The Demise of Writing Skills

I recently go appointed as a Student Assistant at the writing center of my university.

My primary job is to help the students improve their writing skills and help them learn how to properly write academic papers. The problem I am facing right now, is that these students have been so spoiled by AI, they refuse to learn proper writing and research skills.

They believe that because AI did the research, they do not need to confirm the source. The AI wrote it so it cannot be wrong. They come to our office when the professors ask them to write the paper over because of all the mistakes that appear in their research or opinion papers.

I try my best to steer them towards actually learning to write the papers in the correct academic manner but the influence of AI upon the students appears to be too strong.

Does anybody have any idea how I can inspire these students to try their hand at writing their own paper or, if they really refuse to write it, then at least hire a human being to write the paper for them?

Honestly, I totally get where you're coming from. It's pretty tough watching students relying so hard on AI that they start losing touch with what real research even feels like. One thing that sometimes works for me is showing them the "why" behind the work. Like, writing isn't just about finishing a paper-it's actually about learning how to think clearly and question things.

Maybe try having them compare an AI paragraph with one written by a real student? You can point out those tiny things only a person can do, like specific tone or just having an actual original thought. When they see the difference for themselves, it usually clicks that AI is just a tool, not a shortcut for actually understanding the material.

Another thing-I try to frame writing as a "real world" skill. Whether it's a resume or just an email at work, they're gonna need to communicate. If they see it as a life skill rather than just another boring assignment, they might actually put in the effort.

And hey, if nothing else works, just remind them that we can usually tell when a paper is missing that "human touch." That's usually enough to make at least a few of them rethink things to make them more competitive in the job market.

I have a hard time convincing students to improve their writing skills because they are a generation raised on technology. They believe that if the tech is there, it should be used. So I kinda worry that it won't just be writing skills that will be affected by the emergence of AI. It will affect education as a whole. How these kids learn and who teaches them will evolve over time too. The way that they respond better to AI teaching actors rather than than human teachers makes me worry that teachers might eventually find themselves without a job in the future and that schools could become obsolete as everything can be found and learned on the internet.