How to Protect Good Writing Practices Amidst AI Misuse in Classrooms

AI has significantly transformed various industries, with education being one of the most affected. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence can never replace human reasoning or even writing style. 

In today's post, we will share a comprehensive guide on how educators can differentiate AI content from human-generated content. By the end, we’ll also provide effective strategies that educational institutions can implement to teach students how to use AI responsibly.

Is AI Disturbing the Usual Learning Process?

From the beginning of time, the purpose of learning has been to acquire knowledge. The process involves understanding, analyzing and applying what one has learned into actual life. Overall, this learning process comprises critical thinking, personalization, and, of course, lots of manual mental effort.

Now, the content AI tools generate doesn't involve human reasoning and critical analysis. Yes, artificial intelligence can resolve complex equations, generate comprehensive essays or even reason on critical topics. Anyhow, AI is doing all this at the expense of deploying the learning process.

Rather than learning to think critically, students are increasingly focused on quick results with minimal effort. This shift raises an important question: Are we creating a generation of learners or just consumers of content?

AI isn’t the enemy here. Used ethically, it can support the learning journey, offering explanations, brainstorming ideas, or providing feedback. But when it becomes a shortcut, it devalues the very essence of education. 

Can Artificial Intelligence Mimic Human Writing?

AI can do anything, it can generate content from scratch that is grammatically and factually correct. But artificial intelligence can never mimic how we humans write. Our writing styles often consist of expressions, emotions, and varying patterns that AI lacks. 

Yes, we can prompt artificial intelligence tools to give us personalized or humanized content. Even after all this, it might provide us with some promising content that may oftentimes bypass AI detector tools. 

The thing with these automation tools is that they work on the mechanism of trial and error. Sometimes, the prompts might generate content that would sound robotic and would directly indicate the use of AI. At other times, artificial intelligence might just nail the shot and write just like humans.

These differences, although sometimes subtle, can easily be identified by well-trained educators. Teachers often have hundreds of papers to review, and as a result, they are aware of the patterns an actual writer may follow. A slight or subtle change in these formats can help educators to tell apart human work from machine-generated content.

What Writing Practices Does Artificial Intelligence Follow?

AI tools don’t think, feel, or reason. They rely on vast datasets and pattern recognition to generate content. As a result, AI-written content often carries distinctive signs:

• Overuse of Pre-Existing Patterns

AI tends to rely heavily on predictable phrasing and structure. This leads to repetitive sentence patterns or transitions that lack variety and depth.

Another reason for this format is that AI doesn't critically think before generating content. Instead, it generates information using pre-existing content. Because of this, the pattern created by these tools might often feel redundant. This is one of the easiest indicators for educators to spot AI-generated content.

• Consistent Yet Unusual Varying Writing Tone

Artificial intelligence is now consistently trained to mimic human writing styles. This machine learning has indeed provided invaluable aid in generating content that exactly appears to be human and bypasses AI detector tools. But then, artificial intelligence can still get unusual sometimes because, after all, it is a machine.

An AI-generated excerpt would have a consistent tone throughout, but there would be a point where the tone might get unusual. Or there can be inconsistent gaps in transitioning from one paragraph to another. In either case, this varying tone would indicate the presence of artificial intelligence.

• Content Lacking Critical Analysis 

Artificial intelligence does provide well-formulated informative content, yet it doesn't educate on why or how a certain phenomenon is working. For instance, an AI-generated article might have everything about the topic but might not have its critical aspect. In short, it might outline the "what" of a subject without exploring the "why" or "how."

Now, in human writing, critical analysis is key to understanding a topic. An actual writer is capable of integrating different perspectives and linking ideas across varying disciplines. This analysis can also involve questioning assumptions or evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of various arguments. AI, however, does not possess these capabilities at all. 

• Limited Factual Accuracy 

It is always advised to use artificial intelligence tools for the sake of structuring the content and not for obtaining factual data. The reason? AI doesn't provide facts or insights in real time. It might generate results according to the prompts given, but the data is often in question due to inaccuracy.

For example, if a person is conducting research and obtains statistical data from AI, there is a probability that the insight will be inaccurate. This is simply because artificial intelligence is trained on a logarithm using pre-existing data. So, whatever is happening at that time or in the current situation might not be picked up by AI. 

• Repetitive Writing 

Another major sign of an artificially written paper is that it keeps repeating sentences, phrases, as well as paragraphs. Oftentimes, the structure might be altered a bit, but the true essence of the content may remain the same. This is the reason why AI-generated content often appears to be robotic, monotonous or boring.

• Lack of Emotions or Personal Experiences

Another distinguishing characteristic of AI-generated content is the absence of emotions or personal experiences. Human writing often carries a personal touch. It can be a writer’s unique perspective or personal anecdotes that make the content relatable. This is something AI struggles to replicate.

For example, a student might share a personal story or real-life insight to illustrate a point in an essay. These elements not only engage readers but also demonstrate the critical thinking and reflection of the writer.

In contrast, AI-generated content tends to be emotionless. AI cannot truly feel or experience life, so it cannot provide the depth of emotion that often colors writing. For example, artificial intelligence might include phrases like "this was an important event," but it cannot convey why it was important or how it made the writer feel.

How Can Educators Navigate AI Misuse in the Classroom?

Educators are the people who are benefiting as well as suffering the most due to the advent of artificial intelligence tools. Educational institutions are content with how AI is helping them improve their work. However, what they don't like is the way these machines are discouraging critical thinking and promoting shortcuts.  

