.

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Apps

Let’s start with the pros of using apps for homework help.

Pro 1: All-Around Better Grades

This is undeniably the main pro and the reason apps that help you with homework are so popular with students. Not only can you potentially get better grades on individual assignments, because they help you learn tricky concepts, you can also earn better grades overall .

Just keep in mind that if you want better grades you have to actually learn the material you’re studying, not just find easy answers. So be sure to use apps that provide good explanations . That way you’ll have the mental tools you need to succeed on your class exams and on standardized tests for college. 

Pro 2: Flexibility

It’s hard to beat homework help that you can access anywhere you are from your mobile device. You can also get assistance whenever you need it since the best apps offer their services 24/7. This is especially useful for students who need to study during hours when their free school resources aren’t available because of extracurriculars, jobs, or family obligations. 

If you need convenient and flexible homework help or tutoring services to fit your schedule, apps can be your go-to resource. 

Pro 3: Individualized Learning

Sometimes the kind of learner you are doesn’t match your teacher’s style of teaching. Or maybe the pace of a class is a little too fast or too slow for your tastes. Homework apps can help by allowing you to learn at your own speed and in ways that support your own learning style. 

You can use their features, such as educational videos, 24/7 conversations with experts and peers, and tutorials to review concepts you may have forgotten. These apps can also let you dive deeper into topics or subjects you enjoy! With homework help apps, you get to choose what you need to learn and how you learn it.

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Apps

Next, let’s look at the cons of homework help apps. 

Con 1: Questionable Info 

Unfortunately there are lots of less-than-reliable homework help apps out there. They might not hire actual experts in their fields to provide answers and create study tools, or they rely on user-submitted answers that they don’t verify. In those cases, you might not be getting the accurate, thorough, and up-to-date answers you need to really learn.

In addition to the possibility of running into plain-old wrong answers, even the best apps sometimes just won’t have a specific answer you need. This could be because you’re enrolled in an advanced class the app doesn’t really cover or because of the algorithm or chatbot a particular app uses. 

If that’s the case , your best bet will likely be to talk to your teacher or a free tutor (if your school provides them) to get help answering your question.

Con 2: Information Overload

While having tons of information at your fingertips can be helpful, the sheer amount and variety of videos, tutorials, expert answers, and resources a homework app provides can be overwhelming . It’s also easy to get sucked into a research rabbit-hole where you learn new things but don’t actually get your work done. This is especially true for students who tend to be easily distracted.

Additionally, you may be learning to do things differently than you’ve learned them in class , which could cause problems. For example, if your math teacher asks you to solve a problem one way, but you learned to do it differently through an app, you could get confused come test time! 

Con 3: Cutting Corners

There are a lot of apps out there that bill themselves as “the best app for cheating.” They allow users to type in a question or take a picture, then instantly provide an answer without any explanation of the material. Many of these are scams or provide unreliable answers, but not all. Some apps are legitimate and provide quick and easy answers that could allow you to do your whole homework assignment in minutes. 

The problem is that even though taking shortcuts on homework to save time is tempting, it can keep you from really learning. The point of practicing concepts and skills is so you develop them and can access them whenever you need to. This is especially true if skills build on one another, like in a math or English class. 

Sometimes s truggling with an assignment or question, trying, failing, then trying again until you succeed can help you learn difficult material. If you don’t let yourself really try, and instead take too many shortcuts, you may end up behind.

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

When it comes to using homework help apps, sometimes the difference between “help” and “cheating” is really clear. For example, if you’re using an app to get answers while you’re taking a test, that’s definitely cheating . But what if you’re struggling with a math problem and need to know the correct answer so you can work backwards to learn the process? Is that “cheating” or is it “help?” 

The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” If you’re not sure, you can always check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if you’re relying on an app to do all of the work for you, there’s a good chance using it might constitute cheating. 

