Using AI to Write Your Papers: Five Things You Should Know

Welcome everyone to this presentation I've titled Using AI for Your Writing: Five Things You Should Know. My name is Dr. Jodie Salter and I'm a writing specialist in the McLaughlin Library at the University of Guelph. And in this session, I'm not going to tell you to avoid using AI tools to support your schooling, nor will I tell you how to use these tools to write your papers. We all need to learn how to use AI tools effectively and ethically. And in this session, I will talk about some of their limitations, the potential risks of using them, and thus how to use these tools appropriately. This is a 25 minute information session that I divided into two parts. First, I will focus on using AI generated content for your coursework. Second, I'll address some of the longer term negative consequences of using AI to shortcut the learning process. In university, you are expected to complete many assignments for each class. And the semester gets very busy and stressful as we move into midterms and closer to final exams. We are seeing more and more students turning to AI providers such as ChatGPT to write their essays. I've created a one-page handout on the library learning commons website that accompanies my talk. So there are three key areas of concern when using AI generated content in your writing and these issues are around academic misconduct, false information and generalizations. So the first one, academic misconduct. What is this? It is loosely defined as any action that gives a student an unfair advantage such as copying someone else's answers, plagiarizing another paper, paying someone to do your own work, cheating on tests, and pretending AI generated content is your own work. So academic dishonesty can have significant negative consequences. So some things to know is submitting AI generated content as your own work or using this content without permission is considered academic misconduct. If you have questions, you should review the brief University of G statement on artificial intelligence systems, chat GPT, and academic integrity to better understand the rules and recommendations. These slides contain links to important resources and so I'll make this information available to you after the presentation. Number two, false information. We live in a world where so much fake news circulates already, so don't perpetuate it. AI can hallucinate, which means it often provides inaccurate and made up information and references. I noticed the other day that my Google search now includes an automatic disclaimer. AI responses may include mistakes. Number three, AI generalizes. It doesn't know your class content nor your professor's expectations. So, it can only provide general non-specific information. It cannot draw connections between your learning in one class with another or between subjects that you're interested in to create new ideas and discoveries. My advice for you when using AI generated content in your coursework, always check the syllabus for every class and ask your professor about their rules around AI use because these rules will differ between classes and professors. Before turning to AI to shortcut your research process, visit the library front desk and or use the online chat with library assistance to learn how to find good sources that are specific and relevant to your course material. Three, if AI use is permitted for your essays and coursework, be sure to properly site any AI generated work that you include. And I've provided a link here to the Purdue University Library guide on AI citations. Number four, before accepting any AI suggestions, carefully read the assignment instructions, the grading rubric, and the learning outcomes to make sure you know what you're supposed to do and what questions you are supposed to answer. And number five, most importantly, double check all the references and facts to ensure all information is correct. Don't assume that just because AI generated content has a reference attached that it is actually derived from a legitimate source. So in summary, do your due diligence as a student to confirm the information is accurate. Remember, you're here to learn, to develop your brain, deepen your thinking, learn new knowledge. You're not here at the University of Guelph just to get through the next four years. So, if you shortcut your learning by letting AI earn your university degree for you, you'll short change yourself of career options and future successes. Which leads me to my second discussion topic, your learning process. As a university student, if you begin to rely on AI to complete your assignments and coursework for you, this shortcut to learning negatively impacts two key areas of your growth. Your academic skills and your intellectual development. So before I address these areas of concern, I want to talk briefly about the learning process and information retention. So just some open questions here. How much do you actually remember from what you studied last year? How much or how many of you might have crammed for an exam or written a paper the night before the due date? These are all too common experiences in university. So to talk about the learning process, I want to highlight two important studies. One from the early 1900s, which still proves true today, and one from 2025 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is a top tier research university in Cambridge. Study one is the Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting. So psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus researched learning and forgetting and he created the now famous Ebbinghaus curve of forgetting. His findings proven again and again over 100 years of subsequent studies discovered that without active and repeated engagement with new information. We forget approximately 50% of what we've learned in one hour, 75% within a day and 90% within a week. That's a lot of lost information if we don't actively engage in our studies. So practice and repetition help you develop those strong neural pathways in our brain. And these brain connections and cognitive developments lead to increased confidence and self-reliance and thus enhanced emotional and academic well-being. This leads me to study two. your brain development on ChatGPT. A recent 2025 study from MIT investigated what happens when we rely on AI to shortcut our learning process. These researchers use EEGs or electrodes to monitor and compare the brain activity of students who use Gen AI to write their essays and students who did not use AI assistance to write their essays. And after four months, these EEGs revealed significant differences. Their biggest findings are the Gen AI users showed weaker brain activity, 55% decrease in neural connectivity, and substantially lower memory recall. Four months, that's one semester. One semester of relying on AI to do your deep thinking, your coursework, find the answers. That's a 55% decrease in the neural activity, which is frightening. When our brain does not fire along specific pathways, we do not reinforce those neural connections. And this inactivity results in synaptic die off. It follows the use it or lose it principle. So that leads me to number four, your academic skills. Using AI can impact your academic skill development both in the short term and long term. For the short term, relying on AI to write your papers will leave you ill-prepared and more stressed for timed and in-class tests and exams. In the longer term, without practicing your writing skills, you will under develop your ability for organization, complex thinking, and communication. All of which are essential for your academic path and your future career success. Job interviews, cold calls, cover letters, work presentations, they all necessitate the ability to clearly articulate your ideas and synthesize complex information succinctly. Your intellectual development. Number five. Relying on AI to produce answers makes you unprepared for tests, class discussions, future assignments, and also undermines your career readiness. The shortcutting our academic skill development impacts our intellectual development. So you are students and the learning process requires you to stretch beyond your comfort zone and to challenge yourself. So try to actively engage in your learning practice and repeat so that new neural connections in your brain fire and develop new pathways for more complex thinking. I asked ChatGPT about this topic on relying on AI for coursework and its advice and I quote here "using human help that's within university guidelines is often more tailored and safer than relying on generic AI outputs". So my advice for using AI to support your learning process is learn how to use AI as a tool, not as a crutch, but as a tool to help you brainstorm ideas, clarify your knowledge, understand complex concepts. But be sure to practice your own writing your own ideas before prompting AI. And then meet with a writing peer or a TA in the library to get started on your papers, to brainstorm your topics, strengthen your paragraphs, organize your essay structures, and develop your own strong academic writing style and voice. and meet with a learning peer in the library to develop strong learning and time management skills. So, it might sound silly, but don't let AI take your University of Guelph degree from you. Use your time here at the university to learn and develop the skills to think more deeply. Reach out to all the support systems here designed to help you become a stronger, healthier, happier student who will have more options for success. To talk about using AI appropriately and effectively to support your writing and coursework, you can book free appointments in the library and you can meet either online or in person with student writing peers and TAs, student learning peers, supported learning groups, and research assistants. And I recommend that you come early before the semester gets too busy so you can find out ways to effectively shortcut your learning without relying on AI.