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You’ve heard all the buzz about chatGPT. About how it can write essays and streamline your work for you, making something that would take days to finish in less than a minute. Besides the huge ethical violation that is generating an essay to submit using AI technology, is there any truth to this claim?
The answer is complicated. For one, it does help in generating ideas in the brainstorming stage, where a different view would be useful. However, chatGPT’s creations lack a few vital points to what a well-written essay requires.
Absence of originality and creativity
Writing essays demand individuality and personal insights, which are derived from human experiences and emotions. This ethos guides all the modules of the HSC English syllabus, particularly the Common Module of English Advanced!
“In (the Common Module) students deepen their understanding of how texts represent individual and collective human experiences. They examine how texts represent human qualities and emotions associated with, or arising from, these experiences.”
This personal flair that springs up from your experiences will inevitably shape your writing style and particular approach to essay questions, and mastering this is the key to making your essay stand out!
Lack of contextual understanding
Inputting a HSC English Advanced question into chatGPT will yield an answer something along the lines of dot-points, without a thesis nor meaningful engagement with quote analysis. This is not true to conventions of a good essay, and occurs because chatGPT can’t engage meaningfully with the context, audience and purpose of an essay, something that arises again and again in the HSC English syllabus.
A well researched essay will also be able to put information together in a synthesised manner that is relevant to other parts of the essay. This only comes by through constant review and feedback of our work, which leads me to my next point.
Limited proofreading and editing capabilities:
According to OpenAI, the company that made chatGPT, it can essentially produce complete nonsense that appears to be well written. The problem here is that chatGPT essays are prone to logical errors that stifle the flow of the essay, as well as incongruent analyses that do not contribute to a grander focus of a thesis.
All of these limitations are something that only the human eye can see. AI in the form of chatGPT at this stage is unable to substitute a keen eye in detecting errors in the context, audience and purpose of an essay. Furthermore, it does not have acute knowledge of the syllabus being tested, and what is expected on the examination day. Remember, it won’t be chatGPT sitting your examinations but you! This is why it’s so important to have an expert on board to review your essays for you, something our state-ranking team at Concept can offer 🙂
Overall, to deny the usefulness of AI technology completely in essay writing is unreasonable. It is useful to bounce ideas off and to see a different perspective to an idea. However, the lack of originality, awareness of context and proofreading abilities ultimately make AI inferior to humans in producing essays, as it lacks these key components that make a moving essay!
Need some help writing that essay now knowing that chatGPT is not a perfect solution? Reach out at Concept - we're always happy to help!
