Critical AI-assisted Writing Tutoring

Brief Description

This resource is designed to provide guidelines with prompt questions for writing tutors who support college-level students through synchronous online services that integrate ChatGPT. The primary focus is on assisting college-level students with common writing challenges: getting started, outlining the structure, and writing a first draft. By tailoring the prompt questions to specific topics, tutors can effectively support students in improving their writing assignments and develop critical AI literacy. Considering that tutors do not always have expertise in the specific subjects of students’ writings, this resource can help enhance tutors’ ability to better support both the writing process and the quality of students’ final outcome.

AI tool used: ChatGPT

Getting started 

• After ensuring that students have a clear understanding of their topics and main points, tutors can help them begin asking ChatGPT for assistance, using the following prompt questions. Students can then compare their key points with ChatGPT’s suggestions.
  • Can you help me create a first draft of my research paper on [the topic]?
  • Think this through step by step. First [do this]..Next, [do this] … Finally [do this]…
• Based on the requirements of the writing assignments (e.g., target audience and style), students can modify the following prompt questions to brainstorm ideas on specific topics. (In each single conversation, ChatGPT will remember and consider anything previously provided).
  • Act as [x] and provide [y]
    • Ex: Act as a poststructural scholar. Whatever I tell you, provide skeptical and detailed responses to my education project to promote equity through AI-assisted teaching and learning.
  • Assume I am [x] and do [y]
    • Ex; Assume I am a PhD student in brain science and provide constructive feedback on my proposed project on AI ethics for brain scientists in a professional style.
• To help students refine their prompt questions and receive better suggestions from ChatGPT, the following prompt questions can be used. These will assist students in assessing the clarity of their questions and correcting them if they are not heading in the intended direction.
  • Whenever I ask a question, suggest a better question and ask me if I would like to use it instead.
  • I want you to ask me questions until you have enough information to [x] (suggest, describe, summarize…). Ask me the first question now.

Outlining the structure

• As students examine content from ChatGPT with students, encourage them to organize the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion according to their key points. While ChatGPT’s suggestions are useful for outlining the structure, ensure that students incorporate their unique insights and perspectives into the outline by experimenting with different examples and locating their own supporting quotes and evidence. To promote personalization and originality, encourage students to reflect on the following prompt questions.
  • Do you hear your unique voice and perspectives in this outline? If not, how would you describe your paper to someone else? What language would you use to reflect your individual voice? What examples or analogies would you employ? Are there specific examples or anecdotes from your own life or course readings that could enhance your writing? Do they reflect your expertise in the subject matter?

Writing a first draft

• Building upon the outline, students can proceed to draft their papers. To make sure the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion are well-structured and coherent, students can ask for assistance from ChatGPT. Here are some examples.
  • I am stuck on this paragraph. Could you please help me rewrite it to incorporate  the following points and provide me with ten different options in a professional style to conclude the paragraph?
  • How might “harshest critics” respond to my argument presented in this paragraph? What are the counter-arguments they would likely pose?
• Once they have the initial draft with ChatGPT’s assistance, make sure that students review their work for coherence, clarity, and accuracy, reflecting on the following questions.
  • Are you conscious of the importance of proper attribution and citation for any information retrieved from ChatGPT? It is notorious for generating sources, quotes, even facts that may not be accurate. How do you ensure rigorous fact-checking of content obtained from ChatGPT?
  • Do ChatGPT’s suggestions maintain the intended meaning of your writing?
• Before submitting their papers, students can utilize ChatGPT to proofread for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. It is important to note that ChatGPT may not catch all errors, and students are ultimately responsible for the final quality of their work submitted for class. Here are some critical questions that students can use to leverage ChatGPT for proofreading.
  • Do ChatGPT’s suggestions follow the required formatting guidelines for your writing assignment? Do you think ChatGPT understood the context of your sentences to suggest appropriate corrections?
• Ensure that students remember to cite ChatGPT’s contribution. The following format serves as an example for referencing the ChatGPT-generated content to maintain academic integrity.
  • This paper was co-authored by [your name] and ChatGPT version [4o if you used the free version.] I submitted the following prompts: [insert here.] I edited and/or adapted ChatGPT suggestions in the following ways: [insert here.]

Prep Time Needed: This resource is for synchronous online writing tutoring services and students are encouraged to upload their assignment details and/or the instructor-provided rubrics prior to their appointment. Thus, tutors should plan to spend about 20 minutes reviewing the information in advance, tailoring prompt questions to the specific requirements of each student’s writing assignment.

Classroom Time Needed: This is for one-hour synchronous online writing service. However, one-hour session might not be sufficient to cover the entire writing process for an initial draft depending on the complexity and context of students’ papers.

Students Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to learn how to use ChatGPT critically and effectively for creating the initial working drafts of their papers.

How to assess: No formal assessment is necessary but tutors can take 5-10 minutes before wrapping up the appointment to ask questions that encourage students to critically reflect on their writing process with ChatGPT. Here are some example questions to facilitate this reflection.

• How did ChatGPT’s suggestions align with the purpose of your paper?
• How did you verify the accuracy and relevance of the information provided by ChatGPT?
• What criteria did you use to decide which of ChatGPT suggestions to incorporate into your draft?
• How did you ensure that your voice and perspective remained dominant in the writing, despite using ChatGPT?
• How did ChatGPT help you organize your ideas and structure your paper?

Recommended course size: This is for one-on-one online writing service.

Recommended disciplines: This resource can be applicable to any discipline that allows for AI-assisted writing process.

Student Role: The students should critically engage in AI-assisted writing process.

Tutor role: The tutor serves as a facilitator that supports students’ AI-assisted writing process in critical and reflective ways.

Reference

Sieber, E.D. (2024). Generating a First Draft of Your Paper Using Free ChatGPT.