Lately, as technology is having more of an impact on the lives of students, more essays and papers have been timed and closely observed. This is because of a machine that simulates human intelligence. It is called Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short. AI is used today in many ways, such as in healthcare, financing, retail, and more, but students are finding it useful to use in their schoolwork. One AI website which students often use to cheat is called ChatGPT. According to the Ohio Capital Journal and a survey by Intelligent.com, nearly a third of college students used ChatGPT for their schoolwork last year.

 Students have been using this system to cheat on tests and assignments. Teachers can see when students have used AI when they look at essays and written assignments because of poorly cited sources,  specific algorithms, and similarity to other papers. 

There are a few strategies available that teachers use to check if you have used AI. Writer.com and “Turnitin” are trusted sites that are accessible to educators. The sources run an originality check and give the administrator a percentage of similarity. It also highlights the pieces of text it suspects to be written by AI. Teachers can also put assignments side by side and see if there is any obvious cheating or difference in the quality of your writing compared to assignments you have previously turned in. 

Timed essays are another strategy teachers use to test students’ skill at writing and make sure they aren’t cheating with an AI source.With this method, an administrator will have you complete your essay in a given time period. Many teachers will keep your assessment in between time periods if they are given multiple classes to work on it, and only let students use certain notes to ensure there is no AI usage. But are timed essays fair to students? 

Timed essays can underestimate a student’s knowledge. They add pressure and stress on a student, leading them to not express their full knowledge. If a student is feeling stressed, they may not be able to finish in time due to a lack of productivity while they are stressed. 

Even though you may be stressed; there are ways to study and prepare, giving you a higher chance of getting a good score on your assessment. For example, if your teacher gives you a prompt ahead of time, you can prepare by finding quotes and good supporting material. If you take good notes during class and study them outside of school, your brain will retain the information and you will have a better understanding of the material; leading to do better on the essay or assessment. 

Overall, timed essays and assignments are a good strategy to ensure students aren’t using any AI sources to cheat.