When conducting an online training session, I asked students to write a few lines about a company.

In the chat box, a well-framed company introduction of three lines appeared. I was impressed. I asked, “Did you write this?” The answer came back: “I used ChatGPT. Isn’t that okay? These days, everybody is using it.”

Writing is a complex cognitive activity. By using ChatGPT to generate a piece of writing you are doing a disservice to your brain. You are not allowing it to think.

When writing, many parts of your brain become active. The front part of the brain buzzes with activity, evaluating and classifying information. Other regions in the brain related to memory, language, and visualization become active.

However, when you copy paste from ChatGPT, all this activity is either non-existent or kept at a bare minimum. In fact, you are training your brain to be in partial sleep mode.

The only ‘work’ you do is: formulate the prompt, read the response (most probably superficially), and click twice on the mouse to copy and paste on to a page.

How does writing improve your thinking skills?

Let’s look at the writing process step-by-step.

Step one-planning

Imagine you are writing on Artificial Intelligence.

First, you need to understand the topic and decide how you are going to approach it. You have to gather information, and select what you find useful. You need to structure the content: what piece of information comes first, second, third, etc….

When writing a long report, you have lots of planning to do. On the other hand, if you are writing a short piece on a topic you are familiar with, planning may take a few minutes. No problem. It depends on the purpose of your writing.

When using ChatGPT, you bypass the planning process.

There are several benefits of using ChatGPT when planning. It could gather information effectively. It could give you insights you never thought about. It could even give you ideas on how to structure content. That’s all fine. But, in the end, you need to do the thinking. If you automatically copy paste a response from ChatGPT, you are not thinking.

You need to absorb information and concepts. You need to make connections between ideas. You need to evaluate the trustworthiness of websites. You need to form and refine your opinions. No one can help you increase your ability to think critically. Not even AI.

Warning: not everything ChapGPT produces is true. It can hallucinate. That is, it may provide false or misleading information. Be careful. Doublecheck information you read on ChatGPT, especially when you want to include it in your writing.

Step two-writing

You have collected information and opinions. You have jotted down examples and counterexamples in your notebook. You have relevant data and insightful quotations. How do you put all of this into sentences? Into paragraphs? Into sections? Where to begin?

The answer: just write. You write in active voice. At times, you may write in passive voice. Many times, simple short sentences work. There are times when long winding complex sentences are what is needed. You have to decide. The more you write, the more you develop your own style. Developing your own style is important. It means you are developing as a writer.

When you copy paste from ChatGPT, you are not writing. You may be under the impression that you have written that piece of content. But, you haven’t. You haven’t written a single sentence. You haven’t struggled with grammar. You haven’t weighed the pros and cons of using one word over another.

ChatGPT has done all the work for you. You haven’t improved as a writer. You haven’t developed your own style. You are right where you started.

Say goodbye to becoming a better writer!

Step three-editing

Most probably, you will not edit what ChatGPT has produced. After all, it was written by ChatGPT. There is no need to edit. Everything has been written well.

If you wrote something yourself, you would have to go over it. When you do that, you critically evaluate your writing. Is there logical flow? Should there be more data to support the argument?

By copy pasting a ChatGPT response, the whole editing process is done away with.

Goodbye editing.

Step four-proofreading

In this step, you format the text.

Is there enough spacing between paragraphs? Are your heading and sub-headings in bold? Do you want to put some words in italics?

When pasting text from ChatGPT onto a page, you may not be invested in what you have just pasted. After all, those are not your words and not your thoughts. You may not have ‘absorbed’ the information in the text. It is all about copy paste. Your main objective is to get it out: that means minimum proofreading.

Bye-bye proofreading.

Putting it all together

Writing is a challenging activity that involves a lot of thinking.

From step one (planning) to step four (proofreading) you are thinking, thinking, thinking.

In step one, you search for and evaluate information, concepts, and ideas. You compare differing opinions and arrive at your own conclusion.

In step two, when writing, you may struggle to find the right word. This is good, as it means you are trying to find the right word to express a particular concept. (You are thinking.) You may want to have sentence variety to make your writing interesting to read.

In step three, when editing, you critically examine your own writing. Being critical of one’s own work is never easy. But, when you do it, you refine your thinking process.

If you are learning English and are at the intermediate or upper-intermediate level, write in your own words. Do not copy paste ChatGPT responses. Doing so will not improve your writing skills. Your overall communication skills will not improve. And there may be times when you do not have access to ChatGPT, say when writing an exam. What would you do then?

When writing, push yourself. It is hard work. But you will see results. You will become a better writer. Isn’t that what it is all about?

ChatGPT is an immensely powerful tool, and you should use it. Use it wisely. Keep in mind that the human brain needs to be active. It needs to be challenged. Only then will it learn and grow.

Make sure you do not put your brain in partial sleep mode.

What are your thoughts on ChatGPT and writing? Do you agree or disagree with what has been written? Let me know in the comments section below.

FAQs

Is ChatGPT good at writing?

ChatGPT can effectively summarize and synthesize material from across the internet. It can write in various tones (formal, friendly) and refine what it has written. But, there are downsides. All that it writes may not be true. ChatGPT can hallucinate and provide incorrect and misleading information.

Can ChatGPT help with writing?

ChatGPT is different from search engines such as Google as it generates content. This means that it can respond in a structured way to your prompt. When you need help with writing, have a chat with ChatGPT. Use it to better understand the topic. Use it to summarize information. And use it to gain insights.

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