Think of it this way: say you’re studying for an upcoming math test, and are stumped by a few of the questions on the study guide. Even though you’ve tried and tried, you can’t seem to get the right answer because you can’t remember the steps to take. Using an app to explain the steps as you’re studying is “help.” Using the app to get answers so you can make a good homework grade is “cheating.” 

The same is true for other subjects: brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also “help,” provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or learning to produce your own answers, it’s probably cheating. 

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help App for You

If you’re serious about using a homework help app, our expert tips can help you pick one that’s right for you and your budget!

#1: Decide What Tools You Need to Succeed 

While most apps offer Q&A services, the best apps provide study tools to help you learn the material you need to learn . 

For instance, if you’re a visual learner, you might need an app that provides lots of videos. If you learn best by reading, an app that provides lots of in-depth written resources might be better for you. Or, if you learn best by actually doing things, look for an app that provides practice tests and quizzes, along with explanations for correct and incorrect answers.

Before committing to an app, take a quick survey of the tools they offer users to make sure they meet your unique learning needs. 

#2: Decide Which Subjects You Need to Study

Not all homework apps are created equal. One might provide tutoring in math and science, but no proofreading services to help you with writing. Another might be perfect for American History, but what you really need help with is your Spanish class. So, before you can decide which app is best for you, make sure to create a list of the subjects you need the most help in.

#3: Do Your Research

As we’ve said before, there are tons of homework apps in the app store to choose from, and the most important thing you can do is research what they offer students. Services, prices for those services, and subjects that the apps cover all vary, so it’s important that you look into your options. We’ve compiled our all-around favorite (and reliable) apps here, but it’s still a good idea to do your own research to find out what might meet your individual needs best.

#4: Learn Why People Like and Dislike the App

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “buyer beware?” It means that the person buying something should check for quality before actually handing over their money. This applies to both free and paid homework apps, but especially those that actually cost money.

Before you download anything, be sure to read the user reviews . While all apps will have both positive and negative reviews, you want to look for one that has more positive than negative. And if you’re considering paying for a service, be sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

#5: Budget Yourself

If you find a paid app that provides the learning tools you need, covers the subjects you need to study, and that has good reviews overall, set a budget to pay for it before you hit that “install” button. The costs for paid homework apps vary, and especially if you’re using one that requires you to pay for individual questions or services, the prices can add up quickly. So make sure there’s money for it in your budget before you commit!

What’s Next?

If you’re not quite sure why you’re struggling with homework, or want to know how you can do your homework as quickly as possible , check out this list of 15 expert homework tips and tricks to make your life a little bit easier!

Effective studying requires the right balance of concentration, understanding, retention and rest. So if you need help striking that balance, read these 16 tips for better study habits in both the short and long-term.

Getting good grades is about more than just answering questions correctly on your assignments. It also requires planning ahead and participation. In this article we cover the academic survival strategies that can help you throughout high school .

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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9 Best Homework Help Websites

July 22, 2023

When I was in high school, resources for extra homework help weren’t exactly abundant. If you were struggling with a Shakespeare sonnet, you could always run to the bookstore and pick up a CliffNotes guide. SparkNotes was also gaining in popularity. But these early homework help resources had limited catalogs and were focused primarily on literature. Today, I imagine students suffer from the opposite problem—having too many choices when it comes to homework help websites. When the options are seemingly endless, knowing what to look out for takes on an added importance. Below, I’ll go through a list of 9 stand-out homework help websites and briefly discuss what makes them worth a visit.

Homework Help Websites – The Basics

The best homework help websites do more than just spit out an answer to that tricky math problem. They actually help students learn the material. Common features of homework help websites are educational videos and lectures, practice tests and quizzes, study tools like flashcards, and Q&As with experts. Many sites offer features that allow students to ask specific questions and get real-time feedback. There are also a number of services that offer one-on-one tutoring. Some homework help sites are free, while others require a paid subscription.

1) Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an amazing resource for students of all ages. It’s free, and it really is an academy—it offers full courses in a wide array of subjects, from pre-K math to high school physics. The courses consist of readings, video lectures, practice exercises, and quizzes. The breadth of material is impressive. In math alone, I see course listings for Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Statistics, Multivariable calculus—you get the idea. Khan Academy also offers a wide variety of AP courses, state-specific curricula, test-prep programs, and life skill courses, like personal finance.

It’s important to note that Khan Academy isn’t a one-on-one tutoring platform. But because of their extensive library of material, the search function is especially powerful. Try it out. I did a search for argumentative essay help, and found a comprehensive guide to writing argumentative essays that was a part of a larger writing course.

Chegg is a paid homework help service. Unlike Khan Academy, Chegg isn’t built around specific courses. Rather, it offers a variety of homework-support resources. Among those resources are plagiarism and grammar checkers, a proofreading service, and a “math solver”, which allows students to enter a problem and get back both a solution and a detailed step-by-step explanation of how the problem was solved. Perhaps the most powerful tool Chegg offers is its “Expert Q&A” feature. This service allows students to take a picture of their homework problem, upload it to the site, and get a detailed response in return. Chegg’s emphasis on process and explanation make it a valuable educational resource for students—not just a way to get a quick answer.

Best Homework Help Websites (Continued)

Quizlet is a well-known and worthwhile study resource. It offers a variety of courses, and it also has an expert-response feature. But Quizlet’s best feature, in my option, is the flashcards tool. Students can create their own digital decks of cards and practice them on Quizlet—just like an old fashion set of index cards. I had a ton of success using Quizlet’s flash card feature to help me memorize words for my foreign language requirement in college. It’s a simple but powerful tool. Although often maligned as a learning method, rote rehearsal and spaced repetition are effective ways to encode information . Quizlet’s flashcard feature is a great way to put those techniques into practice.

4) Socratic

is an AI-powered homework support app that allows students to type or take pictures of questions and receive solutions right away. Since it works with AI, it relies on the web’s vast stores of accumulated knowledge—you’re not interacting with a human tutor. Nonetheless, I found it to be an extremely helpful tool. I tried it out first using a specific math problem. In just a few seconds I was provided with the solution and an explainer with relevant formulas, plus a graphic to help visualize the underlying logic. There were also suggested links to additional resources. For example, when I asked Socratic to explain how the German genitive case works, it suggested a YouTube video and a number of articles from blogs and other language-learning sites.

Since Socratic doesn’t feature courses or one-on-one tutoring support, I wouldn’t lean on it if I were really struggling in a particular class. But as a tool to check your work, make sure you’re on the right track, and become aware of additional resources, it’s worth a download.

5) Photomath

Photomath is, as you might have guessed, a site for math homework help. Like other homework help websites, Photomath allows students to take a picture of a problem and receive an instant, step-by-step solution. Included along with the solution is an explanation of relevant concepts and formulas, plus videos covering mathematical concepts. Photomath does offer a few basic courses, too. So if in addition to homework-specific help you want to brush up on the basics, they’ve got you covered in arithmetic, algebra, and calculus crash courses.

6) Studypool

Studypool is a paid homework support service that provides solutions to specific questions. Studypool offers support in all the major subjects, with a particular emphasis on science. Students can ask questions on everything from anatomy to physics. Like other services, students upload their exact questions or problems directly to the site. But Studypool’s payment model is a bit different: instead of paying for tutoring time or a monthly subscription, students pay for solutions to each question they submit. When a student submits a question, tutors submit bids to answer them. The student then can select which tutor/price option works best. After students select the price and tutor they want, they’re connected with the tutor and given the solution and explanation via messenger.

The draw of Studypool is that it gives students access to real (i.e., human) tutors who are experts in their field. The downside is that pricing isn’t transparent, and students pay per question.

