Famed linguist and educational intellectual, Noam Chomsky, has called ChatGPT, “basically high-tech plagiarism” and “a way of avoiding learning.” There is little doubt that a student using ChatGPT to write their law school papers or exams is committing plagiarism. This has caused law professors a great deal of anxiety and worry in how to detect it, but there are still many solutions available to limit the impact of ChatGPT and to ensure law students are still learning to think and write like lawyers.
Deterrence over Detection
AI Detection software can be unreliable. A better option is deterrence. Make using ChatGPT in your class as difficult and as inconvenient as possible and increase the stakes to the students if AI is detected. Create an environment of deterrence of students' using ChatGPT rather than relying on detection after the fact.
Below are some ideas professors can incorporate into courses to help solve, and possibly even eliminate, ChatGPT issues in student papers. Incorporating obstacles in a course can make using ChatGPT more difficult and result in higher consequences, thus reducing the likelihood of student use.
- Require a signed Non-ChatGPT Pledge.
- Distribute a Non-ChatGPT Pledge specifically stating that ChatGPT (or any other AI or LLM) was never used in any way or at any point during the writing and final production of their paper.
- Advise in the syllabus and in the class that failure to sign the pledge, or violating the pledge will result in failing the course.
- Require students to produce an ungraded, handwritten writing sample.
- The writing sample should be produced in class and prepared without the use of a computer or phone.
- Compare a questionable final paper to the student's in-class writing sample.
- The writing style and ability of the two should be similar.
- Require a research and writing log or notebook.
- The log or notebook should include information regarding:
- Details of searches conducted in specific databases (including search terms used), and
- Thoughts on how the paper is progressing throughout the semester, including outline progression and discarded ideas (students will not be able to manufacture a thought process for a ChatGPT paper).
- Require students to submit their research and writing log once or twice a semester. Skimming the log and adding your initials should be sufficient "grading" as submission of the log should be enough to deter the use of ChatGPT in the first place.
- Monitor how papers are progressing from drafts to finished product.
- Note any lack of editing needed.
- Require papers to be written in a Microsoft Word version that allows all edits and changes to be viewed.
