The Pros and Cons of ChatGPT for Students
ChatGPT is everywhere right now, making controversial headlines across the world. Students in particular can get a lot of good out of the AI tech (such as saving time and energy), but there are also pitfalls to beware (plagiarism, dependence, and reduced creativity━oh my!).
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using ChatGPT as a student so you can use it the right way.
Pros of ChatGPT for students
ChatGPT is a powerful tool that, when used correctly, can help students brainstorm and save time on their writing.
1. Time saving
All ChatGPT needs to begin is a prompt.
Once you tell ChatGPT what you would like from it, it does all the heavy lifting in a matter of seconds. Whether you need ideas for an essay, a list of synonyms for a particular word, or a quick summary of something you read, ChatGPT will help you with the answers faster than you could ever come up with on your own.
Especially when it comes to brainstorming, ChatGPT is great for saving you time. The days of staring at a blank Google doc are over, because AI is here to help you when you get stuck with that pesky writer’s block.
2. Writing assistance
Whatever writing-related question you might have, ChatGPT knows the answer.
If you need help with
- Remembering a grammar rule
- Knowing the difference between two commonly confused words
- Finding the best way to start your essay
- How to write an intro/body/conclusion paragraph
…or any other burning writing question, you’ll get help in seconds flat.
Think of it as your own personal guide on your writing journey. If you encounter any bumps along the road, it’s there to help and guide you.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be helpful during the planning stage of your research. However, it’s important not to pass AI-generated content off as original work. This can easily be detected using an AI Detector.
3. Learning + improvement
Every time you use ChatGPT, take time to really understand the content it has created in relation to your prompt.
If you’re getting an answer to a question you have, or a list of helpful words, try to remember everything for future use. That way, you can rely less on AI and more on yourself.
Here are some good questions to try and answer while assessing ChatGPT’s outputs:
- How did it come to this conclusion? How can I use that process in my own work?
- Does this answer fit what I was expecting, or am I surprised? Why?
- Will this improve my writing? How so?
- What can I take away from this experience? How will it inform my future writing process?
Every time you use ChatGPT is an opportunity to learn. AI is a great tool, and we should learn to use it to improve ourselves, rather than rely on it for everything.
Cons of ChatGPT for students
We’ve all seen the movies where robots become sentient and take over the world. While that is not our current reality, it’s still important to retain the majority of the brain power behind any piece of writing.
As with anything, ChatGPT has its downfalls, just as it has its advantages (as mentioned above). Let’s discuss some possible pitfalls you might encounter when using an AI writer like ChatGPT.
1. Over-reliance
Because it’s so easy to get ChatGPT to do something for you, it’s easy to become dependent on it.
We live in a world that values life hacks, maximizing time, and getting a lot of work done in a relatively short amount of time. ChatGPT allows for all of those things, however…
If you rely too much on any AI software, you’ll stop being able to write or figure out answers to questions on your own.
ChatGPT isn’t going to be available to you 100% of the time, especially in offline situations. You need to be able to work without it in order to function, so be careful you’re not becoming over-reliant on the tool.
2. Limits creativity
ChatGPT is great for the things listed in the “pros” section, such as answering grammar questions or helping you create a great hook.
Sometimes writers can go too far and use the tool for complete content generation. While some think this is great from an efficiency perspective, it’s actually stunting creativity and making all content sound the same.
Every writer brings a unique perspective and voice to their work. If everyone used ChatGPT to write their essays, online content, or emails, there won’t be any nuance or uniqueness to anything anymore.
How will you stand out from your fellow students, your colleagues, your competitors? Nothing is a replacement for human experience.
Similarly, many writing contests and journals have had to close submissions due to the overwhelming amount of ChatGPT-written content they are receiving. This is not only annoying for them, but it’s detrimental to people who have poured hours into crafting beautiful, creative writing samples.
3. Plagiarism
ChatGPT is not a full suite of writing tools. Some AI-generated content might include uncited quotations, or pieces from already-existing work.
Beyond that, many schools are grappling with the idea that, although ChatGPTs responses are not coming from another person, they are coming from something that is not the person using ChatGPT.
How can QuillBot help?
So glad you asked.
QuillBot is not like other AI technology, and that’s just the truth. QuillBot writes with the user instead of for the user, encouraging creativity and trying new things.
However, using QuillBot in conjunction with ChatGPT might just be the best way to get your work done. Once your research is done, and ChatGPT has answered all of your writing-related questions, QuillBot will help you use that information to write the best essay (or email, story, comment, etc) possible.
QuillBot’s Paraphraser has 7 different modes which allow you to change the way you say things. This way, you’re using the information found via ChatGPT and explaining it in your own words, allowing your creativity to guide you to finding the best tone for your project.
Instead of producing the writing for you, QuillBot takes your work and improves it to your liking. This way, you don’t have to worry about a lack of creativity, over-reliance, or plagiarism.
QuillBot also has a Plagiarism Checker, which is essential if you’re utilizing an outside source like ChatGPT. You can never be too safe when it comes to plagiarism and your reputation.
With a constantly growing suite of 7 writing tools, QuillBot helps you through the writing process from beginning to end. You can brainstorm, outline, draft, edit, and proofread without ever leaving the site. It’s the perfect companion to ChatGPT.
That’s all pros.