7) College Info Geek

College Info Geek is the study-support website that I wish I knew about when I was in high school and college (they didn’t pay me to write that, I swear). The site focuses not on specific courses or questions, but on how to become a more effective learner. Here it’s all about “learning how to learn”—study tips, memorization and note-taking techniques, and much more. The articles are well-researched, clearly-communicated, practical, and comprehensive. For example, the article on how to improve your memory includes a breakdown of the different types of memory processes, memorization techniques, and even a discussion of how nutrition affects memory. College Info Geek is a great resource for everyone, not just high school and college students.

8) SparkNotes

Yes, Sparknotes made the list! The site offers lessons in a whole bunch of subjects—biology, chemistry, computer science, history, philosophy, math—but its specialty is literature. SparkNotes provides summaries and analyses of novels, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction, from The Canterbury Tales to Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow, and Junot Diaz. SparkNotes breaks down books into sub-sections and provides synopses and analyses for each section. There are also separate pages for character breakdowns, discussions of themes and motifs, and explanations of important quotes. I’d caution against using SparkNotes if you’re trying to “hack” a novel or poem and get simple answers about what it “means.” But as a way to supplement your own understanding and interpretation, it’s a great resource. Shmoop is also worth checking out for extra support in literature, poetry, mythology, and the history of literary movements.

9) Grammarly

I’m not sure if Grammarly is an obvious or unexpected choice to round out the list. Either way, it deserves a mention here. Grammarly is a writing tool. It checks and suggests corrections for incorrectly spelled words and misused punctuation. But Grammarly also scans and corrects for things like clarity and vocab usage. It flags sentences that are vague, or overly wordy, and alerts you if you’re using that flashy vocab word incorrectly. It even gives suggestions if it thinks your writing is a bit bland. I don’t see Grammarly as a crutch, but rather as a tool. It can help you master those pesky recurring grammar and usage issues. Always mix up effect and affect? Grammarly will continue to course correct until you’ve got it down yourself.

Homework Help Websites – Final Thoughts

None of the above homework help websites should be seen as a panacea. Each has benefits and drawbacks, strengths and weak points. The list is far from exhaustive. And the sites don’t have to be used in isolation. Try a few out, mix and match. College Info Geek is an excellent supplement to any study regimen. Socratic can be used as a tool to check answers for math homework, and at the same time you can use Grammarly to describe your problem to a tutor on Chegg. At their best, these sites are more than quick fixes to stubborn homework problems—they’re aids to genuine learning.

Additional Resources

You should also check out College Transitions’ “ High School Success ” blogs for help with a number of common high school assignments, including:

• Lord of the Flies Summary & Analysis 
• The Great Gatsby and The American Dream
• Analysis of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” Speech
• Robert Frost’s Road Not Taken Analysis 
• High School Success

Dane Gebauer

Dane Gebauer is a writer and teacher living in Miami, FL. He received his MFA in fiction from Columbia University, and his writing has appeared in Complex Magazine and Sinking City Review .

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How do I ask and answer homework questions?

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• asking-questions
• 28 Also some may be interested in adding Open letter to students with homework problems . Markdown: [Open letter to students with homework problems](https://softwareengineering.meta.stackexchange.com/q/6166) –  iBug Commented Apr 12, 2021 at 11:01
• 21 Markdown link for this Q&A - [How do I ask and answer homework questions?](https://meta.stackoverflow.com/q/334822) (Please do not delete this comment again!) –  Stephen C Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 6:33
• 1 @StephenC You could just edit the question and add it there. There is precedent... –  Heretic Monkey Commented Jun 7, 2022 at 17:58
• 5 No thanks. There is also precedent for people 1) adding the cut-and-paste link to the question, 2) flagging the comment for removal and then 3) someone else edits the question to remove the link! Look at the history of this question. Just leave it alone. –  Stephen C Commented Jun 7, 2022 at 23:01

2 Answers 2

The community has mixed feelings about homework questions. While some feel that students should be able to get an answer to any question they want to ask, others feel that Stack Overflow is not a place for homework questions at all.

This is an attempt to reconcile these two extreme positions in a way that is acceptable to the majority of the community. Note that this post is not the official position of the Stack Overflow administrators, but rather a community-edited effort to provide clear guidelines on how to respond to homework. Individual community members should, of course, use their own judgment.

