Grading 50 essays takes only 25 seconds.
Text | Stance_iPad | Scores | Scores_GPT | |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Some people allow Ipads because some people ne… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 |
1 | I have a tablet. But it is a lot of money. But… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 |
2 | Do you think we should get rid of the Ipad wh… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 |
3 | I said yes because the teacher will not be tal… | AMB | 2 | 2.0 |
4 | Well I would like the idea . But then for it … | AMB | 4 | 4.0 |
For these data, we happend to have scores given by human raters as well, allowing us how similar the human scores are to the scores generated by ChatGPT.
Using the code provided in the accompanying script, we get the following:
A contigency table (confusion matrix) of the scores is:
Scores_GPT | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scores | |||||
0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The averages and standard deviations of human grading and GPT grading scores are 2.54 ( SD = 1.68) and 2.34 ( SD = 0.74), respectively. The correlation between them is 0.62, indicating a fairly strong positive linear relationship. Additionally, the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is 1.36, providing a measure of the GPT’s prediction accuracy compared to the actual human grading scores.
ChatGPT can be utilized not only for scoring essays but also for classifying essays based on some categorical variable such as writers’ opinions regarding iPad usage in schools. Here are the steps to guide you through the process, assuming you already have access to the ChatGPT API and have loaded your text dataset:
Classifying 50 essays takes only 27 seconds.
We create a new column re_Stance_iPad based on the mapping of values from the existing Stance_iPad column. Except for AFF and NEG opinions, opinions on AMB, BAL, and NAR are unclear. Therefore, AMB, BAL, and NAR are combined as OTHER.
Text | Stance_iPad | Scores | Scores_GPT | re_Stance_iPad | Stance_iPad_GPT | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Some people allow Ipads because some people ne… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 | OTHER | OTHER |
1 | I have a tablet. But it is a lot of money. But… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 | OTHER | OTHER |
2 | Do you think we should get rid of the Ipad wh… | AMB | 1 | 2.0 | OTHER | OTHER |
3 | I said yes because the teacher will not be tal… | AMB | 2 | 2.0 | OTHER | OTHER |
4 | Well I would like the idea . But then for it … | AMB | 4 | 4.0 | OTHER | OTHER |
Stance_iPad_GPT | AFF | NEG | OTHER |
---|---|---|---|
re_Stance_iPad | |||
AFF | 7 | 0 | 3 |
NEG | 0 | 9 | 1 |
OTHER | 3 | 1 | 26 |
ChatGPT achieves an accuracy of approximately 84%, demonstrating its correctness in classification. An F1 score of 0.84, reflecting the harmonic mean of precision and recall, signifies a well-balanced performance in terms of both precision and recall. Additionally, the Cohen’s Kappa value of 0.71, which measures the agreement between predicted and actual classifications while accounting for chance, indicates substantial agreement beyond what would be expected by chance alone.
How long does it take to assess all essays.
Grading and classifying 50 essays each took 25 and 27 seconds , resulting in a rate of about 2 essays per second.
In this blog, we utilized GPT-3.5-turbo-0125. According to OpenAI’s pricing page , the cost for input processing is $0.0005 per 1,000 tokens, and for output, it is $0.0015 per 1,000 tokens, indicating that the ChatGPT API charges for both tokens sent out and tokens received.
The total expenditure for grading all essays —50 assessing essay quality and 50 for essay classification—was approximately $0.01 .
Tokens can be viewed as fragments of words. When the API receives prompts, it breaks down the input into tokens. These divisions do not always align with the beginning or end of words; tokens may include spaces and even parts of words. To grasp the concept of tokens and their length equivalencies better, here are some helpful rules of thumb:
To get additional context on how tokens are counted, consider this:
The prompt at the beginning of this blog, requesting that OpenAI grade an essay, contains 129 tokens, and the output contains 12 tokens.
The input cost is $0.0000645, and the output cost is $0.000018.
ChatGPT provides an alternative approach to essay grading. This post has delved into the practical application of ChatGPT’s natural language processing capabilities, demonstrating how it can be used for efficient and accurate essay grading, with a comparison to human grading. The flexibility of ChatGPT is particularly evident when handling large volumes of essays, making it a viable alternative tool for educators and researchers. By employing the ChatGPT API key service, the grading process becomes not only streamlined but also adaptable to varying scales, from individual essays to hundreds or even thousands.
This technology has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency of the grading process. By automating the assessment of written work, teachers and researchers can devote more time to other critical aspects of education. However, it’s important to acknowledge the limitations of current LLMs in this context. While they can assist in grading, relying solely on LLMs for final grades could be problematic, especially if LLMs are biased or inaccurate. Such scenarios could lead to unfair outcomes for individual students, highlighting the need for human oversight in the grading process. For large scale research, where we look at always across many essays, this is less of a concern (see e.g., Mozer et al., 2023)
The guide in this blog has provided a step-by-step walkthrough of setting up and accessing the ChatGPT API essay grading.
We also explored the reliability of ChatGPT’s grading, as compared to human grading. The moderate positive correlation of 0.62 attests to same consistency between human grading and ChatGPT’s evaluations. The classification results reveal that the model achieves an accuracy of approximately 84%, and the Cohen’s Kappa value of 0.71 indicates substantial agreement beyond what would be expected by chance alone. See the related study (Kim et al., 2024) for more on this.
In essence, this comprehensive guide underscores the transformative potential of ChatGPT in essay grading, presenting it as a valuable approach in the ever-evolving educational fields. This post gives an overview; we next dig in a bit more, thinking about prompt engineering + providing examples to improve accuracy.
The api experience: a blend of ease and challenge.
Starting your journey with the ChatGPT API will be surprisingly smooth, especially if you have some Python experience. Copying and pasting code from this blog, followed by acquiring your own ChatGPT API and tweaking prompts and datasets, might seem like a breeze. However, this simplicity masks the underlying complexity. Bumps along the road are inevitable, reminding us that “mostly” easy does not mean entirely challenge-free.
The biggest hurdle you will likely face is mastering the art of crafting effective prompts. While ChatGPT’s responses are impressive, they can also be unpredictably variable. Conducting multiple pilot runs with 5-10 essays is crucial. Experimenting with diverse prompts on the same essays can act as a stepping stone, refining your approach and building confidence for wider application.
When things click, the benefits are undeniable. Automating the grading process with ChatGPT can save considerable time. Human graders, myself included, can struggle with maintaining consistent standards across a mountain of essays. ChatGPT, on the other hand, might be more stable when grading large batches in a row.
It is crucial to acknowledge that this method is not a magic bullet. Continuous scoring is not quite there yet, and limitations still exist. But the good news is that LLMs like ChatGPT are constantly improving, and new options are emerging.
The exploration of the ChatGPT API can be a blend of innovation, learning, and the occasional frustration. While AI grading systems like ChatGPT are not perfect, their ability to save time and provide consistent grading scheme makes them an intriguing addition to the educational toolkit. As we explore and refine these tools, the horizon for their application in educational settings seems ever-expanding, offering a glimpse into a future where AI and human educators work together to enhance the learning experience. Who knows, maybe AI will become a valuable partner in the grading process in the future!
Have you experimented with using ChatGPT for grading? Share your experiences and questions in the comments below! We can all learn from each other as we explore the potential of AI in education.
Check your thesis for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.
Using AI tools
Published on 26 June 2023 by Koen Driessen .
Passing off AI-generated text as your own work is widely considered plagiarism. However, when used correctly, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can legitimately help guide your writing process.
These tools are especially helpful in the preparation and revision stages of your essay writing.
You can use ChatGPT to:
Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.
Writing a research question, developing an outline, finding source recommendations, summarising/paraphrasing text, getting feedback, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions.
You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm potential research questions or to narrow down your thesis statement . Begin by inputting a description of the research topic or assigned question. Then include a prompt like “Write 3 possible research questions on this topic”.
You can make the prompt as specific as you like. For example, you can include the writing level (e.g., high school essay, college essay), perspective (e.g., first person) and the type of essay you intend to write (e.g., argumentative , descriptive , expository , or narrative ).
You can also mention any facts or viewpoints you’ve gathered that should be incorporated into the output.
