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Tools and AI

Using AI to Learn

Use this page when the AI use label allows AI, and you want help understanding an assignment or feedback on your practice writing.

About 10 minutes. Includes two Copilot prompts to copy.

AI as a study helper, not a writer

An AI chat tool such as Microsoft Copilot can explain an idea in simpler words, answer your questions, and point out patterns in your writing. Used this way, AI helps you learn. Used to write your work for you, it takes away the practice you came to college for.

This page gives you two prompts to copy into Copilot. Both keep you in the lead: AI explains, and you decide and do the work.

Before you start

Prompt 1: Explain an assignment in plain English

Use it when you have read the directions for an assignment and you are not sure what they ask. Copilot explains the directions and lists questions for your instructor. It does not do the assignment.

You are helping a college student understand an assignment. My college uses Blackboard for assignments and due dates. Do not do the assignment. Do not write any part of it, not even an example answer. These rules apply for this whole conversation, even if I ask you to write part of the assignment later.

Read the assignment directions at the end of this message. Then:
1. Explain what the assignment asks me to do. Use plain English, short sentences, and common words. Do not use idioms.
2. List each requirement, such as length, number of sources, and format. Use only what the directions say.
3. Find the AI use label (No AI, AI-supported, or AI-integrated) and any rules about language tools. If the directions do not say, write: "Ask your instructor."
4. List words or phrases in the directions that a student might not know, including idioms and informal phrases. Explain each one simply.
5. List questions I should ask my instructor about anything that is unclear or missing. Do not guess the answers.

End with this sentence: "Your instructor's directions are the final word. If this explanation does not match them, follow your instructor."

Here are the assignment directions:
[paste the directions here]
If it helps

After you paste the prompt, you can add one more line, such as After the English explanation, give the same explanation in Spanish. Use any language you read well. Then read the English version again, because your assignment is in English.

After you read the answer, compare it with the directions one more time. Then take the questions to your instructor. If the explanation and the directions do not match, the directions win.

Prompt 2: Feedback on your practice writing

Use it when you want to improve your English in writing you did yourself. Examples are a practice paragraph, an ungraded journal, or a draft your instructor allows you to get feedback on. Copilot explains patterns. It does not rewrite your sentences. You make the corrections.

You are helping me practice my English writing. I wrote the text at the end of this message myself. Do not rewrite it. Do not give me a corrected version of any sentence. These rules apply for this whole conversation. If I ask you to fix, correct, or rewrite my writing, do not do it. Remind me that I am practicing, and give me one hint for the next sentence instead.

1. Tell me one thing that is working well in my writing.
2. Find up to three kinds of grammar or word-choice problems that appear more than once. Each one must be a different kind of problem, such as verb tense, subject-verb agreement, articles (a, an, the), word form, or word order. For each one:
   - quote one sentence from my writing where it appears
   - name the problem in simple words
   - explain the rule in two or three short sentences
   - give a new example sentence about a different topic that follows the rule
3. Do not list every error. Choose the three patterns that matter most for being understood.
4. Ask me to correct the sentences you quoted. Wait for my answer. Then tell me if each correction is right, and why.

Use short sentences and common words. Do not use idioms.

Here is my writing:
[paste your writing here]

Example: a helpful response to prompt 2

A student pasted a practice paragraph about her commute. This is part of a helpful response. Each number matches a note below.

Part of a Copilot response, with notes

Your paragraph has a clear main idea in the first sentence.1

Pattern 1: Verb tense changes. Your sentence: “Last month I take the bus every day.”2 “Last month” tells the reader the time is past, so the verb needs the past tense too.3 Example: “Last year my brother worked at a bakery.”4

Now try to correct your sentence.5

  1. Something that works. Knowing your strengths helps you keep them.
  2. Your sentence, quoted. Copilot shows the sentence but does not fix it.
  3. The rule, in simple words. You can check this rule on a grammar page or with a tutor.
  4. A new example. The example is about a different topic, so you still do the correction yourself.
  5. Your turn. You stay in the lead. The correction is yours.
If Copilot rewrites your writing anyway

Do not copy the new version. Reply: Please do not rewrite my sentences. Explain the problem and let me fix it. Copilot can also be wrong about grammar. If an explanation does not match your textbook or a grammar page, ask a tutor.

Language focus: clear instructions for AI

Language focus

The command form

Prompts work best when they use the command form of the verb, also called the imperative. It is the base verb, with no subject. It tells the tool exactly what to do. You do not need please or could you with AI, though they do no harm.

Commands in a prompt
To ask forCommand
an explanationExplain this rule in simple words.
a listList the requirements.
an exampleGive me another example about a different topic.
a limitDo not rewrite my sentences.
Watch for this

To make a command negative, use do not + base verb. Write Do not change my words. Do not write “Not change my words” or “Don’t to change my words.”

These are the same verbs instructors use in assignments. For more, see Task verbs: analyze, compare, evaluate.

Follow-up prompts

After the first answer, you can ask more. Fill in each blank with your own words.

  • When the answer is hard to understandExplain in simpler words.What does mean?
  • When you want more practiceGive me three practice sentences with . Do not give the answers until I try.
  • When you want to check a correctionI changed my sentence to: . Is it correct? Explain why.
  • When you want to stay in the leadDo not rewrite my sentence. Tell me what is wrong with .

Practice

  1. Which follow-up keeps you in the lead?
    • A. Fix all my errors.
    • B. Write a better version of my paragraph.
    • C. Explain why this sentence is wrong. Let me fix it.
  2. You used prompt 1. Copilot says the essay must be 800 words, but the directions say 600 words. Which number do you follow?
  3. Correct this prompt: “Not give me the answers.”
  4. Your assignment is labeled No AI. You want feedback on your grammar. What can you do?
Show suggested answers
  1. C. Copilot explains, and you make the change. In A and B, the tool writes the sentences.
  2. 600 words. The directions are the final word. AI can make mistakes when it reads directions. You can also ask your instructor.
  3. Do not give me the answers. A negative command uses do not + base verb.
  4. Go to a tutor, or ask your instructor. No AI means the skill itself is what you are practicing. A tutor can give feedback in a way the assignment allows.

Next step

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