In one of my modules from last semester, our professor told us to include an artificial intelligence (AI) reflection statement in our assessments. This requires us to declare any application of AI generative tools during the process of writing the essay and reflect on the reasons behind our decisions to use or abstain from using them. AI has pervasively presented itself in different aspects of students’ lives, including the academic field. To date, I have noticed that discussions regarding the application of AI tools for academic purposes are always polarized. On one side, AI generative tools, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly can assist students in enhancing their writing. On the other hand, ethical concerns surrounding data privacy and accuracy are raised. In most universities, although there are guidelines provided, AI tools are not explicitly banned for academic purposes. In this way, are college students encouraged to use AI tools? Or how should they use these tools properly? In this article, I will try to explore this multifaceted topic in terms of academic writing.
Before delving into the process of writing an academic piece, it is essential to check the AI guidelines offered by your university or faculty and make sure you stick to all the instructions. All insights of this article will restrictively follow the guidance provided by KCL.
Stage 1: Planning
During the stage of planning an essay or other academic assessment, AI generative tools are useful for brainstorming around a certain topic and outlining the structure for a particular piece. More specifically, these tools can be used to analyse different discourses and writing styles which assists us in mimicking these styles better for ourselves. However, it needs to be stressed that we should develop our own personal voices and ideas, rather than merely copying and pasting. In this stage, AI tools are valuable for generating inspiration and helping us to start an assignment.
Stage 2: Writing
In the writing stage, it is crucial to emphasise that we should not use AI tools for generating content for our assignments due to the consideration of ethical issues and fairness. Instead, generative AI like ChatGPT can be employed as a reading tool to summarise key points of articles.
In my AI reflection statement, I explain why I chose to work with Deepl while writing my essay. As an AI-powered translation tool, Deepl can translate texts or files instantly from one language to another. My reasons are listed below:
‘As an international student with English as my second language, sometimes it was challenging for me to read and understand complicated academic literature, especially when it involved obscure theoretical concepts.’
‘In this way, I used Deepl to translate sentences from academic references that I could not fully comprehend during the processes of researching, outlining, and drafting this assignment.’
‘On rare occasions, I employed Deepl to translate words or phrases from Chinese that I was unsure how to express in English.’
From my perspective as an international student, AI translation tools are even more helpful than generative AI in assisting with academic writing.
Stage 3: Checking
The AI guidance of KCL on academic writing states that generative AI is beneficial for providing feedback immediately. Even though I have no experience in asking AI tools to generate feedback, I normally apply Grammarly, an AI-powered writing assistance tool for grammar checking, after finishing my entire essay. In the reflection statement, I explained:
‘As a non-native English writer, my intention of employing Grammarly was to double-check my writing and identify any grammatical mistakes.’
Similar to the reasons for using Deepl, Grammarly is also helpful for identifying any grammatical mistakes and enhancing my whole piece of writing.
Despite the features of AI tools being extremely helpful and convenient, the accuracy of the generated results is still in doubt. For example, the translated outcomes of Deepl often need to be optimised to ensure academic precision. Personally, my essential step for refinement is to double-check professional dictionaries, such as the Oxford Dictionary. Therefore, we should view AI tools as an assistant rather than a supervisor during academic writing. This means that we need to carefully check everything generated from these tools and apply them properly.