The guidelines outlined below are rooted in two principles:

It is okay to ask about homework. For one, it would be impossible to stop it all, even if we wanted to. Stack Overflow exists to help programmers learn and provide a standard repository for programming problems, both simple and complex, and this includes helping students.

Providing an answer that doesn't help a student learn is not in the student's own best interest. Therefore, you might choose to treat homework questions differently than other questions.

Asking about homework

Make a good faith attempt to solve the problem yourself first. Users here respond negatively if your question gives them the impression that you're asking them to do your work for you. On the other hand, questions that ask about a specific issue that you're having a problem with usually receive a much better response.

Ask about specific problems with your existing implementation. If you can't do that yet, try some more of your own work first or searching for more general help; your professor is likely to be a better resource at this stage than Stack Overflow.

Search for already-existing questions about your issue. Try using both the Stack Overflow site search and your favorite search engine. Most search engines allow you to limit results to a single site. For example, you can search Stack Overflow on Google . Definitely try searching for your title and/or the keywords in your title, along with the language tag for the language your question is working with. Look through at least the first several results. People tend to respond negatively if they can easily find a duplicate to your question, particularly if they can do so by just searching for your question's title...

Help us understand your baseline. Broad pleas for help like "I have no idea where to start" are problematic, because we can't know your starting level. If you are new to programming, or the specific programming language or system platform you are trying to use, and can't even write or run a simple "Hello world" program, concentrate on solving that in isolation, and return to your actual assignment only when you have solved that. Past that point, it might help to explain the purpose of the course or mention topics you have been taught recently. Do you know how to assign a value to a variable? Do you know how to loop over a range of numbers? Tell us what you already know, and tell us what you already searched for or looked at, and why those resources were not helpful for you.

Be aware of school policy. If your school has a policy regarding outside help on homework, make sure you are aware of it before you ask for/receive help on Stack Overflow. If there are specific restrictions (for example, you can receive help, but not full code samples), include them in the question so that those providing assistance can keep you out of trouble. Note that vandalism and/or edits to questions that invalidate existing answers are against policy. Attempts to hide your question after you've received an answer will not be successful and will make it harder for you to get answers to future questions. See also: I've rethought my question about a homework assignment—why can't I get it deleted?

Never use code you don't understand. It definitely won't help you later (after school, in later assignments, on tests, etc.), and it could be, at best, very embarrassing if you are asked to explain the code you turned in.

Understand the difference between "asking a question about your homework" and "asking a specific question about the code in your homework". You should never ask a question about your homework, because more often than not, it will not meet the recommendations in the rest of these guidelines. Instead, ask about the code you wrote to solve your homework problem and be specific with the inputs, desired outputs, and error messages. It is ideal if you take your code and create a minimal, reproducible example instead of pasting your entire code, especially if it is a long code block.

Answering and moderating homework questions

Try to provide an explanation that will lead the asker in the correct direction. Genuine understanding is the real goal for students, but trying to provide that is usually appreciated for any question.

Focus on the explanation rather than providing full source code. A student is more likely to learn from clear steps and proper explanation rather than ready-made code. However, if a code example will help understand the solution, don't stop yourself from providing one.

Recognize that homework is likely to include artificial constraints , and honor those constraints. Also, be aware that these constraints may affect whether a question should be closed as a duplicate. That said, there is nothing wrong with also including information in your answer about how the problem would normally be solved in the real world. It's helpful for students to learn real-world patterns, and this also makes your answer more useful to future readers.

"Lack of effort" is not a reason to close questions . If a homework question shows no good faith effort, you may cast a downvote and refrain from answering, but this is not—in itself—a close reason. (Obviously, if the question does not ask a question, is unclear, does not provide sufficient information to allow it to be answered, and/or answering it would require writing an entire book, then it should still be closed for the appropriate reason .)

