<aside> 📌 -Proper use of AI can empower you to acquire knowledge and skills faster and more deeply -Improper use of AI can weaken your ability to develop skills and remember what you learn -This guide provides general advice only, see your university’s policy on AI use and your teachers’ syllabi and assignment specifications for what is considered acceptable use of AI for your learning context

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Don’t Do
Copy and paste AI output Be honest and transparent about AI use
Use AI to complete tasks for you Ask AI to guide you as you complete the task
Ask AI to fix your writing or change your language Ask AI to guide you through the process of revising your writing
Focus only on how AI will help with your end product (for example, your writing) Focus on how AI can help you develop your critical thinking and writing skills
Believe everything AI says to be true Think critically about AI output and verify
Share private or sensitive information with AI Follow your university’s policies on AI use

<aside> ☝🏾 What AI tools can I use? Is one better than another?

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There are are number of generative AI tools, some are free, some are not. Different AI tools will have different capabilities. Some common AI tools include ChatGPT 4o (chat.openai.com), Claude 4 Sonnet (Claude.ai), Gemini (Gemini.google.com), Pi (Pi.ai), and Microsoft Copilot (copilot.microsoft.com). I currently recommend ChatGPT 4o, Claude 4 Sonnet, and Gemini 2.5 Flash or Pro.

<aside> ⚠️ When you interact with generative AI tools the information you send is often saved by the companies that made the AI tools. As such, you should never share personal or private information with generative AI.

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<aside> 💡 -Prompts are instructions sent to generative AI tools like chatbots -Writing effective prompts will help you have more success getting useful AI output -Use a framework for prompt engineering, such as the one below

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Prompt Engineering Framework (adapted from Ingley & Pack, 2023)

  1. Give the chatbot a role
  2. Give the chatbot a purpose/assignment
  3. Give the chatbot contextual information and constraints
  4. After seeing the chatbot’s output, continue to converse with the chatbot to refine the output. Provide additional information and clarify instructions that the chatbot misunderstood.

Example Prompt (Go ahead and try it out at chat.openai.com or claude.ai)

  1. You are an expert writing teacher.
  2. You will hold a writing conference with me to help me generate ideas for my essay.
  3. The writing prompt is “Do you think there can be a balance between tradition and progress?”. You should not write ideas for me. You should ask me questions to help me generate my own ideas. You can help me evaluate my ideas.
  4. [After reading AI output, give additional instructions as needed.]

<aside> 🏆 Now that you understand the basics about effective generative AI use, consider the following tips and example prompts on how to use generative AI tools effectively as a student. REMEMBER: AI should never replace your learning. Instead of using AI to generate ideas, use it to help you become a better critical thinker. Instead of using AI to improve your essay (a focus on product), use it to improve you as the writer (a focus on developing skills).

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Instead of asking AI to… Try asking AI to… Example Prompt (modify to fit your situation)
brainstorm ideas for you help you generate your own ideas and to refine those ideas I would like to brainstorm some ideas for the thesis of my research paper. The general topic I’m interest in is ________________________. You are an expert research adviser. Please ask me questions that will help me formulate a suitable thesis. Don’t give me ideas, rather ask me questions to help me formulate my own ideas. After I’ve written my thesis, help me evaluate it.
create an outline for you evaluate your outline and ask questions to guide your decision making You are an expert writing teacher. I have created an outline for my paper on the topic of _________. Help me evaluate my outline. Don’t tell me how to fix it or improve it directly. Rather, ask me questions to guide my decision-making process. Here is my outline: [insert outline here].
create a research design for you ask you questions to guide your decision-making process I need to design an experiment. You are a research adviser who will prompt me in developing my ideas and designing my experiment. I am interested in testing the effect that AI-generated feedback will have on English language learners’ writing (replace this with your own topic). Don’t tell me how to design my experiment. Instead, ask me questions to guide my decision-making process.
define unfamiliar vocabulary, provide examples of vocabulary use in sentences, and to quiz you on natural use of vocabulary. I would like to practice some academic vocabulary. I need to understand the meaning of the following words: deepen, ethical, inferior, innate, obsolete, radical, stemmed from, superior, norm, and unprecedented. I also need to be able to use them in a sentence. Please help me to learn these words by asking me what they mean and how I can use them in a sentence. After I use them in a sentence please provide feedback and offer suggestions for improvement.
come up with test questions you can practice. You are an expert English language teacher. I want to prepare for an English language speaking test. In this test I respond to questions about the topics of culture, tradition, and progress. Ask me a question about these topics. Use the following vocabulary words I am learning in our discussion: transition, preservation, accustomed to, contradiction, livelihood, and heritage. After I respond to your question, give me feedback on the quality of my ideas, the organization of ideas and use of transition words, and my use of academic vocabulary.
correct your errors in your writing provide feedback in specific areas, such as content, organization, language use, and grammar See prompt below

Master Prompt on Feedback on Writing (adapted from Escalante, Pack & Barrett, 2023; Carlson, Pack, & Escalante, 2023):

You will be a professional English teacher who is an expert on providing feedback on writing. Here is the writing prompt that students are given [insert writing prompt here, this provides context for the AI to provide feedback].

Below I will share my written response to the prompt. Based on my writing, comment on the following: (choose one or more of the following)