How to Use Chat GPT to Write an Essay

Let us face it: artificial intelligence machines are making human lives easier and often better. A simple example: a lot of people have robotic hoovers who (apologies, that) vacuum their carpets. Thanks to this, people have more time for pleasant activities and hobbies.

Another example: in some countries, robots are an alternative to pets. Japanese Aibos are robot dogs that can run, walk, or even wag their tails to show happiness. It can be a great idea to teach kids to be responsible for their pets before buying a real dog.

If we are talking about college students, they can also use AI to simplify their lives. If you were wondering how to use Chat GPT to write an essay, this article is just right for you. We would like to warn you about potential pitfalls and suggest how to make the most of modern technology.

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First of all, it is important to remember that Chat GPT is just a tool. It cannot do your paperwork instead of you, but it can be your virtual assistant. Why? Because a machine does not have an opinion and cannot always differentiate one notion from another. It is easier to explain the latter idea with an example from automated translation.

It is not a problem for such software to make coherent sentences in another language. But let us take the word “pupils.” Without enough context, should it perceive this word as “students” or as “the black openings in the middle of the iris”? And what is an iris? The colored part of an eye or a flower? Such AI misunderstandings often lead to hilarious mistakes. Guess who detects them? Human proofreaders do.

Steps of Cooperation With Chat GPT

1.   Determine Your Essay Topic and Thesis Statement

You need to have a clear understanding of what you want to write about and what your main argument or point is. You can use Chat GPT to help you brainstorm ideas for your topic or refine your thesis statement.

2.   Research Your Topic

Gathering information on the Internet, adding pages to bookmarks, or making screenshots can be tiring. To save time, ask Chat GPT for some general information on the topic of your essay. Remember that ai essay generator can sometimes misunderstand your request. So if you have doubts about certain parts, do not be lazy to check this info via reliable sources.

After carefully studying the basics, highlight the parts that seem interesting and ask specific questions about them. For instance, what are the pros and cons? As you get a new response, dive into it. By going through many layers of information, you will gather enough facts to avoid writing a superficial essay.

3.   Provide the Chat With Relevant Materials

Send links, articles, or books to the dialog. Chat GPT can analyze this material and generate relevant content for your essay. This saves you time because you do not need to process the information from these sources on your own. But again, use your critical thinking later to draw original conclusions.

4.   Give Specific Instructions

The tone, style, and structure of your essay are important components. You can ask Chat GPT to write a persuasive essay or an argumentative one. You can also request to follow a particular citation style like MLA or APA. But to be honest, a professional essay writing service is a lot more reliable. You can be certain that experienced authors double-check all these college requirements, and you cannot be so sure with Chat GPT.

Pitfalls of Using Chat GPT

If you carefully read what the developers of this software say about its limitations, you will discover the following potential problems:

  • occasional generation of incorrect content;
  • limited knowledge of events and the world after 2021;
  • possible production of biased content or harmful instructions.

Besides, you will see the following line at the bottom of the page: “Free Research Preview. ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts.” Forewarned is forearmed, so do not take all the generated content for granted and always double-check it.

Apart from the above-mentioned issues, Chat GPT has other potential hazards for busy college students. They are often in despair and think: “Why should I pay anyone to write my essay if AI can do it for free?” And this is how they can end up having such problems as:

  • Plagiarism (this is a serious academic offense that can occur because AI produces the text based on the existing online materials);
  • Poor-quality content (you can see that a lot of the sentences look the same in their structure because of the standard algorithms);
  • Wrong writing styles (even though you can ask the chat to follow a certain style, checking the formatting rules is the student’s responsibility);
  • Lack of creativity and originality (a human brain can create powerful associations, vivid images, and express unconventional opinions – it is not the same with Chat GPT).

A good essay writer is like an experienced lawyer. Depending on which side they represent, a professional attorney can use the same arguments in favor or against. Their assistant helps them collect the information, and then they use their skills to persuade people.

The same happens when a student is writing an essay. When they have a clear opinion, they can use a set of facts to prove it. Even if these arguments are not perfect, a creative human brain can find a way to present them. In a way, Chat GTP deprives you of this creativity by presenting a structured ready-made solution based on standard search algorithms.

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Advantages of Using Chat GPT

Of course, students can also enjoy the advantages of this AI tool; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so popular. Its capabilities include:

  • Remembering what the user said earlier in the conversation, which is an important aspect of writing an essay;
  • Allowing to provide follow-up corrections (editing and proofreading);
  • Declining inappropriate requests (you are unlikely to have such, but it is definitely a good function to avoid bias in your paperwork).

Besides, the developers constantly upgrade the service. In January, they improved its factuality and mathematical capabilities. In March, they brought the latest model, Chat GPT-4, to the market. Its benefits include more creativity, following complex instructions, and advanced reasoning.

In other words, the developers realize that this service still needs perfection. We cannot guarantee what will happen in the near future. But as of now, Chat GPT cannot compete with the best assignment services where humans do the job. Advanced reasoning and more creativity are still far from a personal opinion and real-world experience.

Final Words

AI can be a good thing for students when used effectively and responsibly. However, it should not be seen as a replacement for human resources. These technologies should be used to complement and enhance existing studying methods rather than replace them.

While ChatGPT can be a great resource for generating ideas and information, it should not be relied upon solely to write an essay. It is important to add your own thoughts and ideas to make your essay unique and authentic. Before long, you will find this process enjoyable. Writing an essay is like kissing, just without lips. Who do you think invented this comparison, a human or a robot?