Failure to comply with these guidelines is not a reason to downvote an answer. Naturally, if the answer is incorrect, low quality, poorly explained, and/or something that you would downvote anyway, then it is fine to do so. Remember that it's not always obvious at first glance that a question is homework, especially when you're not expecting to see it here. You can, according to your judgment, leave comments on the answer with suggestions on how to improve it.

Don't ridicule a student because they haven't yet learned something obvious or developed the good habits you'd expect from a seasoned programmer. Do add a respectful comment or answer that points them towards best practices and better style.

It's okay to ask if a question is homework if it would help you write a better answer , but always be polite .

• 53 I agree, but often a question on homework is just the homework, only a quote of the assignment. If people wrote real questions about how to solve the problem, maybe we would help with more homework problems. These people make all homework problems look bad in the eyes of the community. –  CATboardBETA Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 14:20
• 28 If everyone fallowed the "Make a good faith attempt to solve the problem yourself first" rule, we wouldn't need to delete half as many posts. –  Anonymous Commented Mar 14, 2021 at 2:42
• 18 Never use code you don't understand. -- I used to be on another site, where if anyone who asked the typical, lazy homework question became a nuisance (for example, insulted persons who asked for more details), it was customary to give the answer to them. The only caveat, and unaware to the homework beggar, was that the answer used advanced techniques that no beginner would know of. The goal was to see if the beggar ran off with the advanced solution and handed it in to the teacher. Or sometimes, the code was obfuscated, but gave the correct output anyway. –  PaulMcKenzie Commented Jul 13, 2021 at 5:20
• 11 I think part of the problem is the on-boarding process of new people - they don't know what the site is about, or the general standard of quality. They sign up, paste code, add half a sentence, and press post. Then they get rejected and think SO's filled with assholes. There should be an modal saying "before you post, have you read How to Ask ?" before the first question. SO is supposed to be a repository of Q&As, that's why we're flagging questions as duplicates: no question should be asked twice. So care needs to be taken when asking your question. I think many newbies don't know any of this. –  Nearoo Commented Nov 12, 2021 at 18:04
• 4 I think that the best way to address a homework question is: if the OP provided code and wrote a good question just answer it as you normally would, if he just asked how to solve something don't give them a single line of code, try to describe the steps he should take in an easy and comprehensible way and to point him in the right direction so that he understands what he has to study or look for to accomplish the assignment. This would help the student definitely more than making his homework and more than downvoting the question into oblivion. –  Fabio R. Commented Dec 2, 2021 at 11:31
• 2 @Nearoo I think that a similar modal would just get ignored, maybe a better feature would be a FAQ quiz before you can post your first question so that the user is forced to at least read them. Another idea could be to force new users (maybe based on rep) to compile a question template instead of the free box that we have now, so that new users can get used to the correct way of asking a question before letting them write whatever they want –  Fabio R. Commented Dec 2, 2021 at 11:34
• 3 There is also a whole industry for paid homework (e.g., through Fiverr . Or more organised—they even say so directly—I quote: "You can submit your homework by simply clicking the 'Assignment submission' option and following the steps to submit your homework." ). The creation of accounts and submitting the commissioned homework may even be automated by bots, etc. That is, the homework is submitted on the behalf of somebody else. This falls under academic dishonesty. –  Peter Mortensen Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 15:08
• 5 Accommodating such questions in their raw form incentivizes laziness and poor academic habits, and dilutes the worth of this forum. Let's not entirely do someone else's work for them. It is a different story if someone has made an effort to understand the concept(s) involved, and is asking a specific question or having a specific problem in regard to integrating the concept(s) into their solution. Making such an effort would most often lead to a post that doesn't look like a homework question in the first place. We need to flag and close questions that don't display any such effort. –  Pat Jones Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 22:53
• 3 Here is (effectively) an admission that Stack Overflow is being used for paid homework (read the comment thread. And the linked questions). –  Peter Mortensen Commented May 6, 2022 at 9:21
• Would it be worth adding a link to How to debug small programs by Eric Lippert to this answer? –  wjandrea Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 15:30
• 1 @wjandrea While that link is a popular canonical resource, it is pretty specific to compiled languages. I have been thinking for a long time that something like this should exist for Python, PHP, etc. –  tripleee Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 18:19
• @tripleee Good point. When I've reviewed it myself WRT Python questions, in my head I've translated the concepts, like "your program actually compiles" to "your program doesn't have a syntax error" and "compiler warnings" to "interpreter warnings". –  wjandrea Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 18:55

