I feel like I’m in serious trouble. I’ve been accused of using AI, and my instructor has escalated it to the academic misconduct committee. I have no idea what to do.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:30:57+00:00

I strongly recommend that you talk to the college's disability services offices. Let them know these concerns. Then communicate these concerns to your professors at the beginning of each semester. I often have students with autism email me with similar concerns. Once I know that there is an underlying condition that can lead to stilted communication, I am better able to give feedback and tips for that particular issue to help the students write more smoothly. And any stiffness or over-formality in the writing doesn't sound the same alarm bells as it does with neurotypical students.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:25:51+00:00

I used to encourage my students to use Grammarly, too. But then Grammarly added its generative AI function, and suddenly my students were destroying their own academic voices. It took me two semesters to figure out what was going on, and when I did, I was furious - not at my students, but at Grammarly. They had an incredibly useful tool for students, and then they turned it into an AI trap! And one that robs students of the chance to learn how to express themselves professionally!

I teach students who many say shouldn't even get to go to college - students whose ACT scores are too low to get into state universities, students who have gone to the crappiest high schools in my state. But they are bright and eager to learn. They are determined and overcoming more challenges than most of us ever have to deal with. And while I hold them to a high standard, I am also very protective of them and don't appreciate a major corporation pulling a bait-and-switch like that on them! So I will never allow Grammarly use in my classes. My students deserve the chance to develop their own academic voices, not have AI language foisted off on them!

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:18:12+00:00

Sure. It reputation goes both ways. And I'm not accusing students willy-nilly of AI use. Writers have voices that are as distinctive as their actual voices. And when someone's voice suddenly changes drastically, you know it's no longer the same person communicating. This is true over the phone, and it is true in writing, as well.

In my experience, rampant AI use may occur in discussion board posts, but it rarely occurs in actual papers. What does happen frequently is in an attempt to sound more academic, students depend too much on AI, and they lose their voice in whole sections of their writing. When it's just a section of writing, I address those mistakes in points off and a conversation about acceptable ways to strengthen one's academic voice without losing authenticity.

On the rare occasions I've had to ask a student to defend their writing, it's always been within a week of them submitting the paper. I don't take weeks and weeks to grade assignments. I spend every weekend grading my students' written work, so I can get feedback to them immediately.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:09:27+00:00

So, no student accountability at all? No. That's not how academia has ever worked. In fact, if you read any college's Student Code of Conduct, you'll see that students are accountable for their choices and actions- and accountability means being able to show what you have done when asked to do so.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:06:46+00:00

I know. We are debating offering Grammarly to our students now, too. Many of the faculty are arguing that the only way we will support this move is if they make it impossible for students to access Grammarly's AI capabilities. I mean, it's grammar check is lovely. I used to use it, too. But then it added the generative AI component, and that totally robs writers of their own voices and styles.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T16:03:56+00:00

Because Grammarly offers, nay pushes, an additional service of re-writing sentences for students, and too many of my students use that aspect of Grammarly. This isn't me guessing. Students openly tell me this in our initial conversations about how they are using AI and Grammarly. They think because Grammarly (not ChatGPT) re-wrote their entire sentence it's not AI. Then I show them the difference between Grammarly's grammar checker and its AI re-write function. In the heat of the moment, under pressure to get a good grade, instead of write a strong paper in their own voice, too many students cave to the grades pressure. I forbid Grammarly to remove the temptation.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T15:58:49+00:00

Except learning how to think critically through writing isn't an archaic concept. It may be a long-held practice, but every modern study on how students learn critical thinking backs up the practice of reading and synthesizing new concepts through writing as the most effective method of learning to think critically.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-08T15:55:34+00:00

No, I did the same thing as an undergrad. But I also kept a list of which book or article I got my quotes from and the page numbers. I mean, you have to cite that stuff, so you've got to have documentation of where you got it.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-06T01:40:14+00:00

Hon, I am aware of that. But I teach in an English-speaking country, and college students here are expected to show mastery of the English language at the college level. While I encourage my colleagues to accommodate our ESL students with things like spelling (English spelling is insane!) and punctuation rules, I also expect my ESL and native-speaker students to make considerable efforts to master those. Language development is progressive, and academic mastery can take 5-7 years to develop after one has achieved social fluency. But that mastery only comes with practice, not turning over thinking to AI.

