Should students use AI for a first draft?

If you’re looking for a short answer, I say absolutely not. My not so humble opinion, I will add, does not come from research on the use of AI. Instead it comes from many decades of studying how students learn and think and write. And my experience tells me that students should NOT use AI for a first draft – or any type of prewriting.

But why? Why not let them use it as a step up, a tool to get them started? After all, math students use calculators, right?

What is the end goal of the first draft? An essay or the learning process?

The reason students shouldn’t use AI for a first draft is because the final product should not be an end in itself. The goal should not just be a good copy and the accompanying grade. No, writing is a process that is all about thinking and personal expression. If students use ChatGPT or any form of AI to do that part of the process for them, they are robbing themselves of the chance to think and explore their ideas.

Think of it this way: if your end goal is to have a beautiful flower garden in front of your house so those walking by (including yourself) say, “Oh, how lovely!”, then it’s OK to get a landscaper (or your best friend who loves to garden) to do it for you. Yes, you’ll have to weed it and water it yourself to keep it looking good; maybe you’ll even add an annual flower here and there to personalize it. In the end, though, you just wanted that beautiful garden and it was ok to get help.

But…if your purpose is to learn to garden, to create a beautiful bed by yourself, you need to get your hands in the dirt. You need to use the shovel. You need to make a plan for what goes here and what goes there – which plants need sun and which need shade? If a landscaper or your friend does this for you, even if you do the watering and weeding, you have not learned the art of gardening. The end result may not be as stunning (or easy to achieve) but the garden is an expression you and the skills that you have learned.

Maybe the gardening example isn’t going to do it for you because you just don’t care about plants and dirt. So let’s try these:

• You want to get fit, so you go to the gym and watch others work out
• You want to get better at a sport so you watch how-to videos but don’t practice yourself
• You want to learn to cook so you get your mother over to make your favorites and you watch her while you drink a glass of wine

I hope you know where my analogies are supposed to lead you. We need to approach writing as a skill, not a means to an end. Yes, designing and creating that garden is hard work, but it’s work that comes with personal satisfaction. And, you may learn by watching others, but until you do it yourself, you really won’t get the skills (or muscles) you need.

The best gift we can give our students is not an A on an assignment, it’s the ability to think and express themselves. Therefore, we need to show them that using AI for their prewriting or first drafts is just a crutch that won’t allow them to run on their own.

Helping reluctant writers get started

“Sure…that sounds great,” you may be thinking, “but I have so many students who just won’t write. It’s just so much easier to let them use AI for a first draft.”

This is true. It’s getting harder and harder to motivate students, especially when they know how easy it is to find help from ChatGPT and its counterparts. But giving into that is not the answer.

What is? Taking another approach, one that will help reluctant writers build the skills and confidence they need to write those first drafts on their own. You can do this with activities that break down the process into smaller chunks and by providing students with relatable prompts that get them thinking. It also helps when you take the pressure off with more low stakes and collaborative activities.

Not sure how to do all of this? Check out the details here and here. On each of these posts, I share specific strategies that you can use to help students over the hurdle of getting started. This will give them the confidence they need to pick up a pencil to brainstorm and draft, rather than resorting to AI to do the thinking for them.

So, no, I do not think students should use AI for a first draft. I know that this may be an unpopular opinion. Many people, teachers even, are heralding AI as a great tool for writers. And while it does have its place, I sincerely hope that it never becomes the first step in the writing process for our students.

Let me know if you have questions – and I am always open to a debate!

(You may also like to read Dealing with ChatGPT in an English classroom)