FWIW, I teach a programming class, and have the following policy:

Programming is a "team sport," and it is good for you to talk with each other about ideas on how to confront the problems, and look to the Internet and other sources for ideas. Nevertheless, the work you hand in with your name on it should represent work that you did. If you work with others to complete your lab, list those people with your source code. Also, if you get code from an online resource, list the URL with the lab, and credit where you got the code from. This is a common courtesy and a legal requirement, even for free, open-source software. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Work that is apparent plagiarism may receive little or no credit.

• 48 You should add a parenthetical: "(<I/Your grader> knows how to use google, too.)" After only a semester of grading Automata homework, it was really easy to separate the googlers from the people who actually did their homework. –  Greg D Commented Oct 23, 2008 at 19:11
• 25 That's an incredibly lenient policy on plagiarism. My school had an automatic 'zero' for anything that included plagiarism and any cheating was reported to the dean of the college. On a second offense students could be removed from the program. –  jsl4980 Commented Oct 23, 2008 at 20:26
• 9 Well, where I am is further down in the academic chain such that we see the students as "customers." –  JohnMcG Commented Oct 23, 2008 at 20:28
• 2 I agree with jsl4980, plagiarism should be handled aggressively (my college expelled students for the first offense. That said, I think having guidelines like this that make clear limits on what's in and what's out are very helpful for avoiding plagiarism in the first place. –  acrosman Commented Oct 23, 2008 at 23:11
• 7 I have to agree with jsl4980. Now it did lead to some interesting problems, I inserted a quotation from SRV into one of my programs and cited it. This lead to my having to explain why I "stole" Java code from a guy who died before Java existed. Neither the prof nor the TA were from the US. –  Dan Blair Commented Dec 3, 2008 at 15:58
• 27 I like your policy. Programming most certainly is a team sport. –  Chris Ballance Commented Feb 9, 2009 at 4:25
• wow, sbeen a while but still... yes on agressive plagiarism policies BUT how many different permutations of hello world can you make before stubling on someone else's, thus citing sources is NOT plagiarism. –  Newtopian Commented Apr 15, 2009 at 7:07
• This being said, students should sometimes be reminded that the homework was about programming, not net surfing thus even if all sources were cited the grades are on the actual work done towards that goal... That's how we did it when grading papers, it was well accepted by both students and staff –  Newtopian Commented Apr 15, 2009 at 7:09
• 3 Yes, in a literature course, I can use resources, and quote them, and I must cite them and give proper credit. I share your viewpoint in that credit must be given, just as with any other resource. This seems like a guideline to impose on students. –  Anonymous Commented Jun 19, 2009 at 6:50
• 19 I'm also a computer science professor, and this is similar to my policy as well. As long as they correctly cite something, they can use any source. That being said, if, after they've turned it in, there are so many citations or it's otherwise obvious that most of the work was done by others, I reserve the right to ask them to redo the project from scratch, using what they've learned, but not using so much help this time. It's usually obvious if they misuse this policy, especially if they have a lot of trouble with the same concept on the very next project. They can't hide it forever. :-) –  eruciform Commented Jul 6, 2010 at 0:51
• Every page on here says user contributions licensed under cc-wiki with attribution required . If you take something non-trivial from here and use it verbatim in your own work (whether as a student or otherwise) without attributing it correctly to the author and to SE then you would be in breach of that licence, would you not? –  barrowc Commented Nov 13, 2011 at 1:28
• I just included that comment verbatim in a paper I submitted so I guess we'll find out (;-) –  JohnMcG Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 17:34
• 1 @jsl4980 note that there is a HUGE difference between plagiarism (claiming as your own) and attributed use of open source (non copyrighted) material. As described, this policy condemns the former and condones the latter. It shows no sign of leniency towards plagiarism (or are you saying "apparent plagiarism gets little to no credit") is too lenient? –  Floris Commented May 22, 2014 at 13:43
• It's not hard to tell the difference between a student that has leaned the concepts and one that hasn't. IMO, learning and integrity are the only things that truly matter and grading should be based on that. Students already struggle when they get into college and find that things aren't as structured for them as they were in high school. It frustrates me that so many college courses continue this unnecessary rigid structure that does them little favor in most industries. –  CubicInfinity Commented Oct 7, 2022 at 21:32
• (SRV == Stevie Ray Vaughan, apparently?) –  tripleee Commented Oct 27, 2023 at 5:29