If the output doesn’t suit your topic, you can click “Regenerate response” to have the tool generate a new response. You can do this as many times as you like, and you can try making your prompt more specific if you struggle to get the results you want.
The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.
Correct my document today
Once you’ve decided on a research question, you can use ChatGPT to develop an essay outline . This can help keep you on track by giving you a clear idea of what topics you want to discuss and in what order.
Do this by prompting ChatGPT to create an outline for a specific research question, mentioning any topics or points you want to discuss. You can also mention the writing level and the intended length of your essay so that the tool generates an appropriate outline.
You can then refine this by further prompting ChatGPT or editing the outline manually until it meets your requirements.
Once you know the scope of your essay, you can find relevant primary and secondary sources to support your argument.
However, we don’t recommend prompting ChatGPT to generate a list of sources as it occasionally makes mistakes (like listing nonexistent sources). Instead, it’s a good idea to use ChatGPT to get suggestions for the types of sources relevant to your essay and track them down using a credible research database or your institution’s library.
When you have found relevant sources, use a specialised tool like the Scribbr Citation Generator to cite them in your essay.
During your writing process, you can use ChatGPT as a summarising tool to condense text to its essential ideas or as a paraphraser to rephrase text in clear, accessible language. Using ChatGPT in these ways can help you to understand complex material, express your own ideas more clearly, and avoid repetition.
Simply input the relevant text and prompt the tool to summarise or paraphrase it. Alternatively, you can use Scribbr’s free text summariser and Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , which are specifically designed for these purposes.
Once you’ve written your essay, you can prompt ChatGPT to provide feedback and recommend improvements.
You can indicate how the tool should provide feedback (e.g., “Act like a university professor examining papers”) and include the specific points you want to receive feedback on (e.g., consistency of tone, clarity of argument, appropriateness of evidence).
While this is not an adequate substitute for an experienced academic supervisor, it can help you with quick preliminary feedback.
You can also use ChatGPT to check grammar mistakes. However, ChatGPT sometimes misses errors and on rare occasions may even introduce new grammatical mistakes. We suggest using a tool like Scribbr’s free grammar checker , which is designed specifically for this purpose. Or, for more in-depth feedback, try Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .
Overall, the text demonstrates a consistent tone, a clear argument, appropriate evidence, and a coherent structure. Clarifying the argument by explicitly connecting the factors to their impact, incorporating stronger evidence, and adding transitional phrases for better coherence would further enhance the text’s effectiveness. Note Passing off AI-generated text as your own work is generally considered plagiarism (or at least academic dishonesty ) and may result in an automatic fail and other negative consequences . AI detectors may be used to detect this offence.
If you want more tips on using AI tools , understanding plagiarism , and citing sources , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations, examples, and formats.
Citing sources
Yes, you can use ChatGPT to summarise text . This can help you understand complex information more easily, summarise the central argument of your own paper, or clarify your research question.
You can also use Scribbr’s free text summariser , which is designed specifically for this purpose.
Yes, you can use ChatGPT to paraphrase text to help you express your ideas more clearly, explore different ways of phrasing your arguments, and avoid repetition.
However, it’s not specifically designed for this purpose. We recommend using a specialised tool like Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , which will provide a smoother user experience.
Using AI writing tools (like ChatGPT ) to write your essay is usually considered plagiarism and may result in penalisation, unless it is allowed by your university. Text generated by AI tools is based on existing texts and therefore cannot provide unique insights. Furthermore, these outputs sometimes contain factual inaccuracies or grammar mistakes.
However, AI writing tools can be used effectively as a source of feedback and inspiration for your writing (e.g., to generate research questions ). Other AI tools, like grammar checkers, can help identify and eliminate grammar and punctuation mistakes to enhance your writing.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Driessen, K. (2023, June 26). How to Write an Essay with ChatGPT | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 26 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/using-ai-tools/chatgpt-essays/
Other students also liked, how to write good chatgpt prompts, how to use chatgpt in your studies, how to use chatgpt | basics & tips.
Last Updated: June 2, 2024 Fact Checked
Using ai to help you write, expert interview.
This article was co-authored by Bryce Warwick, JD and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Bryce Warwick is currently the President of Warwick Strategies, an organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area offering premium, personalized private tutoring for the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. Bryce has a JD from the George Washington University Law School. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 51,253 times.
Are you curious about using ChatGPT to write an essay? While most instructors have tools that make it easy to detect AI-written essays, there are ways you can use OpenAI's ChatGPT to write papers without worrying about plagiarism or getting caught. In addition to writing essays for you, ChatGPT can also help you come up with topics, write outlines, find sources, check your grammar, and even format your citations. This wikiHow article will teach you the best ways to use ChatGPT to write essays, including helpful example prompts that will generate impressive papers.
Tyrone Showers
Be specific when using ChatGPT. Clear and concise prompts outlining your exact needs help ChatGPT tailor its response. Specify the desired outcome (e.g., creative writing, informative summary, functional resume), any length constraints (word or character count), and the preferred emotional tone (formal, humorous, etc.)
Pay close attention to the content ChatGPT generates. If you use ChatGPT often, you'll start noticing its patterns, like its tendency to begin articles with phrases like "in today's digital world." Once you spot patterns, you can refine your prompts to steer ChatGPT in a better direction and avoid repetitive content.
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about completing school assignments, check out our in-depth interview with Bryce Warwick, JD .
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College Admissions , College Essays
ChatGPT has become a popular topic of conversation since its official launch in November 2022. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can be used for all sorts of things, like having conversations, answering questions, and even crafting complete pieces of writing.
If you’re applying for college, you might be wondering about ChatGPT college admissions’ potential. Should you use a ChatGPT college essay in your application ?
By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll know much more about ChatGPT, including how students can use it responsibly and if it’s a good idea to use ChatGPT on college essays . We’ll answer all your questions, like:
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
Schools and colleges are worried about how new AI technology affects how students learn. (Don't worry. Robots aren't replacing your teachers...yet.)
ChatGPT (short for “Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer”) is a chatbot created by OpenAI , an artificial intelligence research company. ChatGPT can be used for various tasks, like having human-like conversations, answering questions, giving recommendations, translating words and phrases—and writing things like essays.
In order to do this, ChatGPT uses a neural network that’s been trained on thousands of resources to predict relationships between words. When you give ChatGPT a task, it uses that knowledge base to interpret your input or query. It then analyzes its data banks to predict the combinations of words that will best answer your question.
So while ChatGPT might seem like it’s thinking, it’s actually pulling information from hundreds of thousands of resources , then answering your questions by looking for patterns in that data and predicting which words come next.
Unsurprisingly, schools are worried about ChatGPT and its misuse, especially in terms of academic dishonesty and plagiarism . Most schools, including colleges, require students’ work to be 100% their own. That’s because taking someone else’s ideas and passing them off as your own is stealing someone else’s intellectual property and misrepresenting your skills.
The problem with ChatGPT from schools’ perspective is that it does the writing and research for you, then gives you the final product. In other words, you’re not doing the work it takes to complete an assignment when you’re using ChatGPT , which falls under schools’ plagiarism and dishonesty policies.
Colleges are also concerned with how ChatGPT will negatively affect students’ critical thinking, research, and writing skills . Essays and other writing assignments are used to measure students’ mastery of the material, and if students submit ChatGPT college essays, teachers will just be giving feedback on an AI’s writing…which doesn’t help the student learn and grow.
Beyond that, knowing how to write well is an important skill people need to be successful throughout life. Schools believe that if students rely on ChatGPT to write their essays, they’re doing more than just plagiarizing—they’re impacting their ability to succeed in their future careers.
Schools have responded surprisingly quickly to AI use, including ChatGPT. Worries about academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and mis/disinformation have led many high schools and colleges to ban the use of ChatGPT . Some schools have begun using AI-detection software for assignment submissions, and some have gone so far as to block students from using ChatGPT on their internet networks.
It’s likely that schools will begin revising their academic honesty and plagiarism policies to address the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. You’ll want to stay up-to-date with your schools’ policies.
ChatGPT is pretty amazing...but it's not a great tool for writing college essays. Here's why.
College admissions essays—also called personal statements—ask students to explore important events, experiences, and ideas from their lives. A great entrance essay will explain what makes you you !