Some strategies educators can use to navigate AI misuse and promote its ethical use in the classroom are:

• Evaluate Each Student’s Writing Style

Every individual has a unique way of writing, which may include the use of certain phrases or a specific style of reasoning. Educational institutions must ask every student to submit an essay the moment they join a class. Once an educator has obtained a baseline of how a student writes, they will be able to spot the use of AI later on.

Consequently, if a sudden shift in a student's writing style, tone, or structure is detected, it can be also compared to the draft obtained initially. This would allow instructors to get a clear idea of whether the student is using AI or has just outgrown their writing habits.

• Track Inconsistencies

Educators should always look out for inconsistent ideas or thought patterns in assignments. AI can often generate inconsistent content, such as jumping abruptly from one insight to another. If a paper follows this structure, it might strongly indicate the use of an artificial intelligence tool.

For example, a paper may discuss one topic in one paragraph and abruptly shift to another in the next. So, if the content doesn't have any transitions or isn't consistent throughout, it is definitely AI-generated.

Moreover, if a student by any chance submits a paper having inconsistent patterns, instructors must compare it with their previous work. For instance, if someone was previously considerate of the patterns and is now irresponsible, it may indicate their overreliance on AI.

• Identify Personal Experiences in the Content

Instructors should highlight how a student is using personal experiences or stories while writing an assignment. This doesn't mean the content should be overly casual, but it must have that personal touch that involves real emotions.

This personalization is the true indicator of human writing. No matter how innovative AI gets, it cannot replicate these features the way humans do. Educators should regularly encourage students to use case studies or personal reflections in their writings. This will allow them to evaluate whether a student is thinking critically about the given topic.

For instance, if an assignment lacks this personalization, it might be a sign that the student used an AI tool to complete the task.

• Ask Students to Submit Several Drafts

Another way educators can preserve good writing practices is by asking students to submit several drafts as they are working on their papers. It is not uncommon for many individuals to prepare a rough draft before finalizing the actual one. 

By analysing these drafts, instructors can have a clear understanding of what thought processes went on behind writing these papers. This also ensures that students are using their own critical thinking and reasoning instead of relying on AI.

• Keep Record of Revisions 

The way a student attempts to revise their work can tell a lot about whether they use AI or not. For instance, if a draft that had a lot of revisions previously is now overly polished, it might indicate the use of artificial intelligence tools.

Moreover, keeping a record of revisions can also help educators in evaluating how a student's work progresses from draft to draft. It gives them a clearer picture of how their ideas change over time and if they need any improvement or further refining.

• Promote Face-to-Face Draft Evaluation

Promoting face-to-face interactions during the draft review process can help educators assess a student's understanding of their work. Discussing the assignment with the student in person allows the educator to enquire whether the student truly understands the material. If a student struggles to elaborate on their ideas, it may be a sign that the work is AI-generated.

• Get Help From an AI Detector or Plagiarism Checker

Educators who don't want their students to compromise on good writing practices can also get help from an AI detector or plagiarism checker. Plagiarism Checker is particularly useful for identifying all sources from where certain sections in the assignment could have been copied from.

It is also important to check with a credible and reliable AI checker to identify parts of the assignment that might have been generated with AI. Such checkers provide in-depth analysis of the content on phrase as well as sentence level. 

Instructors can leverage these insights and ask students about their reliance on AI tools. Moreover, teachers can also leverage plagiarism checker tools that ensure the content submitted isn't copy-pasted. 

• Design Subjective Assignments 

One of the best ways to safeguard good writing practices and reduce students' overuse of AI tools is by assigning them subjective assignments. These may consist of open-ended assignments that compel a person to express their opinions using personalized responses. 

Such quizzes or papers allow students to engage with their work on a deeper level. As a result, instructors also get a better understanding of a student's input on their subject and whether he is relying on artificial shortcuts.

The Educator’s Role in Responsible AI Use

Artificial intelligence can be a great help, but the rule is to use it carefully. The role of educators here is to guide students to:

• Use AI for Refining or Improving Content Only: Encourage students to use artificial intelligence only for improving and refining grammar, spelling, or sentence structure.

• Leverage AI for Brainstorming or Gathering Thoughts: Guide students on how AI can be a valuable asset for gathering and organizing thoughts.

• Learn AI Literacy Through Academic Policies: Institutions must integrate academic integrity policies while they are guiding students on the ethical usage of AI.

• Utilize an AI Detector or Plagiarism Checker: Teachers must educate students on using an AI detector or plagiarism checker, even if they’re using artificial intelligence just for brainstorming.

• To Properly Cite Content: Many students are often not aware of citing sources the correct way. Educators should teach students the importance of citations, even for AI-generated content. Moreover, they must consider introducing a citation generator to simplify the process. 

Conclusion

AI, no doubt, is a major transformative force in the educational setup. Yet, its ability to replace human voice right now seems nearly impossible. For the time being, reliance on artificial intelligence not only undermines the true meaning of learning but also damages the content's credibility.

But this doesn't mean AI can be the red flag here. It can still be utilized for organising ideas, kickstarting thought patterns, and generating outlines. All in all, the rule is to never rely on these tools for creating content from scratch. And even if one leverages them, they must also consider using AI detector or plagiarism checker tools to verify content's originality.

Credible AI detector tools, such as isgen, provide a comprehensive analysis of which excerpts are generated using artificial intelligence. It supports more than 40 languages and phrase-level evaluation to ensure the content remains authentic.