The Use and Perceptions Towards AI Tools For Academic Writing Among University Students

Abstract

AI- powered tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly and other writing assistants have become increasingly accessible offering opportunities for guiding academic writing development  within ESP contexts through feedback, suggesting improvement and aiding error correction. The uses of AI-powered tools in academic writing include grammar and syntax checking, style and tone adjustment, clarity and conciseness suggestions, plagiarism detection, reference an citation management, content generation and brainstorming, targeted feedback on writing quality, thesis statement and argument strengthening, vocabulary enhancement, content structuring and outlining, translation and language support, research assistance, sentence rephrasing and paraphrasing, automated summarization and peer-review simulation. The increasing variety of tools and the rich repertoire of uses they offer makes it necessary to provide guidance to learners on how to use them effectively and ethically. The increasing use of AI-powered tools in academic writing practices has also brought about concerns regarding ethical considerations and potential pitfalls including over-reliance on AI and issues of academic integrity. Considering these issues, this presentation will address how AI can be effectively used to assist the academic writing process and offer alternative strategies for academic writing teachers to ensure academic integrity while using AI-powered tools. In order to gain an insight into the attitudes and experiences of academic writers with AI, surveys will be conducted with graduate level students in social science programs. The ultimate aim of the study is to determine the current situation  about the use of AI by undergraduate and graduate level students and provide guidance to educators on using digital tools to help students develop specialized academic writing skills while ensuring the pedagogical balance between AI and issues of academic integrity by providing information about best practices and examples.