Writing an essay is easy for some, but a real chore for others. What ChatGPT does and what it doesn’t do often gets confused.
Many people believe that ChatGPT is being used to plagiarize material and thereby create an unethical code of conduct. Plagiarism in any form is quite unethical and more to the point, ChapGPT was not created for this type of use.
Instead, ChatGPT is used to assist in writing and offer a few helpful tips that can aid in the process. As a writing tool, ChatGPT is quite useful.
Here are several ways that ChatGPT can be used while writing an essay.
1. Idea Generation
Those who have written enough essays understand quite well that the idea is what comes first when writing an essay.
When an essay is assigned, many professors will give their students a general idea, or have them select from a list of ideas, what they will write about.
The idea is the foundation of the essay, but it is up to the student to use their own sense of self-expression and to analyze the idea fully to help flesh out the body of the essay.
It is this first step that trips up a lot of students when it comes to determining what they will write, how it will sound, and what pertinent facts will find their way into the essay.
The angle of an essay is quite tricky for several people, as it involves taking the best possible approach from which to write, and then finding the necessary words and supporting ideas to incorporate into the body of the work.
With ChatGPT it’s possible to type in what is needed, including various keywords, and allow the chatbot to do the work.
Not only will the chatbot suggest a title, but it will instruct students on what direction to take with the essay, and what references will prove to be the most useful in their research.
In this manner, a student can get a healthy headstart on their essay and complete the rest on their own with a useful guide that will help them along.
2. Creating an Outline
After finding the topic, another difficult hurdle for many students to cross is the brainstorming portion of their assignment.
Many people will find it difficult to think of connecting subjects that can help to flesh out their topic and allow them to continue forward.
The outline is the skeleton of the essay that allows the students to follow one point after another in a manner that allows for a logical progression that highlights one point after another so as to avoid confusion within the essay.
The outline writing process can become a little tedious for many since it is quite regimented and requires a logical flow that does not deviate from one point to the next. The chatbot can accomplish this as well.
Similar to the first method in idea generation, one needs only to type in what is needed for the chatbot to follow in order to create an ordered and efficient outline.
The chatbot can create a condensed and thorough outline for a shorter essay, or it can elaborate for a longer one. How effective this outline is depends on the individual giving the chatbot the order.
The more detail that is provided, the more detailed the outline will be. This outline can be manually altered if needs be, or it can be completed entirely by the chatbot.
Depending on what is placed in the instructions, the outline can also make good use of references that are efficient/necessary for the essay in question.
3. Finding Sources with ChatGPT
Once the student knows their subject, has fleshed it out, and has a general direction for their essay, it becomes necessary to find the resources that will be needed for the project.
Depending on the efficiency of the outline and idea creation, resources are either easy or difficult to find. Much as it is seen in the previous two points, one only needs to type in the keywords that are needed to conduct a search for the best resources.
The chatGPT can then output up to seven resources, using a bullet point for each source that explains what it is and why it will be pertinent, and useful, to the paper.
What has been found, unfortunately, is that there is limited access to information that has been input after 2021. There are other sources to use when attempting to find resources that are more up-to-date.
4. Writing a Sample Essay
There is one major caveat to this practice, and it is that there are processes in place to detect plagiarism. With that in mind, using a sample essay generated by ChatGPT or any other service will be detected.
If a student is intent on using any part of an AI-generated essay it will be required that they cite this accordingly. The average response from any instructor will be an automatic fail and could further result in expulsion from an institution depending on which level this essay is being used for.
With that in mind, the general process of using ChatGPT to generate a sample essay includes creating a sample text, identifying the topic, and the length that is desired, and then allow the chatbot to work.
This generally takes seconds to complete and will generate an essay that is coherent and easy to follow. It is best to use this as a guide for one’s own writing.
One thing to remember about ChatGPT is that the ideas and words that will be put in place will be statistically valid to the AI.
This might still require a bit of fact-checking to make certain that all facts are true and accurate. This tool uses an aggregate of information to create an original piece, meaning it will take bits and pieces of what has been presented in order to create an essay that sounds sensible.
What it will not always do is provide an essay that is entirely factual and capable of being used. In this manner, it is a guide that teaches form and function but requires the student to do the work and follow the guidelines that are being set.
5. Co-editing your essay with Chatgpt
After writing the essay, the student can use ChatGPT’s advanced capabilities to help edit the essay.
This process is another tripping point for many students who are often satisfied to be done with the essay but do not go over it a final time to ensure that every word is in the right place and grammar has been applied in an efficient way.
ChatGPT can help with this step
The student is required to tell the chatbot what needs to be edited. The most obvious flaws to find are those in structure and grammar.
However, there are other points within the essay that need to be addressed in order to complete the assignment in a suitable manner. Flow and tone are just as necessary, as are other matters that help to create a professional essay.
Upon editing the essay, the chatGPT will offer a prompt to paste the text, after which it will output the work with the corrections already being made.
This process goes beyond simple spellchecking and will seek to edit the essay in a thorough and effective manner that will help the student to complete their essay effectively.
This can also be used for specific paragraphs and sentences, and one can even ask the chatbot to clarify their wording to create the best possible result.
There are a great number of misconceptions about using AI to generate an original piece of work. The challenge of creating an essay is one that many students find daunting for a number of different reasons.
What ChatGPT does for those who have difficulty in coming up with ideas, creating an outline, or editing their own work is to help with the defined processes so that students can better learn how to correct their own failings.
While some contend that using AI to create a sample work that can help to guide a student further along the writing path, the truth is that it is an effective aid that is conducive to learning.
The use of ChatGPT can, unfortunately, become controversial when those who have no intention of doing their own work use AI to create a work that is not their own with the intention of passing it off as original.
As occurs with many tools used in education, the tool itself is not the problem, as ChatGPT has been proven as a useful and effective method of helping those who need extra aid in creating their own essays in several different ways.
Utilizing ChatGPT in creating an essay is an easy and effective method that can help the students of today learn how to craft and edit their own essays in a professional manner.