ChatGPT is a machine that doesn’t know and can’t understand your experiences. That means using ChatGPT to write your admissions essays isn’t just unethical. It actually puts you at a disadvantage because ChatGPT can’t adequately showcase what it means to be you.
Let’s take a look at four ways ChatGPT negatively impacts college admissions essays.
We recommend students use u nexpected or slightly unusual topics because they help admissions committees learn more about you and what makes you unique. The chat bot doesn’t know any of that, so nothing ChatGPT writes can’t accurately reflect your experience, passions, or goals for the future.
Because ChatGPT will make guesses about who you are, it won’t be able to share what makes you unique in a way that resonates with readers. And since that’s what admissions counselors care about, a ChatGPT college essay could negatively impact an otherwise strong application.
Writing about experiences that many other people have had isn’t a very strong approach to take for entrance essays . After all, you don’t want to blend in—you want to stand out!
If you write your essay yourself and include key details about your past experiences and future goals, there’s little risk that you’ll write the same essay as someone else. But if you use ChatGPT—who’s to say someone else won’t, too? Since ChatGPT uses predictive guesses to write essays, there’s a good chance the text it uses in your essay already appeared in someone else’s.
Additionally, ChatGPT learns from every single interaction it has. So even if your essay isn’t plagiarized, it’s now in the system. That means the next person who uses ChatGPT to write their essay may end up with yours. You’ll still be on the hook for submitting a ChatGPT college essay, and someone else will be in trouble, too.
Keep in mind that ChatGPT can’t experience or imitate emotions, and so its writing samples lack, well, a human touch !
A great entrance essay will explore experiences or topics you’re genuinely excited about or proud of . This is your chance to show your chosen schools what you’ve accomplished and how you’ll continue growing and learning, and an essay without emotion would be odd considering that these should be real, lived experiences and passions you have!
If you’re still curious what would happen if you submitted a ChatGPT college essay with your application, you’re in luck. Both Business Insider and Forbes asked ChatGPT to write a couple of college entrance essays, and then they sent them to college admissions readers to get their thoughts.
The readers agreed that the essays would probably pass as being written by real students—assuming admissions committees didn’t use AI detection software—but that they both were about what a “very mediocre, perhaps even a middle school, student would produce.” The admissions professionals agreed that the essays probably wouldn’t perform very well with entrance committees, especially at more selective schools.
That’s not exactly the reaction you want when an admission committee reads your application materials! So, when it comes to ChatGPT college admissions, it’s best to steer clear and write your admission materials by yourself.
We’ve already explained why it’s not a great idea to use ChatGPT to write your college essays and applications , but you may still be wondering: can colleges detect ChatGPT?
In short, yes, they can!
As technology improves and increases the risk of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and mis/disinformation, software that can detect such technology is improving, too. For instance, OpenAI, the same company that built ChatGPT, is working on a text classifier that can tell the difference between AI-written text and human-written text .
Turnitin, one of the most popular plagiarism detectors used by high schools and universities, also recently developed the AI Innovation Lab —a detection software designed to flag submissions that have used AI tools like ChatGPT. Turnitin says that this tool works with 98% confidence in detecting AI writing.
Plagiarism and AI companies aren’t the only ones interested in AI-detection software. A 22-year old computer science student at Princeton created an app to detect ChatGPT writing, called Zero GPT. This software works by measuring the complexity of ideas and variety of sentence structures.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that teachers can spot the use of ChatGPT themselves , even if it isn’t confirmed by a software detector. For example, if you’ve turned in one or two essays to your teacher already, they’re probably familiar with your unique writing style. If you submit a college essay draft essay that uses totally different vocabulary, sentence structures, and figures of speech, your teacher will likely take note.
Additionally , admissions committees and readers may be able to spot ChatGPT writing, too. ChatGPT (and AI writing, in general) uses more simplistic sentence structures with less variation, so that could make it easier to tell if you’ve submitted a ChatGPT college essay. These professionals also read thousands of essays every year, which means they know what a typical essay reads like. You want your college essay to catch their attention…but not because you used AI software!
If you use ChatGPT responsibly, you can be as happy as these kids.
ChatGPT is a brand new technology, which means we’re still learning about the ways it can benefit us. It’s important to think about the pros and the cons to any new tool …and that includes artificial intelligence!
Let’s look at some of the good—and not-so-good—aspects of ChatGPT below.
It may seem like we’re focused on just the negatives of using ChatGPT in this article, but we’re willing to admit that the chatbot isn’t all bad. In fact, it can be a very useful tool for learning if used responsibly !
Like we already mentioned, students shouldn’t use ChatGPT to write entire essays or assignments. They can use it, though, as a learning tool alongside their own critical thinking and writing skills.
Students can use ChatGPT responsibly to:
Before you use ChatGPT—even for the tasks mentioned above—you should talk to your teacher or school about their AI and academic dishonesty policies. It’s also a good idea to include an acknowledgement that you used ChatGPT with an explanation of its use.
This guy made some bad decisions using ChatGPT. Don't be this guy.
The first model of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) was formally introduced to the public in November 2022, and the newer model (GPT-4) in March 2023. So, it’s still very new and there’s a lot of room for improvement .
There are many misconceptions about ChatGPT. One of the most extreme is that the AI is all-knowing and can make its own decisions. Another is that ChatGPT is a search engine that, when asked a question, can just surf the web for timely, relevant resources and give you all of that information. Both of these beliefs are incorrect because ChatGPT is limited to the information it’s been given by OpenAI .
Remember how the ‘PT’ in ChatGPT stands for “Pre-trained”? That means that every time OpenAI gives ChatGPT an update, it’s given more information to work with (and so it has more information to share with you). In other words, it’s “trained” on information so it can give you the most accurate and relevant responses possible—but that information can be limited and biased . Ultimately, humans at OpenAI decide what pieces of information to share with ChatGPT, so it’s only as accurate and reliable as the sources it has access to.
For example, if you were to ask ChatGPT-3.5 what notable headlines made the news last week, it would respond that it doesn’t have access to that information because its most recent update was in September 2021!
You’re probably already familiar with how easy it can be to come across misinformation, misleading and untrue information on the internet. Since ChatGPT can’t tell the difference between what is true and what isn’t, it’s up to the humans at OpenAI to make sure only accurate and true information is given to the chatbot . This leaves room for human error , and users of ChatGPT have to keep that in mind when using and learning from the chatbot.
These are just the most obvious problems with ChatGPT. Some other problems with the chatbot include:
While there are some great uses for ChatGPT, it’s certainly not without its flaws.
Our bootcamp can help you put together amazing college essays that help you get into your dream schools—no AI necessary.
While it’s not a good idea to use ChatGPT for college admissions materials, it’s not the only tool available to help students with college essays and assignments.
One of the best strategies students can use to write good essays is to make sure they give themselves plenty of time for the assignment. The writing process includes much more than just drafting! Having time to brainstorm ideas, write out a draft, revise it for clarity and completeness, and polish it makes for a much stronger essay.
Teachers are another great resource students can use, especially for college application essays. Asking a teacher (or two!) for feedback can really help students improve the focus, clarity, and correctness of an essay. It’s also a more interactive way to learn—being able to sit down with a teacher to talk about their feedback can be much more engaging than using other tools.
Using expert resources during the essay writing process can make a big difference, too. Our article outlines a complete list of strategies for students writing college admission essays. It breaks down what the Common Application essay is, gives tips for choosing the best essay topic, offers strategies for staying focused and being specific, and more.
You can also get help from people who know the college admissions process best, like former admissions counselors. PrepScholar’s Admissions Bootcamp guides you through the entire application process , and you’ll get insider tips and tricks from real-life admissions counselors that’ll make your applications stand out. Even better, our bootcamp includes step-by-step essay writing guidance, so you can get the help you need to make sure your essay is perfect.
If you’re hoping for more technological help, Grammarly is another AI tool that can check writing for correctness. It can correct things like misused and misspelled words and grammar mistakes, and it can improve your tone and style.
It’s also widely available across multiple platforms through a Windows desktop app, an Android and iOS app, and a Google Chrome extension. And since Grammarly just checks your writing without doing any of the work for you, it’s totally safe to use on your college essays.
