Using AI Productively

Using AI During the Writing Process

Generative AI tools produce text by recognizing patterns in enormous amounts of data. However, they have no reliable way to verify accuracy. Knowing this is the difference between using AI productively and running into academic problems.

The Golden Rule Always check your syllabus! At FSU, your professor's course policy is the final, absolute word on how AI can be used. A use allowed in one course may be an Academic Honor Policy violation in another.
1. Brainstorming

This is the safest and most useful place to bring in AI, as you are not producing final content yet.

  • Generating 10+ topic angles
  • Producing counterarguments
  • Identifying gaps in your logic
  • Understanding your specific rubric
  • Knowing what you personally care about
Recommended Approach:Ask AI for 10 different angles on your topic, then go through the list and make active decisions about what fits. The filtering is where your own thinking happens.
2. Research

The Citation Trap

Generative AI frequently fabricates citations. It produces plausible-looking references that simply do not exist. Treat every AI-generated reference as unverified until you find the actual document in an FSU database.

  • Explaining unfamiliar concepts
  • Suggesting database keywords
  • Summarizing articles you've found
  • Producing accurate citations
  • Accessing subscription databases
Recommended Approach: Use AI to get oriented conceptually, then take that vocabulary and search independently in library databases. Write down your sources as you find them.
3. Drafting

Drafting is the highest academic integrity risk. Submitting AI-generated text as your own is academic dishonesty.

  • Finding where text is unclear
  • Suggesting alternative phrasings
  • Explaining writing conventions
  • Capturing your unique voice
  • Meeting specific assignment goals
Recommended Approach: After writing a paragraph yourself, ask AI what it found unclear. Use that as a diagnostic tool, but do not replace your writing with AI output.
4. Revising

AI can act as a first-pass critical reader, flagging issues you might have become too close to the writing to notice.

  • Identifying underdeveloped claims
  • Pointing out repetitive sentences
  • Suggesting word count cuts
  • Judging if an argument is persuasive
  • Replacing a peer or tutor's review
Recommended Approach: Ask AI to identify places where sections could include more description or additional research. Compare its response to your own instincts and revise accordingly.

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