Not all instructors allow using ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for student assignments. Contact your instructor before using any generative AI tool for schoolwork.
For additional guidance on whether to use ChatGPT or any AI tool, follow our helpful decision-making flow chart.
First: Locate written Gen AI permissions for your assignment.
Second: Understand the parameters of accepted use:
Third: Understand how you are expected to acknowledge your use of Gen AI.
Be sure to maintain your academic integrity by being transparent about where and how you used Gen AI to complete your assignment. This includes, at a minimum, properly citing and referencing your use. You may also be required to write a short statement or paragraph explaining how you used the tool to complete your assignment and possibly (depending on instructor preference) include a transcript of the prompts and responses you generated in an appendix.
Don’t think of Gen AI as something that will do all the work for you. Instead, think of it as a powerful tool and a partner in your learning.
The critical thing to consider when deciding when and how to use AI for your writing (assuming instructor permission) is whether you will be able to display your skills and show evidence that you’ve worked to meet the course objectives.
Can you demonstrate comprehension of the course materials while using Gen AI? Can you display critical thinking skills while using Gen AI? You should be able to articulate to yourself and your instructor how your use of Gen AI enhances rather than replaces your learning.
These tools can be used as conversation partners and require developing good conversation skills. This means creating insightful, detailed, and well-thought-out prompts and continuing to refine these prompts through back-and-forth dialogue.
With instructor's approval, It is possible to use Gen AI productively at any stage of the writing process. When confirming with your instructor what uses are acceptable, you might use this as a guide to discuss what uses of Gen AI tools are permissible or prohibited for your assignment.
Sometimes, an assignment requires you to develop your own topic or research question. Just as you might talk through this problem with a friend, you might use a Gen AI tool to help you come up with some initial ideas that you can use as a starting point for your research.
One advantage of using a Gen AI tool for this purpose, rather than talking ideas over with a classmate, is that there is no risk of unauthorized collaboration, which is considered an academic integrity violation.
Example Prompts:
Caution: Even though a Gen AI tool might create a comprehensive and well-constructed outline for a paper on your topic, it is up to you to determine if that structure meets all of the assignment requirements. Think of any outline you generate as a starting point; you can continue refining that outline through further research and understanding and possibly through further dialogue with a Gen AI .
This is one of the most intensive uses of AI and it is especially important that you get explicit permission that this type of use is allowed by your instructor.
Some instructors may allow you to use these tools to create a first draft as a starting point for your writing. Once you have the first draft, you must use your knowledge and critical thinking skills to assess whether it meets assignment requirements and whether its claims and arguments are supportable with credible evidence. This will require research and refining your prompt several times to produce a relevant and appropriate output.
Ask yourself:
If you already have a fully formed draft and need some help editing it to make it more polished, you might be able to use Gen AI tools to help you with this (with instructor permission). You might input a whole draft or sections of your draft to have it re-written by a Gen AI. Or, you might ask a Gen AI for help with specific writing questions to help you improve the draft on your own. If you are uploading your own work into Gen AI, be mindful of copyright issues.
Example Prompts:
Caution: Remember, you must always be transparent about how you have used Gen AI in your work process. This includes when using it for editing, especially if you have gotten Gen AI to re-write a draft. You must review your revised draft carefully to see if the output still matches the meaning you tried to convey and meets the assignment instructions. This includes ensuring complete, correct and appropriate citations and references.