We’ve all heard stories of students accused of using AI in a breach of academic honor rules–but what if those accusations are false?  Instructors are understandably concerned about protecting the integrity of their courses and ensuring that their students are actually learning the course material rather than merely offloading that process to GenAI. 

Students, however, are navigating rapidly changing policies and may find themselves confused about what use is acceptable and rightfully worried about the repercussions of a false accusation. 

Because so many platforms are adding AI into their programming, it can be difficult to know if your instructor might consider using one to be in violation of their policy, even if you’re doing your best to follow the rules. Additionally, as we all learn more about how AI “sounds,” instructors may be more likely to assume work is AI-generated. 

There are, however, some things you can do to reduce the likelihood of being unfairly accused of an AI violation.

Understand each of your instructors’ AI policies

If your instructor has not specifically written an AI policy into the course syllabus or the specific instructions for an assignment, email and ask for the policy. Emailing is preferable to asking your instructor in person because email will provide you a record of the instructor’s response. Once you have the policy, make sure you understand it and follow it. (That seems obvious, but when you’re taking 5 classes with 5 different policies, it’s not always straightforward.) If you're confused, ask questions until you're sure you understand. 

Document your writing process

One of the best ways to convince someone that your work is your own creation, should it come down to that, is to have evidence of your creative process. Very few people can generate academic writing without first writing notes and drafts. Therefore, keep any notes (or mind maps or lists or whatever) you’ve made in the process of researching and writing your assignments, as well as different versions of your work as you write and edit. One way to do that might be to write in either a Google doc or a Word doc connected to OneDrive where you can access a version history. Or you can just save multiple versions as you work.

Accurately cite your sources

One of the more unreliable features of GenAI platforms like ChatGPT is their tendency to make up sources or elements of sources. For instance, they might use the real name of a scholar and a real journal in that person’s field but make up the text for a quotation or the name of the article. Showing you’ve used genuine sources can be helpful in proving your work is your own. Some instructors who want–or even require–students to use AI will have specific rules about how you acknowledge that use, so be sure to follow those guidelines.

Double-check check AI-integration in programs you use

Be aware that some writing tools (even familiar ones) may now (or in the near future) incorporate GenAI. For instance, Grammarly used to simply suggest revisions for surface errors, but now even the free version generates some text for users, while the premium version offers in-depth AI tools. If you’re trying to avoid GenAI, be sure to evaluate the programs you’re using and repeat that investigation regularly since programs are updated frequently.

Know and understand what you are writing

Writing about a subject usually helps to clarify your thinking on it, so someone who has actually written a paper or assignment response on their own without relying on GenAI, should be able to speak coherently about their subject matter. That’s one reason why an instructor may ask to talk to you about possible academic integrity violations. For instance, if you have written a paper about the effect of drought on a certain species of wheat, you will likely be able to talk about the typical effect of drought on plant growth and may know some specific characteristics of that species of wheat. That doesn’t mean you would sound like an expert, but you would likely know at least some of the details of the topic and be able to explain the reasoning behind what you’ve written.

Incorporate your knowledge and experience

When feasible, try to incorporate into your writing specific things GenAI programs wouldn’t have been trained on. For instance, ChatGPT won’t know what your instructor discussed in class two weeks ago and is also unlikely to know what happened in College Station last month. Incorporate specific, real-world details into your writing when you can.

Other Resources

If you feel you have been unfairly accused of violating an AI policy, we suggest speaking with the leadership of that department. If you are not able to resolve the matter, you may want to contact the undergraduate ombuds or the ombuds for graduate and professional students. The role of the ombuds is to help resolve conflict. As an additional resource, the University Libraries has created a guide on AI and Plagiarism. Please be aware that many AI detectors have been deemed ineffective even by their own creators.

Check out our other resources about AI Support at the UWC and Using AI for Writing Assistance.