Writing Help: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Disclaimer: This guide does not constitute endorsement or promotion of the use of generative AI (GenAI) tools. The content serves only to facilitate an understanding of how GenAI tools can be used within various contexts and should not replace any advice, guidance, or requirements from your instructors, supervisors, publishers, the institution, or other stakeholders. The Writing Centre does not use Artificial Intelligence to assess or provide feedback on student work.

Before using any GenAI writing tools, verify whether their use is permitted by checking assignment instructions, noting any in-class guidance, and reviewing the course syllabus. 

Recommendations

• If, after reviewing instructions, you are unsure about acceptable uses of GenAI, ask your instructor or supervisor for more information or clarification.

• Consider asking for guidance in writing (such as in an email) to ensure you are not missing any details.

• Note that what is allowed in one class, a section of a class, or even in an individual assessment, may not be allowed in another class, section, or assessment. 

• If you are using GenAI in a group project, check in with your group members before using GenAI.

Please consult relevant parts of the Library's GenAI guide for more information, particularly around integrity and ethics, and visit the USask Academic integrity page's Advice for Students. In addition, review the USask provisional guidelines for research, scholarly, and artistic work and provisional guidelines for students. 

When working as part of a group, discuss group ground rules around acceptable GenAI use. Furthermore, all group members should acquire some basic education around academic integrity and GenAI. Consider the following topics before proceeding with the project: 

• Are group members familiar with official guidance provided by an instructor, editorial board, or similar authority? 
• What familiarity do group members have with GenAI tools?  
• Do any group members have ethical concerns about using GenAI, and if so, how will the group manage those concerns? 
• If GenAI is to be used, what are its perceived benefits for the group? Why is it being used? 
• If GenAI is to be used, what are its perceived drawbacks for the group? In what contexts or specific tasks in the writing process should the group not use it? 
• If GenAI is to be used, how will it be used? What limits will be imposed? 
• What approaches will the group use to verify the accuracy and reliability of GenAI-produced outputs? 
• How will the group ensure that the use of GenAI material is tracked  (see documentation)  and properly acknowledged? 
• How will the group ensure that privacy is not compromised and copyright is not violated (see Ethical Considerations tabs: Privacy, Copyright)

In the case of a course assignment, if conflicts emerge, students should speak to their instructors about their concerns.

No matter how you use GenAI in the writing process, it is essential to consider both its capabilities and its limitations.  Here are some examples of capabilities and limitations:

Capability

Generating ideas or supporting brainstorming: GenAI can spark ideas or suggestions in response to a prompt, helping a user get "unstuck" on starting an assignment. It can also be prompted to argue or present alternative viewpoints and perspectives. For example, a student might input, 'Analyze the theme of identity in The Great Gatsby,' and the AI can generate ideas such as the contrast between Gatsby and Nick's identities, or the influence of social class on personal identity in the novel.

Limitation

Handling complexity: GenAI can generate errors, inconsistencies, and oversimplifications when used to assist with academic work. This can be seen in how it manages i) complex texts (e.g., nuanced texts, intricate reasoning); ii) subjects that span more than one discipline, or involve interconnected theories; iii) inputs requiring the AI to help with the synthesis of information or critical thinking; and iv) maintenance of context, particularly in longer interactions.

Capability

Aiding in paper structuring and drafting: GenAI can assist in organizing thoughts, creating outlines, and drafting with commonly-used disciplinary vocabulary and phrases (note: not appropriate in all disciplines or contexts). GenAI can be used to reverse outline work, too.

Limitation

Summarizing and paraphrasing: GenAI does not always create a fully accurate summary or paraphrase, which can lead to the omission or misrepresentation of important details. Importantly, Concerningly, GenAI also tends to patchwork plagiarize. 

Capability

Demonstrating genre conventions: GenAI can be used to better understand the conventions and styles typical of various genres. For example, it can generate persuasive essays with strong arguments, narrative essays with personal stories, or descriptive essays with vivid details, helping students recognize and analyze each type.

Limitation

Generating biased and inaccurate information: GenAI tools do not reliably generate unbiased, balanced, and accurate information, and their outputs require human verification. The user must have critical thinking skills and the ability to fact-check and verify outputs.

