Academic Integrity Checklist for AI-Assisted Essays

Permission

Use the instructions for this assessment, including any approved adjustment or later clarification. These checks are editorial guidance, not a substitute for your institution’s rules. Oxford, for example, requires specific advance written authorization and the prescribed declaration for assessment use. That is an Oxford rule, not a default policy for every university. Oxford guidance [1].

• I read the assignment and course AI policy.
• I can name which uses were permitted.
• I asked for clarification where the rule was ambiguous.

If unresolved: describe the operation to your instructor: the tool or feature, the material you supplied and what you retained. Permission to brainstorm does not by itself establish permission for translation or rewriting. Keep the response with the assignment instructions.

If you reused an earlier assignment, check the guide to self-plagiarism and duplicate submission. Self-citation and permission to resubmit work are separate questions.

Authorship

• The thesis and substantive judgments are mine.
• I understand and can defend every sentence.
• I did not use paraphrasing to disguise copied ideas.

If unresolved: compare the submitted version with your draft and reading notes. Identify changes to claims, reasoning, structure or language that the assessment expects you to produce. Rebuild an unsupported passage from the sources you understand, and ask for guidance if you may have crossed an assessment boundary; removing an acknowledgment does not resolve that boundary.

The University of Melbourne’s editing guidance distinguishes the way a tool is used from its brand. It connects acceptable assistance to the learning outcomes and whether the student still expresses their own ideas and understanding. A spelling suggestion and a rewrite that makes an argument sound more scholarly need separate checks. Editing guidance [2].

Evidence

• I opened every source used for a material claim.
• Quotations and page references match the original.
• I distinguished peer-reviewed research from preprints, commentary, and web pages.
• I removed any reference I could not independently verify.

If unresolved: check the actual publication and the passage supporting the sentence. A real paper may still concern a different population or measure. Narrow the claim to what the source supports, replace it with verified evidence or remove the unsupported statement. A correct DOI alone does not settle the interpretation.

For a claim that needs closer inspection, fill in the claim-to-source worksheet. Keep the passage, page or section and your reason for accepting or revising the claim. Do not ask another generated answer to certify a reference you have not opened.

Citation and disclosure

• Every borrowed idea has the required in-text citation.
• The reference list matches the in-text citations.
• I documented the tool, date, prompts, and affected work if required.
• My disclosure accurately describes what the tool did.

If unresolved: separate the evidence reference from the account of assistance. A paper citation identifies the evidence used; a declaration explains the role of a tool. The University of Melbourne’s student guidance describes tools used, how outputs were used and whether detailed records are available. Your assignment may prescribe a different form. Acknowledgment guidance [3].

Follow the AI citation and disclosure guide for the relevant style route. Do not copy a statement that all prompts are available unless you actually retained them. Record what you can recover and ask how to handle any required missing record. Citing a tool does not make prohibited assistance permissible.

Privacy and final read

• I did not upload restricted, personal, or unpublished material without permission.
• I reviewed the final document outside the AI interface.
• The final voice, claims, and level of certainty are intentional.

If unresolved: check which files and account were used, who can access them and your institution’s route for reporting or correcting a problem. Melbourne’s student guidance warns against uploading personal or confidential information and calls for permission before sharing others’ course material with an AI tool. These concerns are separate from whether the essay itself permits AI. Student guidance [4].

For group work, collect each member’s account of assistance before agreeing a joint declaration. Do not assume one person’s statement covers work they have not checked. Then read the final submission, reference list and required attachments together. If the remaining problem is a claim, a permission question or a missing record, resolve that problem rather than polishing the wording again.

Resolve three borderline cases

These hypothetical decisions illustrate how to use the checklist; they are not rulings on your assessment or AI sessions we performed.

A proofreading feature rewrote the explanation

You intended to check grammar, but accepted a rewrite that added a reason your draft did not contain. Identify the added reasoning and compare it with the assignment’s permitted assistance. Return to your own evidence and explanation, and seek clarification where needed. Calling the feature proofreading does not establish what it actually changed. Melbourne’s guidance is useful for understanding this distinction. Editing boundaries [2].

A declaration promises a transcript you did not save

You used an assistant for permitted feedback but copied a declaration claiming complete records are available. Check the history you genuinely have. Write an accurate account of the assistance, preserve recoverable material and ask how to meet any transcript requirement you cannot now satisfy. Do not create a replacement conversation and present it as the original. The acknowledgement example with a missing record shows how to describe the gap without claiming it satisfies a transcript requirement. Records and declarations [3].

A group member uploaded a shared draft

The course permits some AI use, but the draft includes a classmate’s comments or private project information. Check the actual upload, visibility and institutional instructions before sharing it further. A group assignment’s AI permission does not establish permission for every item in the file. Record what happened and use the course’s contact route to clarify the next step. Privacy and shared material [4].

Supporting reading and editorial notes

These university resources inform the checks and hypothetical cases. Their requirements apply within their stated contexts; use your own assessment instructions and approved adjustments. This guide does not determine an academic misconduct case or certify a submission.

1. University of Oxford: assessment-specific authorization and responsible use
2. University of Melbourne: translation, editing and assessed learning outcomes
3. University of Melbourne: accurate acknowledgment and available records
4. University of Melbourne: student guidance on privacy and course material