Note to Instructors

A "Tools and Rules" section with guidance about specific AI uses goes into each of my writing assignments these days. Thanks to Julie Carey of Cañada College for the idea. See this X discussion on the subject. Below is some sample language I used for a research paper.

Tools and Rules

A variety of tools, post-its, a paintbrush and erasers

Photo by Dan Cristian PădurețLinks to an external site. on UnsplashLinks to an external site.

You are welcome to use grammar-checking software (as always, just be skeptical of the suggestions).
You can use AI to help you with research or reading comprehension as long as you are doing the reading yourself and not fully trusting the AI summaries
You can use AI for feedback on your writing or ideas about writing strategies
No AI use for coming up with ideas or text for your essay. This assignment is designed for maximal learning when you come up with the ideas based on your thinking about the sources, and you put the sentences together yourself.
I may ask you to describe and reflect on how you used AI if you used it and provide screenshots or links to chat session transcriptions.

Avoiding plagiarism can be trickier in a research paper because you are drawing from multiple sources. When copying into your notes, always use quotation marks. All strings of words from your sources should be in quotation marks. If you don't quote, paraphrase. When in doubt, check with me or a tutor.

I like to work collaboratively with students when it comes to academic integrity. I do think accountability is important for fairness and to ensure learning. If I have a concern about whether something you have submitted is your writing, I may ask to meet with you to discuss it, ask you to resubmit in a different format, or ask you to submit it to Turnitin's plagiarism detection software.