Capability

Asking grammar questions: Many use GenAI to revise, edit, and proofread their writing (examples). This can lead to the ability to identify redundancies; idiomatic expressions (e.g., “Can you list some idioms that express surprise or astonishment?”) or synonyms (e.g., "what is another word for 'happy'?"). GenAI can also help writers with punctuation and sentence structure, leading to more polished work. Be sure to see the "Limitations" column for important issues around editing and proofreading.

Limitation

Performing inconsistently: GenAI tools do not consistently identify grammatical errors, especially in complex texts. Better outputs require better inputs (prompts), meaning that you require some grammar knowledge to be specific in your prompt (e.g., "Check for unclear pronoun references"). As AI tools become more integrated into educational platforms and software (e.g., GrammarlyGo in Grammarly), you might unknowingly use AI-assisted features, even when their use is unauthorized.

Capability

Translating text and selecting vocabulary: Writers can use GenAI to translate text into different languages and choose vocabulary for their writing. Make sure that you verify and learn from outputs rather than having the AI do the work for you. 

Limitation

Translating accurately: These tools do not always produce fully accurate translations, particularly for your intended meaning or context,  potentially resulting in misunderstandings or miscommunication. They can curtail learning if used without verification of outputs. Use translation functions only if permitted.

Capability

Improving accessibility: These tools can provide real-time, inexpensive or free writing assistance for writers with dyslexia, Autism or ADHD. For example, the prompt "I have a 20-page research paper due in six weeks. Can you help me create a plan to complete it on time?" may help a student with ADHD (or any student, for that matter) begin and manage the writing process.

Limitation

Requiring user expertise: Effective use of GenAI requires that you have the basic subject expertise, critical thinking, creative thinking, and revision skills to manage and correct limitations.

Capability

Leveling the playing field for international scholars: GenAI can improve the chances for undergraduate or graduate students who communicate in a dialect of English, or whose first language is not English, to publish their knowledge (Tai, et al., 2023, p. T13). Care must be taken to check outputs for accuracy, review publication agreements and assess for plagiarism (GenAI can patchwork plagiarize, for example). 

Limitation

Producing uniform style and lacking linguistic diversity: Be sure to cultivate and maintain your own style and authorial voice. GenAI tools tend to default to Standard American English (SAE) and a uniform, generic style. The MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI warns that “[s]tudents may face increased linguistic injustice because LLMs promote an uncritical normative reproduction of standardized English...that aligns with dominant racial and economic power structures” (2023, p. 7). Just one example of this is cultural erasure: by correcting someone’s written dialect of English to standard English, AI tools can perpetuate the loss of cultural diversity and identity.

In addition to asking whether you have permission to use GenAI,  asking instructors or supervisors these questions will lead to enlightening and interesting conversations:

• What are your opinions about GenAI?
• How are scholars in your field responding to GenAI?
• How do you see GenAI changing teaching, learning, and research in the coming years?
• In what scenarios do you think using GenAI is appropriate?
• What advice would you give to students about using GenAI?

Disclaimer: The following information is not an endorsement or promotion of the use of generative AI (GenAI) tools. The content serves only to facilitate an understanding of how GenAI tools can be used within various contexts and should not replace any advice, guidance, or requirements from your instructors, supervisors, publishers, the institution, or other stakeholders.

USask-Supported Tools

GenAI Overview, including information on Microsoft Bing Copilot

GenAI for Students and Instructors at USask

A USask-supported writing tool is Microsoft 365, which includes MS Editor. Microsoft tools have long incorporated some elements of artificial intelligence (e.g., spellcheck and predictive text).

In fall 2024, all faculty, staff, and students will have access to Microsoft Copilot. To stay up-to-date about USask-supported technology tools, visit the Learning Technology Ecosystem Toolkit.

GenAI Product Tracker

The Generative AI Product Tracker is made available by Ithaka S+R. It provides a list of generative AI tools relevant for postsecondary use and is updated regularly as new products and tools become available. Please note, however, that these are not campus-supported tools. For a list of USask-approved tools, consult the LTE Toolkit. To request a review for a new tool from this tracker, please follow the recommendations for requesting a new LTE tool or the steps in this ICT guide.