ChatGPT will continue to be a popular discussion topic as it continues evolving. You can expect your chosen schools to address ChatGPT and other AI tools in their academic honesty and plagiarism policies in the near future—and maybe even to restrict or ban the use of the chatbot for school admissions and assignments.
As AI continues transforming, so will AI-detection. The goal is to make sure that AI is used responsibly by students so that they’re avoiding plagiarism and building their research, writing, and critical thinking skills. There are some great uses for ChatGPT when used responsibly, but you should always check with your teachers and schools beforehand.
ChatGPT’s “bad” aspects still need improving, and that’s going to take some time.Be aware that the chatbot isn’t even close to perfect, and it needs to be fact-checked just like other sources of information.
Similarly to other school assignments, don’t submit a ChatGPT college essay for college applications, either. College entrance essays should outline unique and interesting personal experiences and ideas, and those can only come from you.
Just because ChatGPT isn’t a good idea doesn’t mean there aren’t resources to help you put together a great college essay. There are many other tools and strategies you can use instead of ChatGPT , many of which have been around for longer and offer better feedback.
Ready to write your college essays the old-fashioned way? Start here with our comprehensive guide to the admissions essays.
Most students have to submit essays as part of their Common Application . Here's a complete breakdown of the Common App prompts —and how to answer them.
The most common type of essay answers the "why this college?" prompt. We've got an expert breakdown that shows you how to write a killer response , step by step.
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Whether you need an essay writer or a speed boost for that last-minute assignment, you may be wondering how to use ChatGPT to write an essay . Since its public release in November 2022, OpenAI’s AI Chatbot has seen several updates to the quality of natural language processing (NLP) that guides it toward a high-quality, human writing style suitable for essays.
The AI bot, created by OpenAI, has been making headlines for its ability to communicate in a way that mimics human dialogue. But that’s not all! In fact, the AI model can also do some pretty wicked stuff such as essay writing, language translations, and quite recently passing university-level exams . However, it is also worth noting that colleges and universities can detect ChatGPT , and services like Turnitin will flag ChatGPT-generated content.
So while you can use ChatGPT to write an essay, we’d advise only doing so as a starting point for your own work – AI inspiration if you will. It’s fair and undetectable to use artificial intelligence for guidance, to help move past writing blocks and create your own essays.
To exemplify this, the following are excerpts from an essay that ChatGPT wrote based on the prompt “Write an essay about natural language processing”. NLP is the technology that allows the AI Chatbot to write in such a way, based on such a command.
“The genesis of NLP traces back to the 1950s, with the advent of machine translation. The Georgetown experiment in 1954 was a seminal moment, showcasing the potential of machines in translating languages. However, early optimism was curtailed by the enormity of linguistic nuances. The 1966 ALPAC report marked a period of reduced funding and interest in NLP, citing the high error rates and the lack of understanding of contextual meanings.” An excerpt from the essay generated by ChatGPT
The use of ChatGPT is frowned upon by academia, and likely won’t reflect your writing style anyway. As a result, you’ll still need to rewrite it. The best AI chatbots can take an example of your writing, and use it to customize the tone of the generated text with greater understanding. Older models like GPT-2 were not reliable in this respect, although current models like GPT-3 (especially GPT-3.5 with fine-tuning ) are both serviceable and free to use for essay writing.
The most advanced models, such as GPT-4 accessible via the ChatGPT Plus or ChatGPT Enterprise plan from OpenAI, are the best options for writing your essays. While GPT-4 is not open-source , it is better than essentially all of the immediate competition.
This is true even of Microsoft’s Copilot (formerly Bing Chat), with which ChatGPT shares an LLM — namely GPT-4; Despite the shared language model, ChatGPT offers superior functionality, especially considering the “ All Tools ” update which enables Browse with Bing, Advanced Data Analysis, Plugins, and DALL·E 3 at the same time.
Many users have been putting ChatGPT to the test, by asking the large language model to write essays. Surprisingly, these essays came out well-written and completely coherent, although they lacked the originality you get from human writers. A Twitter user even asked it to write their (slightly tongue-in-cheek) Havard application essay.
Without a doubt, ChatGPT essay writing is starting to be all the more common, but as above we would advise caution when using it. It also has various limitations which we outline below. So, thanks to the increase in ChatGPT detectors, and teachers and professors starting to ‘get wise’ to essays written by artificial intelligence, there is a real risk you could get caught if you, say, actually submit a college essay written by ChatGPT. Our recommendation is don’t; use the powerful tool as a guide for your own writing process and work.
Chat GPT is not the only AI that can write essays. Google Bard and Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) can also write a high-quality essay. This tech, when paired with an AI checker like GPTZero allows students to circumvent AI detection tools used by their professors. Typically, these major language models will have no issues with grammar . However, a grammar checker like Grammarly would not go amiss.
The process of using these AI-text generation tools is pretty much identical, no matter which you choose. So, let’s take a look at that process!
To start things off, head to the ChatGPT website and sign in with your login details. Alternatively, you can access ChatGPT via the mobile app for Android or iOS.
At this point, it is pretty common to be faced with a capacity error from OpenAI. In most cases, if you wait a couple of minutes you will be let in. If this is not the case, you can read our article here which shows you how to fix it.
Custom instructions are a new feature that improves the user experience by giving you greater control over ChatGPT responses. Instead of controlling how the AI chatbot responds by including instructions within the prompt itself, custom instructions stay how you set them for each new chat interaction unless changed.
To use them via web browser, click on the ‘Settings’ option to open up ChatGPT settings. You will see an option called ‘Custom instructions’.
If you’re using the iOS or Android app, you can turn on custom instructions by going to ‘Settings’, clicking on ‘New features’, and turning on ‘Custom instructions’.
ChatGPT custom instructions are now available for all users (Except EU & UK which is coming soon). Announced via OpenAI blog post on August 9th, 2023, the release notes show that neither ChatGPT Plus nor ChatGPT Enterprise are required to access the feature.
Now that you are logged in, you should be presented with the ChatGPT opening page and search bar. To get ChatGPT to generate an essay you will need to type a prompt into the search bar and click the send button.
Note, that the more detail you give ChatGPT the more specific your essay will be. For example, you can tell ChatGPT the length of the essay, to include references and the number of paragraphs.
Here are a couple examples:
After ChatGPT has generated your essay you can ask the model to edit its response by typing and submitting “make it longer” or “write it again”.
To ensure your essay is the best it could be, we recommend making some edits. You can copy and paste ChatGPT’s response into a word processor such as Word or Google Docs to make some changes.
Ideally, rewriting the essay in your own words would be best, although tweaking ChatGPT’s response also works. At this stage, it is definitely important to proofread the essay and double check any facts with other sources to mitigate against ChatGPT’s accuracy limitation.
It may also be useful to run the essay through a plagiarism checker, such as Turnitin, to ensure your essay is safe from plagiarism .
In odd cases that require a specific voice, or character, you could try a ChatGPT alternative like Beta Character AI . It’s helpful to have more than one option to choose from when ChatGPT is down, or you can’t connect to Character.ai. Here’s how to make your own AI chatbot Character, and why you might prefer it compared to ChatGPT .
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There are a few things you should be wary of when using ChatGPT to write an essay. The first issue surrounds ChatGPT’s accuracy. OpenAI warns its users that the model may produce some inaccuracies that could have an obvious negative impact on their essays. The company also states that the application has the potential to produce biased responses too. This is definitely something you should be aware of, as there is a possibility that your essay could be incorrect and will need revising.
These issues are not unique to ChatGPT and can be observed in other popular LLMs (Large Language Models) like Google Bard and Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat). Ultimately, it’s functionally impossible to remove bias from an LLM at the source because the training data was produced by humans who themselves are inherently biased. Instead, the company running the LLM and its public-facing interface (ChatGPT) can add censorship filters at the end of the generation process – an imperfect solution, but more practical (and philosophically possible) than the alternative.
Another major concern is plagiarism. Plagiarism is definitely something to be concerned about when using AI to write your assignments. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT does not necessarily copy specific pieces of text that can be found somewhere else. But, it does have the capability to word its response in a way that is closely similar. The best way to check this is by putting the essay through a high-quality plagiarism checker, such as Turnitin.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT isn’t the only AI software that could help you write an essay. Here are some other AI essay writers you could try out:
NOW READ The best free AI essay writer tools.