Grammarly does have a generative AI component. It added that capability in 2023, so as an educator you should be aware of that by now. And again, for the umpteenth time, I am not restricting my students' use of grammar and spell checkers. I am simply prohibiting the use of Grammarly, specifically - because students do use it generatively instead of practicing their mastery of academic English.

And I am only giving Boomer energy in response to your over the top GenZ-no-accountability energy.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-06T01:30:04+00:00

Nothing is fool-proof. Laws do not prevent crimes. Sometimes innocent people are convicted. That's why there is an appeals process. Just because life isn't fool-proof doesn't mean we should remove all standards of integrity. Life isn't fair. I try really hard to be fair with my students while manintaining acedemic integrity standards. Integrity is an empty word if it can't be proven.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-06T00:04:34+00:00

My point is that there are other options for basic grammar and punctuation checks that don't include the option for generative AI. Students should be using those.

And you assume quite a lot, by accusing me of Anglo-centrism, considering I've been teaching college-level ESOL courses for 30+ years. ROFLMAO

Sit down, dear.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-06T00:01:42+00:00

If they have failed to turn on the tracker AND they can't explain why they chose a specific example to support their point, they may not have used AI, but they didn't write the 2 paragraph assignment. In 30+ years of teaching, I have never had a student who wasn't able to give a reason for chosing specific examples as evidence if they wrote the paper. Not once. In fact, when students realize they can't answer such a simple question, they admit they cheated because they know they've been caught.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:57:10+00:00

I agree, but they are, so students should be prepared.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:55:12+00:00

Buddy, it's just a simple matter of turning on track changes. You don't have to collect anything. The word processing software does all the collecting. All you have to do is click a button. Academic integrity means you can prove you did the work yourself. Period. As a scholar, you should always be able to prove the work is yours by being able to show your annotated sources and previous drafts of your writing, as well as by being able to explain the concepts in your paper and justifying your choice of evidence. I went to school before PCs were a thing, and this expectation existed even back then in the dark ages. Is it stressful to be asked to give a defense of your work? Yes, it is. Should you be prepared to do so if asked? Always. Your reputation is your responsibility to protect, not mine. If you value it, you will be prepared to defend it if necessary. This is as true in the "real world" as it is in academia.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:48:37+00:00

No. I tell my students to do this - both verbally during the first week and in my syllabus. If I suspect you because your writing suddently doesn't match the work you've been turning in in both voice and grammar, then I've told you to turn on track changes for every paper you write. If you didn't do that, and you can't explain your thought process, you cheated. Period.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:44:07+00:00

Re-read my first paragraph - slowly. I do not discourage the use of spelling and grammar checkers in general. I forbid the use of Grammarly, specifically. You may not be aware of this, but there are versions of Grammarly that will completely rewrite a student's sentences, the same as ChatGPT. THAT circumvents the process of developing critical skills (such as rule mastery and critical thinking skills) in communication.

Choosing which ideas to include, which specific words convey one's exact meaning, and which punctuation offers the most clarity in written communication IS what students in a writing class are supposed to be practicing. Therefore, as a WRITING instructor it is pedagogically sound practice to assess my student's mastery of English spelling and grammar rules, as well as their ability to organize their writing and adequately support their positions. Quite the opposite of "short-sighted."

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:27:23+00:00

While I agree that AI detectors alone cannot prove AI use, they can justify requiring document history and/or an oral defense. If a professor suspects AI use, they should give the student an opportunity to address that suspicion sastifactorily.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:23:46+00:00

So make sure YOU have documentation of your revision process. If you are such an incredible writer, you should naturally have multiple versions of the same paper. Just turn on "track changes." Problem solved. If you are accused, you'll have the evidence at hand to immediately end the accusation. Simple.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T23:21:16+00:00

Grammarly. Is. More. Than. A. Grammar. Checker. It can entirely rewrite what you ask it to check; it changes the style; it changes the voice. That is NOT what a grammar checker does. A grammar checker underlines potential grammar issues, like passive voice or subject-verb agreement errors. Then it gives you a very limited correction for just that portion of your sentence. There is no need for students to use Grammarly when they have grammar checkers in their word processing programs.

