Using ChatGPT for Essays in English Composition Classes

The best essays are written by people for people.
"Corona Typewriter" image courtesy of the author

ChatGPT and other AI language generators can be a great tool to have in your essay-writing toolbox, but using any of them comes with one really big warning: If you try to get AI to write your whole essay, you're going to be disappointed.

Recognizing Cheating and Plagiarism

Buying an essay online, reusing an old essay you turned in for another class, getting someone else's paper from another class and turning it in as your own, or taking parts of an article or study without attributing those ideas to the original author: Most students recognize each of these examples as cheating or plagiarism. Using ChatGPT to generate an essay and then turning in that essay as your own work is the same: cheating and plagiarism. When you turn in someone else's work as your own, that's cheating and plagiarism, even if the someone isn't really a someone. Even worse, ChatGPT does not cite its sources, which means part of that essay it generates for you might very well be plagiarized, as well, and if you turn it in you'll be plagiarizing the words of others in the words you've plagiarized! Double trouble! Yikes!

How can you use ChatGPT ethically, without cheating or plagiarism?

If you need to use ChatGPT to help you get started, try asking it for three different perspectives on an issue or topic. Ask it to generate a list of writers who write about that topic in each perspective. ChatGPT excels at mimicking conversation about a topic, so instead of using it as a substitution for thinking through your own ideas, use it to help you come to your own conclusions about a topic. Chat with ChatGPT. But! Continue to be cautious: Beware false facts when chatting with ChatGPT.

Recognizing Inaccuracies

Not only does ChatGPT plagiarize the words and ideas of other authors, it even sometimes makes up false facts and presents them as true, ruining the ethos and logos (link) of the work it's generated. 

For instance, I recently asked GhatGPT to provide a list of poets who've written poems about poison ivy. It spit out a poem called Poison Ivy and attributed it to Langston Hughes. When I didn't recognize it and asked in a follow-up question for it to tell me when and where that poem was published, it "apologized," as sincerely as AI can apologize, and told me it had simply made up the poem in the style of Langston Hughes and that Langston Hughes didn't really write it. Although that was an easy error to forgive if not forget, it gets much worse, even deadly.

In a recent online article published in Fortune by Senior Editor Steve Mollman, Mollman explains that experts are warning that because texts are now being generated by AI and published and sold by unethical writers on platforms like Amazon, the quality of such content may literally be deadly. Imagine reading a book by a person posing as an expert forager only to realize too late that you've eaten a deadly mushroom you found on the forest floor, a mushroom the "writer" of your text on foraging presented and described as edible. 

How do you check the content of ChatGPT's chats? 

You must ask follow-up questions of ChatGPT, like I had to do with Poison Ivy, and you need to check the content against other sources. As stated earlier, you can even ask the AI to provide the names of authors who write about the topic from different perspectives. Once you have those names, read those writers' works. When it comes to content, "When in doubt, leave it out," is a good rule of thumb. That means if you doubt the accuracy of the content, don't use it. As for the credibility of source authors or publications, if the writer doesn't have credibility or authority, you may want to doubt their content, as well, or at least cross-reference it again. If you're having trouble finding recent or credible articles or studies by the given authors, head to the library to ask for assistance from a reference librarian. They're there to help!

Recognizing Bad Writing

Not only does ChatGPT plagiarize and make stuff up, it produces bad writing. Grammatically correct or not, the writing lacks voice and style, sentence variety, authenticity, or even specific examples from real life that appeal to an intended audience. After all, an AI cannot provide real examples from real life because it doesn't have one. It cannot fully write for an intended audience because it isn't part of one. Real examples must originate with a real-life writer who has experience communicating with a variety of other real-life people! 

The best essays I read from student writers include their own realizations about humanity, moments and experiences from their lives, and other subtle indications that they care about their topic. Regardless of the grammar and mechanics, those are the essays I want to read. That said, the bestest bestest essays do both: they include the real-life voice of the real-life writer and they have been carefully edited and revised for unity, coherence, clarity, content, and formatting.

How can you get ChatGPT to correct your grammar without making your writing sound robotic and dull?