How to use ChatGPT to write an essay on mobile
OpenAI released the official ChatGPT iOS app on Thursday, May 18th, 2023. This was then followed by the ChatGPT Android app on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023.
These apps offer all of the same functionality (most of the time, as development cycles rarely sync up perfectly). You can download the ChatGPT mobile app to help write an essay on the go!
So that’s all you need to know about writing essays using ChatGPT. With the help of ChatGPT, you, and the right inputs and prompts, you can get a great start on essays around a wide range of topics. It also has the added bonus of being able to check for grammar, punctuation, and clarity.
There are some limitations, however, where the AI chatbot falls down, namely, its inaccuracies. We’d recommend that if you are going to use ChatGPT to help you write essays, you use it to assist with a rough draft or to give you essay ideas, rather than getting it to do the whole thing.
Funmi joined PC Guide in November 2022, and was a driving force for the site's ChatGPT coverage. She has a wide knowledge of AI apps, gaming and consumer technology.
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ChatGPT essay writing is a hot topic, especially in the realm of teaching and learning where it can impact academic integrity. Should teachers incorporate ChatGPT and AI writing into their teaching curriculum? Or should AI writing be entirely banned and eschewed? The teacher response is incredibly bifurcated , with those who are using it or thinking of using it to facilitate early drafts. And then in the other camp, there are those who don’t want to use it at all and see any use of AI writing as a form of misconduct.
We are at the point of no return when it comes to AI writing. Companies are using it for blog writing and other purposes. Newspapers have long used AI writing. Consequently, AI writing may become a skill students need to enter the workplace. At the same time, AI writing misuse—when students use AI writing and represent it as their own original work—is a real concern within education.
To that end, we want to focus not on AI writing but on AI writing misuse, beginning with what ChatGPT is, what students understand about ChatGPT, discussing concerns around ChatGPT misuse, and how to then talk to students about AI writing and academic integrity.
OpenAI, an AI and research company, launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022 and became the fastest growing consumer app in history , corralling 100 million active users within two months of availability. In comparison, TikTok took nine months to hit that number of users; Instagram, two and a half years ( Ortiz, 2023 ).
ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool powered by AI that allows users to interact with a chatbot using human-like discussion. It can answer questions in human language and compose emails, essays, and code. ChatGPT runs on a language model architecture called the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (the “GPT” in ChatGPT). An interesting tidbit is that ChatGPT only has access to information up to 2021, compared to Google, which has access to the latest data.
It’s important not to make assumptions and instead know what it is your students understand about ChatGPT before opening a discussion about AI writing. Students are extremely aware of ChatGPT’s existence; and many have a very astute grasp of AI writing and its intersection with academic integrity.
The New York Times asked students to respond with their thoughts about ChatGPT , and student responses were insightful and very much a reflection of the discussions educators are also having. They, like educators, acknowledged ChatGPT as a powerful and sometimes inaccurate tool, expressing concerns about its impact on learning should students rely too much on AI writing. “One of my biggest worries is that I would rely too much on these tools and lose the capacity for critical and creative thought,” states one student. “I personally want to learn how to communicate myself clearly and to find my own distinctive voice as a student. If I always rely on ChatGPT to generate material for me, I might not be challenged to improve as a writer” ( Faris ).
Some students said that AI writing is flat-out a form of cheating. And some students embraced AI writing, stating, “If students are never taught about, and never learn how to operate ChatGPT in their schools, they will be unprepared for their life ahead, which will be filled with writing AIs” ( Whit, Byfield, MA ).
The above reflects the results of a survey of K-12 teachers and students aged 12-17 conducted by Impact Research for the Walton Family Foundation . The results from both groups were not dissimilar. For instance, the survey found that “Teachers and students agree ChatGPT will be important to incorporate into schooling. Two-thirds of students (65%) and three-quarters of teachers (76%) agree that integrating ChatGPT for schools will be important for the future” ( Impact Research, 2023 ).
Another survey by Intelligent also falls in line with The New York Times student insights, stating, “Three-quarters of students who have used ChatGPT for homework say it is ‘somewhat’ (46%) or ‘definitely’ (29%) cheating. These numbers increase when including students who say they are familiar with ChatGPT but haven’t used it themselves. With this group included, 80% say it is ‘somewhat’ (48%) or ‘definitely’ (32%) cheating.”
And yet, “When asked how popular they believe the use of the tool is among other students, 76% say its use is ‘somewhat’ (50%) or ‘very’ (26%) popular.” In other words, even though they believe AI writing use is a form of misconduct, students use it anyway ( Intelligent, 2023 ).
Bottom line? Students are ready to talk about ChatGPT, AI writing, and academic integrity. They have awareness of ChatGPT and their own preliminary thoughts; it’s up to educators to bring nuance and clarity about ChatGPT and academic integrity and define AI writing misuse.
As with all academic integrity concerns, it is important to make your students feel seen and supported in a conversation about AI writing and ChatGPT. Research has shown that students who feel connected to their teacher are less likely to cheat ( Orosz, Tóth-Király, Böthe, Kusztor, Kovács, & Jánvári 2015 ). Ergo, how a discussion about AI writing and ChatGPT use and misuse is executed is an opportunity to strengthen student-teacher relationships, deepen bonds to academic integrity, and sharpen understanding of AI writing and ChatGPT use. A few key points to keep in mind as you discuss ChatGPT essay writing with your students include:
One of the most straightforward ways to begin discussing ChatGPT is to ask your students what they know or to have them write you a letter about what they know and what their concerns and questions may be. This letter, for the record, can even be anonymous to engender more honesty. Centering their established understanding of AI writing and addressing their questions is one effective way to begin a discussion about AI writing, ChatGPT, and academic integrity. Some students may still want an introduction to the concept, and of course, educators should share what they know, but by interviewing students first, engagement can increase.
The topic of AI writing and ChatGPT within education is so heated that students may feel it is entirely taboo or too risky to discuss. Create a safe space around an AI writing conversation by having students discuss questions and opinions about ChatGPT and AI writing within small groups before sharing within a larger classroom discussion (this way, it’s harder to pinpoint who said what). Another way to create a safe space might be to ask students to anonymously submit questions about AI writing and ChatGPT on slips of paper beforehand.
It is also safer to discuss a topic that is presented more objectively. Perhaps, too, have students respond to a third-party journalism article on AI writing so that any insights are a reaction to words written by someone they do not know.
Before discussion begins, provide ground rules or guidelines , whether you provide them or invite the class to form them. They can include rules about courtesy and respect and safety, such as critiquing ideas and not people, and allowing everyone a turn to speak. Having ground rules prior to discussion gives everyone an opportunity to refer back to them should things get tense.
Focusing on how to properly use AI writing generators is the crux of how to talk to students about AI writing, ChatGPT, and academic integrity. While it’s tempting to paint a black and white picture of AI writing use or ban it altogether, the reality is that AI writing and ChatGPT are a large presence that should be addressed head on and with nuance. The reality, too, is that students will be eventually faced with AI writing use; providing them with tools and knowledge to understand what constitutes misuse versus valid use of ChatGPT is critical to lifelong learning and academic integrity.
While a reliance on AI writing tools can impact critical thinking, talking about AI writing tools has incredible space for critical thinking and analysis. This is also an opportunity to check out resources on AI writing and academic integrity , including a guide to approaching AI-generated text . What is its impact on learning, both positive and negative? When AI writing is prevalent outside of academia—for instance, in journalism—what is the difference between use and misuse? How is it being used properly? How is it being used improperly? These questions and more can lead to a deeper understanding of how, when, where, and why to use or not use AI writing tools.
Reflection is an important part of learning. Consider having students write their reflections on the class discussion, whether anonymously or as a graded assignment, so that different types of learners have a chance to synthesize class discussion and demonstrate their knowledge. This is, coincidentally, an opportunity for educators to have insights on what exactly students felt were the key takeaways from a class discussion on AI writing. The assignment can focus on class discussion points (which coincidentally, makes it very difficult for ChatGPT misuse).
This summary reflection can also be an opportunity for students to express how they felt about the discussion or to share any questions that remain unanswered for them.
