Unit 3

Intro

Unit 3 was the main part of my work as an advocate. I created and finished a research project that looked at how AI affects students' writing and learning. Instead of just arguing based on my own experience, I looked at academic sources, public conversations, and my own analysis to learn about the pros and cons of using AI in college writing.

My main research question was:

How does the use of AI writing tools influence students’ development of writing skills in college settings?

Across the unit, I learned that AI can: 

• Help with writing when it's used for brainstorming, organizing, and revising 

• Hurt writing development when students copy text made by AI without thinking about it 

• Make things confusing when teachers don't make it clear how to use AI

 On this page

 This page contains the following:

 • Research Proposal 

• Annotated Bibliography

 • Research Essay 

• Individual Argument

Research Proposal

 In the proposal, I laid out my research question, talked about why AI and writing skills are important, and explained how I would use academic sources and rhetorical analysis to look at the topic. I also found the most important people involved, such as students, teachers, and schools.

 I made the project more focused on writing skills by clarifying its scope. I also made the research question and sub-questions more specific and made the case for why this issue is important on a college campus stronger.

Annotated Bibliography

 The annotated bibliography brings together sources that look at AI in education, writing teaching, and academic honesty. I summarized the main point of each source, judged how reliable it was, and thought about how it would help me with my own project.

 I made the summaries better by making sure they focused on each author's main claim and methods.

 • Made my evaluations more specific by talking about credibility and limitations 

• Added clearer notes on how I might use each source in my final essay and argument

Research Essay

 The research essay combines my sources and analysis to make the case that AI can help with writing skills when used in a clear and critical way. However, when students rely on AI without thinking about it, it makes it harder for them to come up with, organize, and revise their own ideas. I looked at different views on AI and talked about ways to encourage learning instead of taking shortcuts.

 I made the thesis more specific and arguable, moved body paragraphs around to make the reasoning clearer, used signal phrases and analysis to make quotes fit in better, and made the conclusion stronger to connect back to student experience and policy.

Individual Argument

 The individual argument is a shorter, more public-facing piece that turns my research into a clear call to action. I argue that universities should make rules that treat AI as a writing aid, not just a threat, while still expecting students to do meaningful work and tell the truth about how they use AI.

 During the revision, I:

 • Made the call to action for teachers and schools clearer 

• Used more specific examples of AI in everyday student writing

 • Changed the tone to speak directly to other students and teachers