First, you have to do your own prewriting, outlining, research, and drafting, the first of the steps in the writing process (link). You can then enter your own writing, one sentence or a few sentences at a time and ask ChatGPT to help you make the writing more grammatically correct. You could ask it to 

• correct punctuation, mechanics, and citation style
• check your use of transitional words and phrases (link) 
• review your level of language or formality
• assess your use of examples for a particular intended audience
• clarify a thesis statement for a specific mode of communication 

Although you never want to use ChatGPT to write your whole essay because it's a form of cheating, it plagiarizes the content you'd be plagiarizing, it makes stuff up, and the writing is bad, there are ways to use it effectively and ethically. In short, do your own thinking, do your own writing, and use ChatGPT with caution for how it was intended: to have a chat about your topic, about your sources, or about your writing. Ultimately, you are responsible for making decisions about your final draft and the work you present.

Works Cited

Mollman, Steve. “Mycologists Warn of ‘life or Death’ Consequences as Foraging Guides Written with A.I. Chatbots Crop up on Amazon.” Fortune, 7 Sept. 2023, fortune.com/2023/09/03/ai-written-mushroom-hunting-guides-sold-on-amazon-potentially-deadly/

Write Like a Naturalist

"Cat and Lavender through Window," Image curtesy of the Amy Lynn Hess

Many of the activities I suggest in my Write Outside text are the types of activities that might appeal to a naturalist, which might leave a student wondering what a naturalist is or what a person who engages in naturalism really does. To be honest, I never considered what a naturalist does or what naturalism entails before writing my book, so when these terms were presented to me, it made me very curious, as well.

Can you define naturalism?

The definition of naturalism I found that I most appreciate is from The Environmental Science Web page, which defines naturalism as “the study of the natural world as a whole and the study of each species within its environment(s), as well as how species interact with each other.” I especially like the phrase "as a whole" because it reminds me of the interconnectedness I feel when I am physically engaged in nature-based activities.

What do naturalists do?

The examples that best helped me understand the type of work professional naturalists do are located within natural history museums and are fun to explore. The types of exhibits that appear in a natural history museum have often been studied or curated by naturalists, from the dinosaur skeletons assembled by paleontologists, to the tiny shells collected by oceanic biologists, and from the planetary solar system exhibits created by planetary scientists, to the diagrams drawn by biologists of how trees communicate through fungi in the soil.

In addition to the scientists who study space, marine life, dinosaurs, and fungi, professions related to naturalists and naturalism also include geologists, botanists, wildlife biologists, park rangers, environmental scientists, civil engineers, etymologists, natural resource managers, botanical or wildlife illustrators or photographers, ecopoets, and ecotourism guides.

Do you know any naturalists?

There have been many famous naturalists throughout history, and there are even contemporary naturalists you can take classes with today. The following are just a few examples of the many famous naturalists who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the natural world. Although each is known as a naturalist, each also has a distinct profession and unique professional accomplishments.

• Charles Darwin: Darwin was an English naturalist who is best known for his theory of evolution by natural selection. He is also known for his extensive research and documentation of the flora and fauna of South America and the Galapagos Islands. Many contemporary works refer to Darwin, and to understand his work is to better understand several contemporary ideologies.
• John Muir Laws: According to Laws’s Web site, “He is a naturalist, artist, and educator who has dedicated his work to connecting people to nature through art and science. From an early age, his parents instilled in him a deep love and respect for nature. Over the years, that love has grown into a commitment to stewardship and a passion to share the delight of exploring nature with others.” He has also posted some excellent resources and YouTube videos to help new naturalists get started with nature journaling.
• John James Audubon: Audubon was an American ornithologist and naturalist who is best known for his detailed illustrations and descriptions of North American birds. He also contributed to our understanding of North American mammals and their behavior.
• Alexander von Humboldt: Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer who is known for his extensive travels throughout South America and other parts of the world. He is credited with laying the foundation for modern biogeography and ecology.
• Greta Thunberg: Thunberg is a young climate change activist who is well known for a speech she delivered to the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit entitled How Dare You?
• Rachel Carson: Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist who is best known for her book Silent Spring, which warned of the dangers of pesticide use and helped to launch the modern environmental movement.
• David Attenborough: Attenborough, who has one of my favorite voices, is a British naturalist and broadcaster who is known for his documentaries on wildlife and the natural world. He has also written several books on natural history and conservation.

Although each of these listed examples is known as a naturalist, each also has a distinct profession and unique professional accomplishments.

What are some projects for new naturalists?

After satisfying my own curiosity, I certainly recognize how I can potentially lean into the inclusion of naturalism and projects for new naturalists in my next few posts and in my next edition of Write Outside, especially when it comes to nature journaling. Although it’s main intent as a text is to help students learn to be better writers, the focus on writing like a naturalist would only help to better define the course aims.

Want to read the 2nd edition of Write Outside? Check out Write Outside on the Kendall Hunt Web site.