Writing Assignments that Avoid AI

Avoid Assignments That: 

• Summarize a source.
• Deliver broad information on an established general topic.
• Analyze materials (such as a classic novel) when similar analyses openly exist online.
• Share un-verifiable personal reflection details.
• Critique topics that are openly critiqued in similar ways online.

Require

• Properly incorporate a specific number of scholarly sources in a particular format.
• Explain how specific supporting information connects back to course content (thereby making new knowledge).
• Define a discipline-specific organization for the project, ideally providing a concise outline.

Human-focused Activities

• Put students in pairs. Assign an audio pre-write conversation before the students begin writing.
• Assign a class presentation pre-write before students begin writing, with class Q&A time.
• Require students visit a Writing Center tutor to talk about their project.
• In class, ask students to pair and share progress/plans/challenges for various stages of drafting, including outlining, setting up topic sentences for each paragraph, and first draft writing.
• Put students in teams to complete group assignments, ideally about real-world scenarios (such as interviewing locals to build an oral history, or working with a service-learning client).

Download the shareable document: Human-focused Writing Assignments (438KB)