Incorporating AI in Research Paper Review to Enhance Student Learning

Written by: Latisha Haag

As an instructor in higher education, I look for innovative ways to improve the teaching and learning experience. In the past year, the education world has buzzed about the introduction of AI, leading to three distinct groups: those who fully embrace it, those who dabble with it, and those against it. I belong to the “fully embrace it” camp. AI is here to stay, so I am incorporating its use in my own work and integrating it into my courses. As an educator, it’s crucial to teach students the proper use of a tool rather than leaving them to misuse it.

While there are many ways I have used AI as an educator, this post focuses on how I used AI to enhance the review process for a student research paper assignment. This assignment required students to employ a standard form of reasoning to support a controversial thesis and defend it against significant objections. The integration of AI in the review process serves two purposes: streamlining the feedback loop process and demonstrating proper AI usage and illustrating the vast differences between AI platforms, which reinforces the importance of mastering course concepts.

The Assignment

The assignment required students to write a research paper using a standard form of reasoning to support a controversial thesis and defend it against significant objections. This description was provided directly to the students at the start of their research. The paper went through multiple review processes, including instructor, peer, and self-reviews. For the self-review process, I asked students to utilize two AI platforms—one with internet access for up-to-date information (like Gemini) and another focused on generative text (like ChatGPT).

First, I modeled the process using a sample essay. This demonstrated the correct procedure to achieve the desired outcomes and highlighted discrepancies students should be aware of when reviewing their own writing. Students were then given the following instructions for the self-review process using AI:

1. Open Two AI Platforms: Use platforms such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Co-pilot, or Gemini, ensuring at least one has internet access.
2. Input Prompts Separately: Enter each of the following prompts separately (do not ask the AI to complete all prompts at once). You may need to submit your draft with each prompt depending on the platform.
   • Review Against Prompt: “I am going to attach a draft of an essay I was assigned to write. The prompt from the instructor said: The research paper will explore a standard form of reasoning to argue in support of a controversial thesis and then defend this reasoning from a significant objection. Please review this essay and tell me if it meets the expectations of the prompt.”
   • Essay Format: “Can you please tell me if this essay follows the correct format for the _____ (Toulmin model, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, Classical essay, Rogerian method)?”
   • Identifying Fallacies: “Can you please point out any areas where my essay used a fallacy, and give me suggestions for correcting the fallacy?”
   • Spelling and Grammar: “Please give me a list of any spelling or grammatical errors that you find.”
   • Clarity and Coherence: “Please give me a list of suggestions for editing and improving my essay for clarity and coherence.”
   • Active vs. Passive Voice: “Can you please point out any areas where my essay used passive voice instead of active voice, and give me suggestions for how to reword those sentences?”
   • First vs. Third Person: “Can you please point out any areas where my essay used first person instead of third person, and give me suggestions for how to reword those sentences?”
   • APA Style: “Can you please point out any areas where APA style is incorrect?”
3. Compile Suggestions: After completing the prompts, copy only the suggestions from each prompt into a document. Label each set of suggestions with the prompt and platform used.
4. Additional optional prompts (not required ) for further revision might include:
   • Tone and Audience: “Can you tell me if the tone, content, format, and organization are appropriate for the desired audience, who is [define the audience, e.g., college students or marketing managers]?”
   • Content Focus: “Is the content focused?”
   • Argument Strength: “Is the argument well-reasoned?”
   • Evidence Support: “Does the evidence support the thesis?”
   • Information Development: “Is the information well-developed and thorough?”
   • Critical Information: “Is any critical information missing?”
   • Logical Presentation: “Is the information presented logically?”
   • Introduction: “Does the introduction clearly introduce the content of the thesis?” “Is the introduction engaging?” “Is the thesis statement clear and evident?”
   • Paragraph Cohesion: “Is each paragraph cohesive?” “Is the purpose of each paragraph clear?” “Do the headings match the content of each section?” “Are the topic sentences clear?” “Do the transitions between paragraphs make clear the connections between the paragraphs?”
   • Conclusion: “Does the conclusion end the document clearly?”
   • Word Usage: “Is any word over-used?” “Is the style consistent throughout the essay?”
5. Compare Reviews: Compare the reviews offered by the two platforms and determine which pieces accurately reviewed your essay. Make revisions to your essay based on the reviews that align with the requirements and expectations of the essay. Submit the document with the suggestions to the link in Bb.

Reflection

Students initially found the process tedious, but leveraging the AI platforms provided them with comprehensive feedback. The AI’s ability to quickly identify areas of improvement allowed me to focus on higher-level discussions with the students about the content and argumentation of their essays, as well as potential errors the AI made. This not only streamlined the review process but also enriched the students’ learning experience regarding writing and the proper use of AI.

This example highlights the potential of AI as a tool to enhance the learning experience. It demonstrates how AI can support the development of essential academic skills and facilitate a more efficient review process. By integrating AI into the classroom, I can balance traditional teaching methods with innovative technology, ultimately enriching the educational experience. Incorporating AI into my teaching practice has been transformative, allowing me to provide more targeted and effective feedback while helping students refine their writing and critical thinking skills.

Post-script note: It would be dishonest if I did not admit that after writing the initial draft of this piece, I ran it through AI platforms for suggestions to improve it.

Dobrin, S. I. (2023). AI and Writing. Broadview Press.

Kousa, P., & Niemi, H. (2022). Artificial Intelligence ethics from the perspective of educational technology companies and schools. AI in Learning: Designing the Future, 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09687-7_17

Meyer, J., Jansen, T., Schiller, R., Liebenow, L. W., Steinbach, M., Horbach, A., & Fleckenstein, J. (2024). Using LLMS to bring evidence-based feedback into the classroom: AI-generated feedback increases secondary students’ text revision, motivation, and positive emotions. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 6, 100199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100199