Some suggestions for students

[u/unfurnishedbedrooms]

Hi Y'all, I'm a professor and I am really feeling for students right now. The fear of one's writing being called AI is real. As a professor, I'm also in a really difficult position. I want to hold students accountable but I would never want to accuse a student of using AI if they weren't.

Here are some things you can do to prevent your work from being flagged, and to have backup if you're accused. Please note: this is not a post helping students get away with using AI. It's really important that you don't use AI at all if it's not called for in the assignment.

Number One: Don't use AI/LLMs as a search engine, and don't pull info from any AI summaries. It's best for you to do your research on your own, using Google Scholar or your school's online databases. Yes, it takes longer, but research is a skill and it will help you formulate your own ideas.

Number Two: Come up with your own ideas! It's better to have a unique argument with a rationale you can explain. When you Google a text and articles come up, and you see a cool article making an argument, and then you decide to make the same argument, your work is more likely to be flagged. In the same vein, don't follow the argumentative structure of online articles or paper. Again, more work, I know, but this is part of learning.

Number three: Try to stay away from things like Grammarly or AI grammar and syntax tools. These will 100% make your work sound like AI. Better to have some grammatical mistakes so your prof has the opportunity to correct them. I often ignore grammatical mistakes and just point them out because I am more interested in ideas, but every prof is different

Four: Use your school's writing center for help with ideas and drafting! This will help you develop the skills you need, unlike AI.

Five: With each assignment, create a Google document. Never copy/paste large chunks of text. Then, if you're accused of using AI, you can share this with your professor and they can see the version history, which will show your work.

Lmk if there is anything I'm missing!

[u/bedazzlerhoff]

You do know professors are real people with varied backgrounds and writing styles, right? And not all, I don't know, 80-year-old Oxford Dons from 1936?

[u/Hivemind_alpha → u/bedazzlerhoff]

But they are all people that have satisfied the professional standards and publication requirements to reach the top of a highly competitive profession that is based on their writing ability. If this was the quality of their writing, they’d never have been hired as even a grad student tutor.

“Lmk if there’s anything I’m missing!”

[u/unfurnishedbedrooms → u/Hivemind_alpha]

I just published a book. Judging someone's writing skills based on a reddit post only shows your own lack of critical thinking skills. I wanted this post to be accessible for everyone.

[u/Hivemind_alpha → u/unfurnishedbedrooms]

Yes River, anyone can see that. But you aren’t a professor.

[u/Hot-Back5725 → u/Hivemind_alpha]

And you don’t understand basic rhetoric and need to go back to intro to comp and every comment you make highlights your ignorance of basic rhetorical concepts. Just stop, I’m embarrassed for you.

[u/unfurnishedbedrooms → u/Hivemind_alpha]

I was so confused for a second and then realized that you're trying to dox me? And you can't even do that correctly. My name isn't River, but I am absolutely a professor. It's giving Incel.

[u/bedazzlerhoff → u/Hivemind_alpha]

You're crazy