While a discussion with students about AI writing and integrity is not something that can be controlled to the minute, it is important to have discussion points. And those discussion points will center around concerns and benefits around ChatGPT use in education. The following are some talking points you may want to consider.
According to the National Education Association, “The biggest concern is cheating. More than one-fourth of teachers have caught students using the chatbot to cheat, the Study.com survey found. An influx of ChatGPT generated work has left many educators spending more time checking for AI plagiarism and revamping lesson plans to be ‘AI-proof’” ( Blose, 2023 ).
A discussion with students may involve asking them if they agree with this concern and what they feel “AI-proof” assignments might look like.
AI writing misconduct is muddied by how it is used in education versus industry. The most analogous example of this conflict is in software development and programming.
In software development, it is standard procedure for engineers to work in collaboration with others. It is also standard procedure to use the code of other engineers made available on Github or via open source software without attribution. On the other hand, when students in software engineering courses use others’ source code, it is called programming plagiarism and in the case of collaboration for an assignment that is meant for individual assessment, collusion.
In both cases, collaboration and using shared resources aren’t “bad things,” depending on the context, particularly in industry. AI writing, when not disclosed and when students represent it as their own, can often qualify as misconduct just as when software engineering students use an open repository like Github for answers to their individual assignments.
And unlike contract cheating , there are viable use cases for AI writing, such as when teachers incorporate it into their curriculum and students use it in a way that is transparent.
The difference between journalists using AI writing and students using AI writing, of course, is that students are still learning and need to demonstrate their understanding to instructors; AI writing in classrooms, when used as a shortcut solution without transparency, impacts learning and thus qualifies as misuse.
It is important to highlight that students engage in learning; any AI writing use should be disclosed. Bottom line: if students are using AI writing tools and claiming that work as their own individual, original work without attribution, that may be a case of misuse and misconduct.
In the early weeks and days following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, many schools throughout the world, from the United States to Australia to the UK banned ChatGPT use outright.
This is a discussion point that provides an opportunity to discuss nuances in AI writing use. And it’s a way to discuss AI writing in a way that isn’t as personal and instead, more academic. We now see that AI writing tool bans aren’t effective; both students and teachers have slowly come to accept ChatGPT as having useful potential. What might those positive uses be?
AI writing can help students with brainstorming and structure. It can help those who are learning a new language like English, overcome language barriers while absorbing new concepts, because AI writing tools can translate content for students. Discussing ways in which AI writing can harm or benefit learning gives students ownership in the discussion and helps them understand AI writing’s impact on learning more deeply.
But even when AI writing tools can be used, a reliance on ChatGPT can shortcut learning.
One way to emphasize the shortcomings of ChatGPT misuse is to ask it the same questions you ask your students within discussion and show how their discussion was more nuanced and detailed and comprehensive. Here, we asked ChatGPT about impacts on learning (yes, we used ChatGPT). This is ChatGPT’s response:
“ChatGPT, as a language model, can have several impacts on learning:
1. Information Access: ChatGPT has access to a vast amount of knowledge and information, making it a valuable tool for learning. It can provide quick and accurate answers to questions, helping users gain knowledge on a wide range of topics.
2. Learning Assistance: ChatGPT can act as a learning assistant, providing explanations, examples, and clarifications. It can help users understand complex concepts, solve problems, and guide them through the learning process.
3. Personalized Learning: ChatGPT can adapt to individual learners' needs and preferences. It can provide tailored recommendations, resources, and study materials based on a user's specific requirements, making the learning experience more personalized and effective.
4. Language Practice: ChatGPT can engage in conversation and provide language practice opportunities. Users can improve their writing, speaking, and communication skills by interacting with ChatGPT and receiving feedback on their language usage.
5. Creative Exploration: ChatGPT's ability to generate text can spark creativity and encourage exploration. Users can brainstorm ideas, discuss possibilities, and receive suggestions, fostering a more innovative and open-minded approach to learning.
6. Collaboration and Peer Learning: ChatGPT can facilitate collaboration among learners. Multiple users can interact with ChatGPT simultaneously, creating a shared learning environment where they can exchange ideas, discuss concepts, and learn from one another.
7. Continuous Learning: ChatGPT can be continuously updated with new information, ensuring that learners have access to the most up-to-date knowledge. It can keep up with emerging trends, advancements, and discoveries, providing users with the latest insights and developments.
It's important to note that while ChatGPT can be a valuable learning tool, it should not be seen as a replacement for traditional forms of learning or human instructors. Its effectiveness depends on how it is utilized, and it should be used in conjunction with other learning resources and strategies for a well-rounded learning experience.”
Note the vague and basic language, and lack of examples, let alone ChatGPT’s self-promotion; not only is the content self-laudatory without criticism, it doesn’t center learning or students in its response. Furthermore, the claim that ChatGPT has access to the “most up-to-date knowledge,” is questionable, as various sources report that ChatGPT only has access to information up to 2021 (it is now 2023). Even if Microsoft, as of late March 2023, integrated Bing into ChatGPT , this is an evolving situation.
Rewriting this is imperative. Here’s the list again, written by a human (me).
ChatGPT has access to many information venues, mostly via the internet and has the potential to provide a breadth of answers; however, ChatGPT is dependent on human inputs and resources, so it can also be flawed and thereby further misinformation. If students are fully reliant on ChatGPT and AI writing, they may walk away with erroneous data that goes against the goals of education. It is important to know that ChatGPT is reliant on the average or median of a data set and if that data is biased, then the output is not based on facts but on opinions.
According to neaToday, ChatGPT’s own website states that “ChatGPT occasionally generates misinformation, untimely and biased responses. The program is only as knowledgeable as the information it has been introduced to and trained with. Even creators acknowledge that the program is not a credible source of factual information and should not be treated as an academic source. Many teachers worry that ChatGPT will make teaching and learning—particularly writing assignments— more formulaic” ( Blose, 2023 ).
Particularly for students who are learning a new language, ChatGPT can provide scaffolding to write in a new language; students can practice, receive feedback, and ask for help from ChatGPT. AI writing tools can help students express their ideas while bypassing language barriers. At the same time, this scaffolding must not be a replacement for learning, because students will eventually have to have an awareness, if not a deep understanding, of all components of writing.
ChatGPT may be useful for the brainstorming process; however, there is a limit to its output and it is up to the student to come up with their own analysis and introduce their original ideas. Furthermore, ChatGPT is intelligent, but can misunderstand context, leading to incorrect output. Again, it is up to the user to discern whether or not the output is correct or offers new insights. That said, ChatGPT is very good at providing structure to arguments and can help students formulate their narratives.
ChatGPT is available 24/7 whereas teachers cannot be available at all hours. When a student has a question, ChatGPT can be a resource at any time. Furthermore, students can formulate questions according to their interests and ChatGPT can then examine that interest further. Even when the output might be cursory, this helps students ask “good questions,” and fine-tune their thinking in different ways.
Students can become reliant on technology and “skip” important steps in the learning process. In the example of calculators, students need to be able to add and subtract and perform the functions of a calculator; a calculator, in sum, is not a substitute for knowledge but an aid. Similarly, ChatGPT can provide scaffolding, but it shouldn’t replace learning.
Critical thinking is an important learning outcome. When AI writing tools and ChatGPT essay writing are misused extensively, students may not be able to think for themselves. This concern is a great one. The Brookings Institution addresses this issue, adding, “More centrally, however, is that the bot is more of a synthesizer than a critical thinker. It would do well on a compare-and-contrast essay, but is less able to create a unique thesis and to defend that thesis” ( Hirsh-Pasek & Blinkoff, 2023 ).
Because ChatGPT can produce whole essays, and when students don’ t disclose their use of AI writing tools and don’t revise ChatGPT output extensively, it is not only a lack of original thought but academic dishonesty and misconduct. This is one of the most significant concerns surrounding ChatGPT and the reason that AI writing detection tools are in development. Without writing practice, students don’t have the opportunity to develop their authorial voice and writing confidence. Providing a space to “fail safely” is important and a way to mitigate AI writing misuse. Furthermore, ChatGPT’s writing output is less than engaging and in many ways, vague and passive; it isn’t the optimal model from which students should learn.
When ChatGPT is used as a shortcut solution, it can negatively impact student learning outcomes for myriad reasons. Students may learn incorrect facts, and when dependent on ChatGPT, not advance to original and critical thinking. But when used correctly, it can aid students in learning, much like tools like calculators.