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Is Homework Helpful? The 5 Questions Every Teacher Should Ask

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The Common Core State Standards ask teachers to increase rigor by diving deeper into material. Consequently, everything has been ramped up, classwork and homework no exception.  

My nephew, a fourth grader, has 40–50 minutes of homework a night, plus independent reading and projects. When you include a snack break, the distractions from his younger sister, and his fourth-grade attention span that is bound to wander, that time often gets doubled. He is hard working and conscientious, but many nights he is distracted, frustrated, and anxious.

The National PTA recommends 10–20 minutes of homework per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level thereafter (i.e., 20 minutes for second grade, on up to 120 minutes for 12th). If you follow these guidelines, students will spend 137,160 minutes doing homework from first grade to 12th. That’s 2,286 hours, or 95 straight days, of homework. 

High school students in Finland rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. The country as a whole allows children to engage in more creative play at home. This is significant because its students score remarkably well on international test scores. It has many parents and education advocates in America questioning our practices.

So are we misguided with all this work? To answer that, one must step back and question the value of assignments. How often should they be assigned? Where is the line between too much and too little? Here are five considerations to help you determine what to assign and why. 

1. How long will it take to complete?  There are no surefire guidelines or golden rules that say how long students should work, especially since they progress at different speeds. Assignments need to lead to better learning outcomes. To achieve this, one must balance efficiency and effectiveness. The more efficient the assignment, the more material and learning that can be covered over the course of a year.

Here’s the rub: It must not be so quick that the material is not mastered, nor so long to provoke boredom. In between there is a sweet spot that everyone should seek.

2. Have all learners been considered?  Often, teachers make assumptions about the time it takes to complete an assignment based on the middle-of-the-pack kid. Struggling learners can take double or triple the time that other students need to complete an assignment. Don’t just think about the average learner, consider the needs of al students.

3. Will an assignment encourage future success?  A longer assignment can be justified if it is meaningful. Work that builds confidence and opens the door to future success is certainly worthwhile. Worthy assignments encourage participation in upcoming activities rather than discourage it. Teachers must explain the benefit of classwork and homework so that students will be sold on the benefits. Without the sales pitch, or the awareness of its purpose, students will view assignments as busy work.  

4. Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?  Homework is effective when classroom learning is transferred beyond the school walls. When teaching area, have students measure the area of a refrigerator shelf to determine what size sheet cake will fit for an upcoming party. When teaching the types of clouds, have students observe them in their own backyard. Make the learning applicable to everyday life, and it will be worth the time it takes to complete.

5. Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?  Students can reduce the time it takes to complete assignments if they know where to turn for help. In the case of homework, teachers are not there at all. Assignments should not only check for understanding but also offer support when students struggle. Teachers should provide links to online tutorials, like Khan Academy, that offer instruction when students get stuck.

This post is the first of two parts. The second part is  Homework: Helping Students Manage their Time.

This piece was originally submitted to our community forums by a reader. Due to audience interest, we’ve preserved it. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own.