Start with the rules, not the prompt
Before opening an AI tool, read the assignment, course policy, and grading rubric. “AI allowed” can mean anything from spelling support to fully documented brainstorming. If the policy is unclear, ask the instructor what kinds of assistance are permitted and what must be disclosed.
Create a short constraint sheet: required sources, citation style, word count, due date, and prohibited uses. This prevents a helpful-looking suggestion from taking the work outside the assignment.
Use AI to expose your thinking
Write a rough position first—even three imperfect sentences. Then ask the tool to interview you: “Ask me five questions that would clarify my claim” or “What evidence would a skeptical reader need?” This keeps the intellectual starting point yours.
A useful sequence is assignment → questions → provisional thesis → evidence map → outline. Do not ask for polished paragraphs until you can explain the argument without the tool.
Separate discovery from evidence
General chat tools can suggest search terms and possible debates, but they are not reliable bibliographic databases. Move important claims into a research tool, library database, or Google Scholar. Open the original source, record the author, date, page or section, and why it matters.
Never cite an AI summary as though you read the paper. If you cannot access or understand the original, do not build a central claim on it.
Draft in your own document
Draft from your notes with source tabs closed when possible. That small separation reduces accidental patchwriting. When stuck, ask for options—a transition strategy, counterargument categories, or questions the paragraph must answer—rather than text to paste.
Keep a simple change log of meaningful AI help. It makes disclosure easier and helps you notice when the tool has begun steering the substance rather than supporting it.
Revise in layers
First check argument and evidence, then paragraph order, then sentence clarity, and only then grammar. Asking an editor to “improve everything” at once makes it difficult to see altered meaning. Accept suggestions individually and read the final essay aloud.
Finish with three audits: every factual claim has support; every borrowed idea has a citation; and every sentence still sounds like something you understand and could defend.
The one-sentence rule
If you cannot verify it, explain it, and disclose how it was produced, it is not ready to submit.