Without advocating AI writing tools as a blanket solution for all learning, how do you communicate positive impacts of ChatGPT to students?
Students understand that ChatGPT essay writing is here to stay; and that it is a skill they will most likely be asked to use in the workplace after their academic journey. By highlighting the nuances of positive AI writing use, it is easier to help students understand how AI writing can help them learn (but also avoid misconduct).
The unique situation of students today is that they experienced the launch of ChatGPT simultaneously with their teachers. Some educators felt that ChatGPT would severely compromise the existence of essays as an assessment format or the entire way students are taught. As a result, students witnessed the initial panic from the education sector, with some school districts banning AI writing tools outright. In a humorous example of this panic, one person on Reddit joked that ChatGPT will bring typewriters back as a writing platform ( Fonky_Fesh, 2022 ).
But months out, educators are reevaluating what AI writing tools mean for the educational journey. The unique situation of students today, too, is that they can be a part of this discussion.
While AI writing tools aren’t undermining education as much as previously imagined, it will make assessments more thoughtful. According to an Insider article, Dr. Leah Henrickson, a lecturer at the University of Leeds, “thinks that artificial intelligence, if used carefully, might even make education fairer.” Henrickson states that the University of Leeds is also “looking at modifying its assessments in reaction to the rise in artificial intelligence. It hopes to focus more on critical analysis and judgement [sic]—a human skill— rather than straightforward information retention, which a chatbot like ChatGPT can easily replicate” ( Stacey, 2023 ).
The goal of education is to help students understand concepts and come up with their own original thoughts so that they can then enter the global marketplace of ideas . And if assessments move towards measuring a depth of knowledge, then we are all in a better place.
According to The New York Times, one student states, “A teacher at my school recently asked her class to use ChatGPT to write papers on the novel they were reading in class. The students also wrote their own papers, and compared the results. I found this teaching method to be extremely accommodating and productive. Rather than framing ChatGPT as a way to cheat, and therefore encouraging students to secretly use the forbidden program, teachers can show their students how to use it to their advantage, while still keeping their own original ideas. In today’s world, technology is quickly becoming more intelligent, but I don’t think we have to fear it” ( Devin ).
By modeling proper AI writing tool use within a classroom, students can learn how best to use tools like ChatGPT.
ChatGPT provides opportunities to make the writing process more transparent; for instance, using it as a way for students to critique ChatGPT output helps them refine their reviewing skills. Having students revise ChatGPT-produced first drafts gives students direct access to the revision process and to demystify revision.
Emily Donahoe, a writing tutor and educational developer at the University of Mississippi, says that “ChatGPT could help teachers shift away from an excessive focus on final results,” and now “asks her students to use ChatGPT to generate an argument and then had them annotate it according to how effective they thought the argument was for a specific audience. Then they turned in a rewrite based on their criticism” ( Heaven, 2023 ).
Using ChatGPT to provide more insights into writing can help teachers communicate to students how best to use AI writing tools.
ChatGPT can help language learners because it has the ability to translate assignments into a student’s native language. By prompting ChatGPT with a simple “translate this reading into Korean,” educators can bridge learning gaps ( Blose, 2023 ).
Furthermore, because ChatGPT engages in conversation, learners can practice their grammar and syntax by conversing with ChatGPT, which can provide feedback to increase language proficiency. In their Medium post, Michael King states, “I started testing ChatGPT as a German tutor, I quickly realized that it was much more than just a source of information. ChatGPT’s unique ability to actively test my learned skills and provide suggestions for improvement made it a true game-changer.”
ChatGPT’s impact on language learning has many more benefits, including instantaneous feedback, personalized learning, and increasing exposure to the target language ( Cai, 2023 ). Using ChatGPT as an actual learning tool can help students understand its benefits while becoming aware of its pitfalls.
Students come to our classrooms with an awareness of AI writing tools. While many students comprehend that AI writing can be misused, it’s important to define the difference between proper and improper use of tools like ChatGPT. Having a discussion about learning and the ways in which ChatGPT can help or inhibit the ways in which students absorb information can highlight the intersection of AI writing tools and academic integrity.
Students know how to use new AI writing tools. And what they need to learn is why ChatGPT may result in lower grades. What they need is to be in synchronization with the learning journey and educator goals. Having an in-depth discussion that is nuanced helps clarify the gray areas regarding AI writing tool use; for instance, that while used in professional writing, they are still learning and need to produce their own original writing, even if ChatGPT might be used to generate a first draft.
Pedagogy, too, is evolving. Students are at an amazing flex point in this point in history and they should know they are privileged to be a part of the conversation. And that it is going to change the future, including the ways in which knowledge is measured.
The Brookings Institution quotes Adam Stevens as saying, “ChatGPT is only a threat if our education system continues to ‘pursue rubric points and not knowledge.’ It is critical for all educators to follow their colleague’s example…The old education model in which teachers deliver information to later be condensed and repeated will not prepare our students for success in the classroom—or the jobs of tomorrow. We should allow that model to die a peaceful death. Used in the right way, ChatGPT can be a friend to the classroom and an amazing tool for our students, not something to be feared” ( Hirsh-Pasek & Blinkoff, Brookings Institute, 2023 ).
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Using AI tools
Translated on February 13, 2023 by Tegan George. Originally published by Tobias Solis
ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI in November of 2022. Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human interactions via artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP). ChatGPT has quickly become popular with students due to its ability to help answer many academic questions.
You can use ChatGPT in the following areas of your studies:
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Chatgpt for exam preparation, using chatgpt for homework assignments, chatgpt for explaining simple topics, chatgpt for academic writing, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about chatgpt.
You can use ChatGPT to prepare for exams by creating:
ChatGPT can help you summarize or paraphrase text in an easy-to-understand way. This can simplify and rephrase complicated topics to help you understand them in layman’s terms.
Simply copy the text into the chat section by section and ask it to summarize/paraphrase.
Alternatively, you can use Scribbr’s free text summarizer and Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , which are specifically designed for these purposes.
Input: Please summarize the following text in a way that is easy to understand:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
You can use ChatGPT to create multiple-choice questions for your study material. This can help you test your level of knowledge.
To do this, ask ChatGPT to create multiple-choice questions for a block of text.
ChatGPT result: Here is a practice test with 4 multiple-choice questions about A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, along with their answers:
Who is the protagonist in A Tale of Two Cities?
a) Charles Darnay b) Sydney Carton c) Charles Dickens d) Jarvis Lorry
What is the central theme of A Tale of Two Cities?
a) Love b) Redemption c) The French Revolution d) Poverty
Who is the villain in A Tale of Two Cities?
a) Charles Darnay b) Sydney Carton c) Madame Defarge d) Jarvis Lorry
What is the setting of A Tale of Two Cities?
a) England b) France c) America d) Australia
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You can also use ChatGPT to help you with your homework, for topics such as:
To do this, generate first draft solutions for the tasks given to you, and then improve them.
For example, you can work on tasks from technical courses, such as computer science.
ChatGPT result: Here is one way to write a program in Python to calculate the sum of all numbers from 1 to N:
n = int(input(“Enter a positive integer: “)) sum = 0 for i in range(1, n+1): sum += i print(“The sum of all numbers from 1 to”, n, “is”, sum)
In this program, the user is prompted to enter a positive integer n. The variable sum is initialized to 0 and then we use a for loop to iterate from 1 to n (inclusive), adding each number to the sum. Finally, the result is printed to the screen.
You can also request assistance on your coursework related to economics or business administration.
Please solve the following task: The following data is given for planning the ordering policy of a material type in an industrial company:
Planning period: 180 days Total requirement: 30,000 ME Cost price: 30 GE/MU Order cost rate: 200 GE Storage cost rate: 1.50 GE/ME (related to the planning period) Interest rate: 5% (related to the planning period)
Determine the optimal order quantity, the optimal order frequency and storage range as well as the costs resulting from the optimal ordering policy as the sum of order costs and storage costs (including capital commitment costs).*
ChatGPT result:
The optimal order quantity, order frequency, and storage range can be determined using the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model. The EOQ model balances the trade-off between ordering costs and holding costs.