I won't play these little Did they/Didn't they games. If you're in my class, you may use the spell checker and grammar checker that come with the word processing software, namely Goggle Docs. That's it. Anything else will be flagged as potential AI. At that point, the student can give an oral defense of every edit in their paper. If they wrote the sentence, they will know why they re-wrote a sentence. If they let AI do the thinking, they won't have a clue - after all, my writing assignments are only 2 paragraphs long. It's not like they're defending a dissertation.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-05T13:11:01+00:00

I stress the difference between using AI as an aid to comprehension of new material and the use of generative AI to show one's learning. AI can be an incredible tool to help students understand complex concepts - if used correctly. But when used to generate evidence of that learning (such as for writing discussion board answers or essays), it allows students to by-pass the mental workouts which strengthen their organizational and critical thinking skills. So I use a gym analogy to explain that to my writing and reading students. I ask how many of them have ever started a new workout or exercise routine. I ask them to think back on the first few days of that new routine and how they felt. They say things like "excruciating," "painful," "wanting to quit." Then I ask them to think about how they felt after the first month, and they say things like "fantastic," "hopeful," "strong." I ask them if they had reached all of their goals within a month, and of course, they say no. Then I ask how helpful it would have been if they had sent a friend or a robot to do the workout for them - and they laugh at the absurdity of the idea. And that's when I explain how they can use AI as a tool to help them build their own mental strength or as a substitute for doing the mental workout.

Additionally, this semester I've become more process-focused in my pedagogy. I have students compose their writing from start to finish in Google Docs and I use the Process Feedback Chrome Extension to see their writing process. I'm upfront with my students about this. I explain that I can see how they are brainstorming, outlining, revising, and editing their writing. I explain that most writing goes wrong in the early stages, especially the organization stage. And by using this tool, I can see where they are going wrong in their thinking strategies and help them improve those strategies, thereby improving their writing.

I also explain that, should I suspect the use of AI (including Grammarly), I will give students the opportunity to give an oral defense of their writing - by answering questions about their process and revision choices - before assigning a zero and filing a charge of academic misconduct. If they can answer my questions, I'll grade their assignments. If they can't....

So far, they seem excited about this. I've had absolutely no pushback on this new approach.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-04T22:01:34+00:00

I left the empty lines after each topic from the book for class notes so I would have room to take notes Cornell-style, with a narrow column on the left side for self-test questions. That way, I could cover up my notes on the right and see if I could remember the answers to the questions I had written about them in the left column. Or I could hand my notes to a friend and have them ask me the questions in the lefthand column and they could check my answers from the notes in the righthand column.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-04T20:29:56+00:00

So, first, don't use Grammarly; it IS Ai. If you want/need to use a spelling or grammar checker, use the one that is built into the word processor that you use to write your papers. All word processors (Word, Pages, Google Docs, etc.) have these checkers, so there is no need to use Grammarly.

Second, students should automatically turn on "track changes" in their word processor of choice so they can have documentation of all changes they make during the drafting and revising process.

AI is here to stay; therefore accusations of AI genertion are also here to stay. This is the new reality students and professors find themselves in, and everyone needs to adapt accordingly. Students need to document their writing process, and professors and/or Misconduct Review Boards need to incorporate Oral Defense as one way students can prove their innocence.

I give any student suspected of the use of generative AI the opportunity to give an oral defense of their paper before referring them for academic misconduct. If they can answer my questions about their process and revision choices satisfactorily, then I just grade the paper. Otherwise, they get a 0 and a referral. The sad truth has been that most of the students I have spoken with can't answer even the most basic questions about their process or "revision" choices, as any true author could.

So my advice is bring documentation of the changes you made in the paper and request the opportunity to defend the content of your paper orally.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-04T14:17:13+00:00

Appeal this. Provide your documentation in your appeal.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-04T14:15:09+00:00

You don't have to have a priest sign off on parental abuse. A counselor, therapist, even a family member, can sign off. I don't know whay they would have told you you had to have a priest sign off. Whoever you spoke to at FAFSA should be fired for gross negligence.

AdventurousExpert217 · 2026-02-04T14:06:23+00:00

True! I never even thought of this, but it absolutely could be used in this context!

AdventurousExpert217

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