What is Generative AI?
While the advent of widespread Al tools is alluring for students, faculty, and industry experts alike, its increased efficiency and speed bring with it additional challenges to university writing instruction that still values careful documentation of sources, conversations with human contacts, and authentic reflection and voice.
The first thing to know is that Generative Al is used for different purposes and in different contexts across the university. That said, broadly speaking, use-cases can be divided into two groups: research and writing. Al tools for research could include such tools as Researchrabbit, Perplexity Al, Scholarcy, Connected Papers, and many others. This resource pack, however, concerns Generative Al for writing.
How can course policies help you address Generative Al in the writing classroom?
Setting clear expectations around Al use upfront and with transparent langauge in your syllabus communicates to your students how they should be expected to use — or not use – Al for their writing and research assignments. Additionally, the process of writing such a course policy can help you as the instructor gain clarity about your own thoughts and expectations of Al use with regards to writing pedagogy. We recommend that you set some time aside early on in the term to discuss your Al policy with your students. We also encourage you to be willing to revisi your syllabus language at strategic moments during and after your class. Your policy will likely change for future courses as Al technologies continue to evolve.
Writing Your Own AI Course Policy
Further Reading:
It can be helpful to read about different aspects of Al before writing your course policy. Below, we have paired articles about specific problems surrounding Al with relevant sections linked below the from the International Al Safety Report (January 2025):
AI and Intellectual Property
Appel, Gil, Juliana Neelbauer, and David A. Schweidel. “Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem.” Harvard Business Review (7 April 2023).
AI Action Summit, “2.3.6. Risks of Copyright Infringement”: 144-148.
AI’s Environmental Impacts
Adame Zewe, “Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact ” MIT News (17 January 2025).
AI Action Summit, “2.3.4. Risks to the Environment”:128-135.
Student Experience with AI
Black, Rachel W. and Bill Tomlinson. “University students describe how they adopt AI for writing and research in a general education course.” Scientific Reports 15: 8799 (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92937-2.
AI Action Summit, “2.2. Risks from Malfunctions”: 88-109.
Accuracy and Information Literacy
Chiang, Ted. “ChatGPT is A Blurry JPEG of the Internet.” The New Yorker (9 February 2023).
AI Action Summit, “2.2. Risks from Malfunctions”: 88-109.
AI Course Policy Drafting Exercise for Instructors:
Now, write it down!
This drafting exercise is designed to help writing instructors draft course policies about generative AI for their syllabus. The 5-part exercise should take about 30 minutes.
Step 1. Read
Read through Tamara Tate’s blog post on constructing AI policies for your syllabus here.
Step 2. Draft
Write a first draft of your Generative AI policy. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just something to work with.
Step 3. Compare
Compare your draft with examples. Here is one by the WAC+WID Coordinator and a still longer list of AI Syllabus language from across the disciplines. Adapt your original draft as you see fit.
Step 4. Align
Now align your writing with any policy guidelines that are relevant to you, gradually expanding from your home department, to your university, and to your discipline. For instance, here is UCI’s formal policy on Academic Integrity and Student Conduct. Recognize that some of these guidelines may not exist just yet. However, UCI’s formal policy does explicitly mention that submitting writing by generative AI without attribution or citation and representing “artificially-produced text” as one’s own as an act of “plagiarism.”
Step 5. Add to you Syllabus
Be sure to add your policy language to your syllabus prior to the first day of class. Set aside time to explain the policy in class and take questions. Be willing to return to your policy at strategic moments throughout the term.
