The Future of Writing Instruction (Inspired by Grammarly)

An Attempt to Translate Grammarly's Wisdom into Writing Center Practice

Grammarly is at the forefront of helping students learn how to write in the age of AI. So, here, I draw inspiration from their new tools, and ponder: If Grammarly were a writing center tutor, how might they answer common student questions?

Can you look over this paper to help me correct it?

Sure, here’s a copy with suggestions to rewrite every sentence into how I would write it. You just have to click “accept all changes”, and you should be good to go.

I don’t know if I did enough research before writing this. What should I do?

Easy peasy! Let’s sit down together, and I can flag all the claims that I think need a citation, and suggest them. You won’t have to waste time reading the papers or evaluating your argument against them. Remember: confirmation bias is a strength to be channeled!

I copied some paragraphs that said what I was going to say anyways. Should I just add the cite to my bibliography?

Yes. Let me add that for you. Also, I’ll rephrase these paragraphs so that it uses different words to say the same things. That avoids any doubts about plagiarism.

I have three papers due on the same day, should I get an extension?

Please don’t worry! If you send me one sentence about the topics you’re thinking about, I can prepare a draft for you to start with. If you don’t have time for that, just send me the assignments, and I’ll choose a topic for you, too.

What grade will my professor give me on this?

I’ve known your professor for years, so just send me your paper and I can tell you what they’ll say. I can give you my written justification, so that if they give you a different grade, you can advocate for yourself.

I keep getting points off on papers in this class, but can’t seem to figure out why.

Send me your paper, and I can edit it based on what I know about them and their RateMyProfessors profile. It should be fairly simple to deconstruct what they are looking for, so you don’t have to ask them.

I used some additional interventions to get this paper written. Is it obvious?

I do see some signs of those interventions that would get flagged. Let me rewrite it for you to sound more natural and just like you. The best part is that no one has a way to flag those corrections, too.

Writing is taking me too long. By the time I research, read, take notes, write, and then rewrite, it’s 10 hours!

Oh gosh! Homework shouldn’t take more than a few minutes at most. Let’s see if I can take some of that off your plate. I can review the literature, form a thesis, incorporate class materials, create a draft, and prepare your citations. You will just have to hand it in. Actually, if you give me your Canvas password, I’ll handle all of that for you (drawing on some additional inspiration from Einstein for this lesson).

Is there anything you won’t do for me?

We draw a hard line at writing your paper for you. We can create a draft, make all the edits, rewrite every sentence, find and insert citations, adjust your tone, predict your grade, scan for any integrity issues, and make sure you feel supported in the writing process. But, we won’t write the paper for you.

This still sounds like cheating?

The amazing thing is that it’s not. Trust me; some schools even pay for this service. As long as you are physically present, anything we do for you is assistance. It’s your name on the work, and that’s what really matters.

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As I reflect on the role of an educator in the age of AI, I’m happy to have examples of forward-thinking education technology tools like Grammarly to help guide the way toward doing right by our students. I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn from them next.

If this post got you thinking, check out last week’s post! I took a stab at some poetry.

Image by Alexandra Koch