Like a lot of English teachers, I find myself having to contend with AI and its impact on student writing. We’ve always dealt with plagiarism such as the good ol’ copying-passages-from-books and the more recent copying-and-pasting-from-the-web, but what generative AI produces is even harder to come to terms with.
I often have my students write a quick 1-paragraph response to what they read. It allows for a quick assessment for me and a memory tool for them as well as possibly the basis of a longer composition. I got to wondering how well ChatGPT could handle this assignment. We had recently read and viewed “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty, so I figured I’d start there. First off, here’s Beaty performing the poem.
I gave ChatGPT the following prompt: “Write a response to the poem “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty” and got this:
The poem “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty is a powerful and emotional reflection on the impact of mass incarceration and absent fathers on Black children. Through the metaphor of a knock on the door that never comes, the speaker conveys the deep longing for a father’s presence and guidance, highlighting the pain of abandonment and the systemic barriers that contribute to such absences. However, the poem ultimately transforms this sorrow into resilience, as the speaker learns to find strength within himself, carrying forward his father’s wisdom despite his absence. Beaty’s spoken-word style and raw emotion make “Knock Knock” a moving tribute to the endurance of love and the power of self-determination.
While the content is disturbingly spot-on, the writing gives itself away. Anyone who’s been teaching English a while quickly gets to where we can identify student writing. This would set off my plagiarism alarm because it’s too perfect. Too high-level. And most significant, and telling of AI, is the lack of affect, the voicelessness that’s reminiscent of corporate mission statements and HR policy documents.
So, I gave it the command “Rewrite it like a 10th grader” and got the following:
The poem “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty is a heartfelt piece about a boy missing his father, who is no longer there. Using the image of a knock on the door that never comes, the poem shows the pain of growing up without a dad and the struggles that come with it. It also touches on bigger issues like incarceration and how it affects families. Despite the sadness, the poem has a message of hope, showing that even without his father, the boy can find strength within himself. Beaty’s words are emotional and inspiring, making “Knock Knock” a powerful poem about loss, love, and resilience.
Better but still a little too perfect. Most adults can’t put together a flawless paragraph without some checking over and most kids aren’t that adept at it or willing to do it. Especially for something that’s just a quick assessment.
Next, I tried “Rewrite it but include a run-on sentence, 2 typos, a commonly misspelled word and a punctuation error” and got this:
The poem “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty is a deep and emotional poem about a boy who misses his father who is gone and he waits for a knock on the door that never comes showing how painful it is to grow up without a dad and how hard life can be without that guidance. It also talks about bigger problems like incarseration and how it effects families. Despite the sadness the poem gives hope, showing that even though his father isn’t there, the boy can still find strenght in himself. Beaty’s words are powerful and inspiring making “Knock Knock” a touching poem about loss, love and resilience.
Better (or worse depending on how you look at it) but still missing that personal touch. Students often want to personalize their responses, and they should. Here’s my final request, “Add 2 sentences about why you liked it”:
The poem “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty is a deep and emotional poem about a boy who misses his father who is gone and he waits for a knock on the door that never comes showing how painful it is to grow up without a dad and how hard life can be without that guidance. It also talks about bigger problems like incarseration and how it effects families. Despite the sadness the poem gives hope, showing that even though his father isn’t there, the boy can still find strenght in himself. Beaty’s words are powerful and inspiring making “Knock Knock” a touching poem about loss, love and resilience. I really like how the poem mixes personal pain with a bigger message, making it relatable and emotional. The way Beaty writes makes you feel the sadness but also the hope, which is what makes the poem so powerful.
And that, my friends, is something I would accept without a single blip from my did-you-really-write-this-yourself spidey sense.
You can speed this up by putting it all together too. Let’s try another one. How about “Dreams” by Langston Hughes. “Write a 1-paragraph response to Langston Hugh’s “Dreams”. Include 2 sentences about why you liked it. Write it like a 10th grader with a run-on sentence, 2 typos, a commonly misspelled word and a punctuation error.” And here’s the response:
Langston Hughes’ poem Dreams is really inspiering because it shows how important it is to hold onto your dreams no matter what, I liked it because it uses simple words but has a deep meaning that makes you think about life and what happens if you give up, the way he compares life without dreams to a “broken-winged bird” is really powerful and makes you feel how empty and sad life would be without goals or hope. Also, I liked how short it was but still made a big impact, some poems are too long and hard to understand but this one was straight to the point and easy to relate to. If people dont have dreams, then theres nothing to look forward to and life just feels stuck, so this poem is a good reminder to keep going.
Our hypothetical student could introduce 5 typos and no end punctuation (“I was up too late last night”) or make it perfect (“I really worked hard on this one”).
I’m fortunate in this regard that I teach 100% at-risk youth in a treatment facility, and so we can control and monitor their computer use (and block AI) but I have no idea how teachers in regular schools and colleges deal with this. And I can’t imagine how much AI-generated writing the teachers in the other content areas get and accept since they’re often not as used to reading student writing and knowing what is and isn’t real.
If you’re a teacher, I’d love to hear how you’re dealing with this.
In the meantime file this under another way in which we lose touch with reality and dumb ourselves down. Or maybe how much longer until I can retire? As the kids say, I think we’re cooked.
