Don’t miss Episode 6 of The WritersWeekly Podcast! How AI (Artificial Intelligence) is Getting Writers, Students, and Even LAWYERS into Trouble!

“Plagiarism is one of the great academic sins. It has the power to destroy a scholar or writer and turn a lifetime’s work to dust.” —Miranda Divine

As an instructor of English composition courses, plagiarism has always been an issue I’ve been forced to deal with. Before AI (Artificial Intelligence), it was relatively easy to document a student’s plagiarism, but now it has proven to be more difficult. With just a few keystrokes, students are presented with much information on any topic or piece of literature that would have taken me hours of searching to find in a library. Unfortunately, the creativity-destructive AI malady has not only affected my students (who too often are already lazy) but many writers as well.  Here is how I address the use of AI with my college students:

1. When they are required to write about literature, I demand that they give me a reader’s response in first person.Here is the structure I require: In the first paragraph, mention the full title and author and some general statement of why the reading is valuable to you. In the second, tell me what themes or main ideas you see in the reading. In the third, quote some important sentences or phrases and tell me why they are important. In the fourth paragraph, say something about the technique or characters, or include a comparison to another reading you’ve read, or even a movie. In the fifth paragraph, come to some sort of overall conclusion about the reading. (Each paragraph must be at least five sentences). You must not use second-person language and you must have a CORRECT MLA citation of the reading.  I may or may not direct them to not use ANY outside sources other than the reading itself. This includes any introduction, footnotes or endnotes! Traditionally, we have wanted students to respond in third person, but I now require first person, since first-person writing is not possible because AI does not know the student.

2. I can tell if a student uses AI to write their paper instead of their own study. I tell them that I use reliable, online AI detectors. You can do a search for AI detectors. It is not enough for a student to have an essay that is grammatically correct. AI papers are boring and typically use technical terms and language that a Ph.D professor or an advanced English major would use, and that language is a dead giveaway that a student didn’t write it. A simple interview or oral vocabulary exam would reveal that. Also, I warn them to not use or consult Spark Notes, Cliffnotes, Wikipedia, Google or ChatGPT, etc. to obtain themes or ideas on what to write. Write in first person and respond to the story I have you read by including personal anecdotes, observations,  reactions, and experiences. Doing this will help convince me that the writing is the student’s own.  I also warn my students that, last year, my college expelled two students for plagiarism.

3. I also like to require an original three-point thesis sentence as the last sentence of the first paragraph, and that the following body paragraphs (usually three to five paragraphs) are to follow each point of that sentence. That structure, and writing in first person, has helped many of my students avoid the temptation to cheat by using AI for filler.

In this age, when students are fascinated by and increasingly reliant upon AI and social media, it is important that teachers (and writers) find ways to avoid AI plagiarism. A recent media forecast predicted that AI could become a young person’s best friend. The thought of having an AI best friend horrifies me, and it should horrify my students as well.

EDITOR’S NOTE: You can contact Rickey Pittman to get a free book editing quote RIGHT HERE.

BOOKS BY RICKEY PITTMAN (published by BookLocker.com!):

• Stories of the Confederate South – Walt Whitman was a nurse for Union Armies during the Civil War. He once said, “The real war will never get in the books.” Pittman’s Stories of the Confederate South presents a true account of the real War Between the States.
• Under the Witch’s Mark – A man meets, loves, and loses a witch in Dallas.
• Just Write for Dinner: Planning, Producing, and Presenting Dinner Theatre – Tap into the lucrative market of dinner theatre!
• How to Market Your Book to Libraries – How an author can make money marketing books to libraries.

RELATED

• Have YOUR Books Been Used to Train AI? – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• Generative vs. Assistive AI…and When Writers Need To Disclose By K.M. Robinson
• Beware the (False!) AI Sniff Test By Diona L. Reeves
• The Impact of AI on Screenwriting in Hollywood By Mark Heidelberger
• ARE YOU A BARD, TOO? 10 Bits of Writing and Publishing Advice from the Famous Bard of the South, Rickey Pittman!

Rickey Pittman is a storyteller, a songwriter, and author of fifteen published books. You can email him at: rickeyp@bayou.com