Using AI honestly
Using AI honestly means following your college rules and saying clearly when AI helped. Two students hand in the same essay. One wrote it, and one pasted it from a chatbot.
Only one of them can say "this is my work". Knowing the rules and saying when AI helped keeps you on the right side.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can say honestly how AI helped with my work.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Own work | work you did yourself |
| Plagiarism | passing off words or ideas you did not create as yours |
| Acknowledge | to say clearly where help came from |
| College rules | what your college allows for each piece of work |
| Draft | an early version you will improve |
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Your work has to be yours
When you hand work in, you are saying "I did this". If a chatbot wrote it, that is not true. Passing off words or ideas you did not create as your own is plagiarism.
It is the same if a friend wrote it, or a website did. Your teacher marks what you can do, so the work has to show it.
Your college sets the rules
Colleges have different college rules about AI. One task may let you use it to plan or check spelling. Another may not allow it at all.
The rule can change from one task to the next. Read the task brief every time. If you are not sure, ask your teacher before you start.
Worked example: what to do in each case
| What you want to do | First | If the rules allow it |
|---|---|---|
| Get ideas for a plan | Read the rules for this task | Say so in a short note |
| Check spelling and grammar | Read the rules for this task | Say so in a short note |
| Explain a topic you are stuck on | Read the rules for this task | Check it, then write it in your own words |
| Write the whole answer for you | Read the rules for this task | It would still not be your own work |
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Say when AI helped
If you used AI and the rules allow it, acknowledge it. Write a short note: what you asked, and what you did with the answer.
Keep your prompts and your drafts too. If your teacher asks how you worked, you can show them. Being open is honest, and it protects you.
Write a note of AI help
# Change these three lines to match a piece of your own work.
task = "Leaflet about saving energy"
asked = "ideas for five headings"
did = "I chose two headings and wrote every word myself"
print("Task: " + task)
print("I asked an AI tool for " + asked + ".")
print("What I did with it: " + did + ".")
Worked example: weak and good notes
| Note | Why |
|---|---|
| "I used AI." | Weak: it does not say what for, or what you did |
| "I asked an AI tool for five headings. I kept two and wrote every word myself." | Good: what you asked, and what you did with it |
| "AI checked my spelling. I accepted three changes." | Good: short, clear and honest |
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A common mistake
Warning
Many people think changing a few words makes chatbot text their own. It does not. If the ideas and the shape came from the chatbot, say so, and follow what your college allows.
Going further: your college policy
Find your college's own rules on AI. They may be on the college website, in a handbook or in a task brief.
Write down one thing they allow, one thing they do not, and one question you would ask your teacher.