{"id":3,"date":"2025-02-21T13:29:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:29:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-02-21T13:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:38:58","slug":"avoid-ai-essays-8123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ukessays.com\/blogs\/avoid-ai-essays-8123.php","title":{"rendered":"Why students should avoid AI essays, and what to use instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think AI-generated essays are in any way difficult to detect, think again. Most universities have invested heavily in AI detection tools that can flag AI-generated content with a high degree of accuracy. Even if you try to submit work with your own words and mixed AI-generated text, these tools can still detect the real source. One of the most reliable AI detectors, Copyleaks<\/a>, has “over 99% accuracy” and “an industry-low false positive rate of just 0.2%.” It doesn\u2019t only scan for ChatGPT – it also looks for content from various AI models, including Gemini and Claude, and the company is constantly updating and improving its software.<\/p>\n

Other popular and widely-adopted tools, such as Turnitin and GPTZero, also detect AI-generated text, with a very high degree of reliability.<\/p>\n

How AI detectors work<\/h2>\n

AI detectors typically work by analysing the writing style of the content. Copyleaks explains that its detector is trained to recognise “human writing patterns,” and that it identifies AI-generated text when it “detects deviations from known human patterns and specific AI signals.”<\/p>\n

Put simply, AI-written content has a certain rhythm, structure, and level of predictability that these tools can pick up. While plenty of software claims it can get around these checks and make AI content appear ‘human written’, generally such tools are very unreliable.<\/p>\n

But detection tools aren\u2019t the only problem for students – lecturers are also pretty adept at spotting AI-written work. Professor Claire Wardle at Cornell<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n

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“There are obvious tells. If it\u2019s too polished, too bland, or uses phrasing that doesn\u2019t match how students talk in class, it\u2019s a giveaway.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So if your AI-generated essay suddenly sounds a lot more refined than your usual writing style, it’s very likely that your lecturer will notice.<\/p>\n

False positives<\/h3>\n

False positives in detection software are rare. Copyleaks for example, reports a false positive rate of just 0.2%, so the risk of being falsely accused is minimal.<\/p>\n

However, there is one innocent mistake that many students make: using Grammarly or Scribbr to edit their work. As these tools often “over-polish” writing to the point where it no longer sounds natural, it can result in the essay being flagged as AI – even if you wrote every word yourself.<\/p>\n

AI hurts your critical thinking<\/h2>\n

Writing essays certainly isn\u2019t just about meeting a word count or even just getting the answers right. It\u2019s a key part of developing research skills, critical thinking and the ability to construct a well-reasoned argument.<\/p>\n

When you rely on AI to write your essay for you, you miss out on these valuable learning experiences. In essence, you’re wasting the typical \u00a328,500 investment<\/a> you’ve made into your future, by outsourcing your learning process to a bot.<\/p>\n

AI doesn\u2019t really understand<\/em>, it just predicts<\/h3>\n

Despite its name, AI doesn\u2019t actually think. It creates your essay by predicting what words are likely to come next, based on patterns acquired from its training data. That means, firstly it doesn\u2019t actually understand the material, or form original arguments, or even engage in real analysis. Second, it’s only as good as its training data – if that\u2019s flawed, then so is your essay.<\/p>\n

Even though your AI-generated essay might on the face of it sound a lot better than you think you could ever write, it\u2019s often shallow, lacking the depth of thought that comes from students really engaging with a topic.<\/p>\n

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“While AI can produce essays efficiently, its lack of genuine understanding and critical thinking can limit the depth of argumentation and originality.”<\/p>\n

~ Jordan Cox<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s a major problem when writing an essay, because the main goal is to demonstrate understanding and show critical thinking!<\/p>\n

Over reliance on AI can also lead to a false sense of competency. You’ve created a rough draft, and it might seem harmless enough to let AI restructure your argument or refine your writing: but this is a pattern that’s too easy to fall into and become reliant on. What happens when you have to sit an exam, get involved in a group discussion, or write something where there’s no possibility of AI assistance? The whole point of studying for a degree is to build skills you\u2019ll later use in your career – whether this is analysing complex ideas, making persuasive arguments, or simply communicating clearly in the workplace. If you’re letting AI do all the hard work for you (and not necessarily do it that well!), you\u2019re not developing any of those abilities.<\/p>\n

AI can get things wrong (and make you look bad)<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest risks of handing in an AI essay is that AI writers often produce inaccurate, misleading, or just downright false information.<\/p>\n

AI models don’t fact-check or verify their claims. If you submit an AI-written essay without thoroughly checking every single detail, there’s a good chance it will be full of errors. At best, you’ll look careless, but if a few of your references are fake, you’ll look dishonest. It’s an AI red-flag and lecturers are pretty wise to it.<\/p>\n

AI “hallucinations” can invent fake information<\/h3>\n

The phenomenon of AI completely making things up is known as AI hallucination<\/a>, and it happens when AI generates false or non-existent facts, references, or statistics. When writing your essay, AI might:<\/p>\n