AI’s misuse has led universities to intensify their efforts to discourage academic dishonesty. You’ve likely been repeatedly cautioned that AI use can negatively impact your educational journey. However, the fact that AI can be misused does not mean it should not be used at all. Like all new technologies, AI can be adopted in a way that supports rather than substitutes your writing. Here are five ways AI can help you proofread your work without engaging in dishonest practices.
1. Use AI to improve clarity
While proofreading the academic work you produced, you may encounter difficulties related to the paper’s organisation and clarity, such as inadequate paragraph transitions or a less-than-optimal flow of your arguments. To improve the clarity and structure of your work, you can easily use AI for assistance. Simply paste your paper into the AI chat and request its input. You can instruct AI directly by asking questions such as “How can I enhance the flow of my argument sequence?” and “Can you provide suggestions for creating a more coherent structure?” and you will get some useful tips.
2. Use AI to check grammar
When proofreading your paper, you want to make sure that your edited version is free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. AI can be used as a great aid here. A useful tip is to ask: “Can you check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes in this paragraph?” and then paste your whole paragraph into the AI chat. Just remember to instruct AI to use British rather than American spelling. If not explicitly instructed, AI will use American spelling and this may result in spelling inconsistencies in your work.
3. Use AI to paraphrase
Another benefit of AI is that it is very skilled in paraphrasing. When proofreading your paper, you might notice that some sentences sound very odd, yet you may find it challenging to correct them. To solve this, you can ask AI to paraphrase your sentence. This practice will be useful in the long run as AI will teach you to phrase your sentences and communicate your thoughts better.
4. Use AI to find academic terms
During the proofreading process, you may find yourself struggling to find the right word or phrase. For example, you might have a sentence saying “Viewers freaked out when confronted with the unexpected turn of events”, but cannot recall the academic alternative for “freaked out”. This is another obstacle that AI can solve quickly. You can simply instruct AI to give you five alternatives for the term “freaked out” in your sentence and choose from the provided options.
5. Use AI to re-format references
The final advantage of AI is that it can complete tediously long tasks in seconds. Imagine the frustration felt upon realising you have formatted your references in Vancouver while you actually needed Harvard referencing. The frustration would be justified because the task would take an extra thirty minutes at the very least. However, AI can accomplish the reformatting in mere seconds, sparing you both stress and time.
A key message
In summary, AI can help you proofread your work without making you a cheater. If used correctly, it can help you refine your skills and produce a more polished paper while managing to maintain your academic integrity. Not all AI use is useful and non-penalised, however. That’s why our next post will explore five things to avoid when using AI for proofreading.