Ordering costs are the costs incurred each time an order is placed, and holding costs are the costs associated with holding inventory in stock over the planning period.
The EOQ model is calculated using the following formula:
EOQ = √(2DS/H)
Where: D = Total requirement (30,000 ME) S = Order cost rate (200 GE) H = Holding cost rate (1.5 GE/ME)
Plugging in the values: EOQ = √(2 * 30,000 * 200 / 1.5) = √(12,000,000) = 3464.16 ME
The optimal order quantity is approximately 3464.16 ME.
The order frequency can be calculated as the total requirement divided by the EOQ: Order frequency = Total requirement / EOQ = 30,000 / 3464.16 = 8.68 orders
The optimal order frequency is approximately 8.68 orders.
The storage range can be calculated as the EOQ divided by 2: Storage range = EOQ / 2 = 3464.16 / 2 = 1732.08 ME
The optimal storage range is approximately 1732.08 ME.
The costs resulting from the optimal ordering policy can be calculated as the sum of the order costs and holding costs.
Order costs = Order frequency * Order cost rate = 8.68 * 200 = 1736 GE Holding costs = (EOQ / 2) * Holding cost rate * planning period = (3464.16 / 2) * 1.5 * 180 = 126,601.76 GE Capital commitment costs = (EOQ / 2) * Interest rate * Cost price = (3464.16 / 2) * 0.05 * 30 = 523.25 GE Total costs = Order costs + Holding costs + Capital commitment costs = 1736 + 126,601.76 + 523.25 = 127,861.01 GE
*This task was taken from a document published by Prof. Dr. Kay Blaufus.
Note that ChatGPT sometimes makes mistakes, and it is always best to double-check if something it presents to you is correct.
You can get explanations on simple or definitional topics from your studies from ChatGPT as well.
Input: chemistry What are the main concepts of thermodynamics and their applications?
Input: English What is a phrasal verb and how is it used?
Input: history How has European colonial rule evolved throughout history?
Input: computer science How do operating systems work and what are their main uses?
Input: philosophy What are the most important concepts in the history of philosophy and how are they relevant in today’s world?
Input: psychology What is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and how is it used?
You can also use ChatGPT to help you organize your academic essays and theses or dissertations . It can help to optimize your writing process in the following areas:
To learn more about how to use AI tools effectively, see our AI writing resources page.
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If you want more tips on using AI tools , understanding plagiarism , and citing sources , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations, examples, and formats.
Citing sources
You should not trust ChatGPT’s results unconditionally. While you can use ChatGPT during your studies to clarify questions, you should always double-check the answers you receive against other credible sources , as it doesn’t always give correct information. Don’t cite ChatGPT as a source of factual information.
Yes, ChatGPT is able to create code in different programming languages like Python, Java and C++.
There are several ways you can use ChatGPT in your studies , such as if programming is part of your bachelor’s or master’s degree.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
George, T. (2023, February 13). How to use ChatGPT in your studies. Scribbr. Retrieved August 26, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/ai-tools/using-chatgpt-in-your-studies/
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COMMENTS
For example, you can include the writing level (e.g., high school essay, college essay), perspective (e.g., first person) and the type of essay you intend to write (e.g., argumentative, descriptive, expository, or narrative ). You can also mention any facts or viewpoints you've gathered that should be incorporated into the output.
1. Use ChatGPT to generate essay ideas. Before you start writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that gives them ...
Creating an outline of your paper with ChatGPT. You can also use ChatGPT to help you draft a research paper outline or thesis outline.To do this, try generating possible headings and subheadings and then improving them. ChatGPT can help to generate a clear and well-structured outline, especially if you keep adjusting the structure with its help.
Generate ideas for essays. Have ChatGPT help you come up with ideas for essays. For example, input specific prompts, such as, "Please give me five ideas for essays I can write on topics related to WWII," or "Please give me five ideas for essays I can write comparing characters in twentieth century novels." Then, use what it provides as ...
You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm potential outlines for your introduction. To do this, include a brief overview of all relevant aspects of your paper, including your research question, methodology, central arguments, and essay type (e.g., argumentative, expository ). For a longer essay or dissertation, you might also mention section or chapter ...
Generate your own text—but get help from the AI bot to make it stand out. It's been quite a year for ChatGPT, with the large language model (LLM) now taking exams, churning out content ...
Then, use the AI to help organize and articulate your feedback (without directly inputting or uploading the manuscript's text, thus avoiding privacy concerns). For example, you might instruct ...
7. Polish the Style and Citation With ChatGPT. After writing, you can paste portions of your essay and ask ChatGPT to shorten, lengthen, or optimize the style. ChatGPT is good at mimicking popular styles, and you can use that to your advantage. If you want your writing to sound a little more professional, it can help rephrase it.
Let's start with the basics. ChatGPT is one of several chatbots that can answer questions in a conversational style, as if the answer were coming from a human. It provides answers based on information it receives in development and in response to prompts you provide. In that respect, like a human, ChatGPT is limited by the information it has.
Just ask and ChatGPT can help with writing, learning, brainstorming and more. ChatGPT helps you get answers, find inspiration and be more productive. It is free to use and easy to try. Just ask and ChatGPT can help with writing, learning, brainstorming and more. ... Improve my essay writing ask me to outline my thoughts (opens in a new window ...
In August, Ms. Barber assigned her 12th-grade students to write college essays. This week, she held class discussions about ChatGPT, cautioning students that using A.I. chatbots to generate ideas ...
Examples: Using ChatGPT to generate an essay outline. Provide a very short outline for a college admission essay. The essay will be about my experience working at an animal shelter. The essay will be 500 words long. Introduction. Hook: Share a brief and engaging anecdote about your experience at the animal shelter.
Write an essay in support of the following statement: As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, ... Chat GPT's response is randomly generated from all the information it has access to. It does not plagiarise anyone's work. It basically does what you would do: search for sources in order to gain an understanding, and ...
For a single essay, we can simply ask ChatGPT to grade as follows: For multiple essays, we could request ChatGPT to grade each one individually. However, when dealing with a large number of essays (e.g., 50, 100, 1000, etc.), manually grading them in this way becomes a laborious and time-consuming task.
Writing a research question. You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm potential research questions or to narrow down your thesis statement. Begin by inputting a description of the research topic or assigned question. Then include a prompt like "Write 3 possible research questions on this topic".
"The essay is such a mediocre essay that it would not help the candidate's application or chances," he said in an interview. "In fact, it would probably diminish it." Here is how Nguyen ...
3. Ask ChatGPT to write the essay. To get the best essay from ChatGPT, create a prompt that contains the topic, type of essay, and the other details you've gathered. In these examples, we'll show you prompts to get ChatGPT to write an essay based on your topic, length requirements, and a few specific requests:
College Admissions , College Essays. ChatGPT has become a popular topic of conversation since its official launch in November 2022. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can be used for all sorts of things, like having conversations, answering questions, and even crafting complete pieces of writing. If you're applying for college, you ...
Give ChatGPT a prompt. Now that you are logged in, you should be presented with the ChatGPT opening page and search bar. To get ChatGPT to generate an essay you will need to type a prompt into the search bar and click the send button. Note, that the more detail you give ChatGPT the more specific your essay will be.
Your research paper should be based on in-depth independent research. However, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be effectively used throughout the research process to: Brainstorm research questions. Develop a methodology. Create an outline. Find sources. Summarize and paraphrase text. Provide feedback. Note.
ChatGPT helps you get answers, find inspiration and be more productive. It is free to use and easy to try. Just ask and ChatGPT can help with writing, learning, brainstorming and more.
It can answer questions in human language and compose emails, essays, and code. ChatGPT runs on a language model architecture called the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (the "GPT" in ChatGPT). An interesting tidbit is that ChatGPT only has access to information up to 2021, compared to Google, which has access to the latest data.
Input. Please write a program in Python that calculates the sum of all numbers from 1 to N, where N is entered by the user. ChatGPT result: Here is one way to write a program in Python to calculate the sum of all numbers from 1 to N: n = int (input ("Enter a positive integer: ")) sum = 0. for i in range (1, n+1):
That said, the browser tool available with GPT-4 allows the product to get more recent information. There are a variety of things ChatGPT can get flatly wrong : facts, math problems and code.