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How ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) can help you write an essay
ChatGPT is capable of doing many different things very well, with one of the biggest standout features being its ability to compose all sorts of text within seconds, including songs, poems, bedtime stories, and essays.
The chatbot's writing abilities are not only fun to experiment with, but can help provide assistance with everyday tasks. Whether you are a student, a working professional, or just getting stuff done, we constantly take time out of our day to compose emails, texts, posts, and more. ChatGPT can help you claim some of that time back by helping you brainstorm and then compose any text you need.
How to use ChatGPT to write: Code | Excel formulas | Resumes | Cover letters
Contrary to popular belief, ChatGPT can do much more than just write an essay for you from scratch (which would be considered plagiarism). A more useful way to use the chatbot is to have it guide your writing process.
Below, we show you how to use ChatGPT to do both the writing and assisting, as well as some other helpful writing tips.
How ChatGPT can help you write an essay
If you are looking to use ChatGPT to support or replace your writing, here are five different techniques to explore.
It is also worth noting before you get started that other AI chatbots can output the same results as ChatGPT or are even better, depending on your needs.
Also: The best AI chatbots of 2024: ChatGPT and alternatives
For example, Copilot has access to the internet, and as a result, it can source its answers from recent information and current events. Copilot also includes footnotes linking back to the original source for all of its responses, making the chatbot a more valuable tool if you're writing a paper on a more recent event, or if you want to verify your sources.
Regardless of which AI chatbot you pick, you can use the tips below to get the most out of your prompts and from AI assistance.
1. Use ChatGPT to generate essay ideas
Before you can even get started writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that gives them leeway for their own self-expression and analysis.
As a result, students have the task of finding the angle to approach the essay on their own. If you have written an essay recently, you know that finding the angle is often the trickiest part -- and this is where ChatGPT can help.
Also: ChatGPT vs. Copilot: Which AI chatbot is better for you?
All you need to do is input the assignment topic, include as much detail as you'd like -- such as what you're thinking about covering -- and let ChatGPT do the rest. For example, based on a paper prompt I had in college, I asked:
Can you help me come up with a topic idea for this assignment, "You will write a research paper or case study on a leadership topic of your choice." I would like it to include Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid, and possibly a historical figure.
Also: I'm a ChatGPT pro but this quick course taught me new tricks, and you can take it for free
Within seconds, the chatbot produced a response that provided me with the title of the essay, options of historical figures I could focus my article on, and insight on what information I could include in my paper, with specific examples of a case study I could use.
2. Use the chatbot to create an outline
Once you have a solid topic, it's time to start brainstorming what you actually want to include in the essay. To facilitate the writing process, I always create an outline, including all the different points I want to touch upon in my essay. However, the outline-writing process is usually tedious.
With ChatGPT, all you have to do is ask it to write the outline for you.
Also: Thanks to my 5 favorite AI tools, I'm working smarter now
Using the topic that ChatGPT helped me generate in step one, I asked the chatbot to write me an outline by saying:
Can you create an outline for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."
After a couple of seconds, the chatbot produced a holistic outline divided into seven different sections, with three different points under each section.
Also: Thanks to my 5 favorite AI tools, I'm working smarter now
This outline is thorough and can be condensed for a shorter essay or elaborated on for a longer paper. If you don't like something or want to tweak the outline further, you can do so either manually or with more instructions to ChatGPT.
As mentioned before, since Copilot is connected to the internet, if you use Copilot to produce the outline, it will even include links and sources throughout, further expediting your essay-writing process.
3. Use ChatGPT to find sources
Now that you know exactly what you want to write, it's time to find reputable sources to get your information. If you don't know where to start, you can just ask ChatGPT.
Also: How to make ChatGPT provide sources and citations
All you need to do is ask the AI to find sources for your essay topic. For example, I asked the following:
Can you help me find sources for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."
The chatbot output seven sources, with a bullet point for each that explained what the source was and why it could be useful.
Also: How to use ChatGPT to make charts and tables
The one caveat you will want to be aware of when using ChatGPT for sources is that it does not have access to information after 2021, so it will not be able to suggest the freshest sources. If you want up-to-date information, you can always use Copilot.
Another perk of using Copilot is that it automatically links to sources in its answers.
4. Use ChatGPT to write an essay
It is worth noting that if you take the text directly from the chatbot and submit it, your work could be considered a form of plagiarism since it is not your original work. As with any information taken from another source, text generated by an AI should be clearly identified and credited in your work.
Also: ChatGPT will now remember its past conversations with you (if you want it to)
In most educational institutions, the penalties for plagiarism are severe, ranging from a failing grade to expulsion from the school. A better use of ChatGPT's writing features would be to use it to create a sample essay to guide your writing.
If you still want ChatGPT to create an essay from scratch, enter the topic and the desired length, and then watch what it generates. For example, I input the following text:
Can you write a five-paragraph essay on the topic, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."
Within seconds, the chatbot gave the exact output I required: a coherent, five-paragraph essay on the topic. You could then use that text to guide your own writing.
Also: ChatGPT vs. Microsoft Copilot vs. Gemini: Which is the best AI chatbot?
At this point, it's worth remembering how tools like ChatGPT work: they put words together in a form that they think is statistically valid, but they don't know if what they are saying is true or accurate.
As a result, the output you receive might include invented facts, details, or other oddities. The output might be a useful starting point for your own work, but don't expect it to be entirely accurate, and always double-check the content.
5. Use ChatGPT to co-edit your essay
Once you've written your own essay, you can use ChatGPT's advanced writing capabilities to edit the piece for you.
You can simply tell the chatbot what you want it to edit. For example, I asked ChatGPT to edit our five-paragraph essay for structure and grammar, but other options could have included flow, tone, and more.
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Once you ask the tool to edit your essay, it will prompt you to paste your text into the chatbot. ChatGPT will then output your essay with corrections made. This feature is particularly useful because ChatGPT edits your essay more thoroughly than a basic proofreading tool, as it goes beyond simply checking spelling.
You can also co-edit with the chatbot, asking it to take a look at a specific paragraph or sentence, and asking it to rewrite or fix the text for clarity. Personally, I find this feature very helpful.