Tools and AI
Keeping a Record of Your Writing Process
Use this page when you start a writing assignment, or you want to show how your work developed.
What a writing record is
A writing record is a collection of the work you do on the way to a finished assignment. It shows how your work grew. Some OCTC pages call it a trail.
Every student can keep one. It helps you in three ways:
- You can see your own learning. Comparing an early draft with a final draft shows you what you can now do.
- You can talk about your process. If your instructor or a tutor asks how you did an assignment, you can show them.
- You can tell your instructor how you used help. Your notes make it easy to write an accurate AI use note.
A writing record shows how your work developed, and it helps you and your instructor talk about it. It does not prove that you used AI, and it does not prove that you did not. No tool or record can do that. The record is a starting point for a conversation.
- Draft:
- an early version of a piece of writing.
- Version history:
- a list of saved versions of a document, with dates. Word and Google Docs keep one for you.
- Source notes:
- notes on what you read, with where you found it.
- Significant help:
- help that changed your work in an important way, such as a tutor’s advice or an AI explanation you used.
What to keep
| What to keep | How |
|---|---|
| Brainstorming | Lists, notes, or a photo of handwritten ideas. |
| Outline | Save it as its own document or page. |
| Drafts | Write in one Word document saved to OneDrive. Word keeps a dated version history. |
| Source notes | What you read, where you found it, and the ideas you want to use. |
| Notes on significant help | A few sentences each time a tutor, AI, or a translation tool helped in an important way. |
For step-by-step setup with Word, OneDrive, and OneNote, see Keep a trail of your work (opens in a new tab). All three are free with your college account.
What counts as significant help?
You do not need to write down every word you look up. Write a note when help changed your work in an important way. For example:
- A tutor helped you reorganize your paragraphs.
- You used Copilot to explain a reading or a grammar rule.
- You translated a whole section of an article to understand it.
Write your draft in the document. If you write somewhere else and paste finished text in at the end, the version history cannot show how your work grew.
Example: a note on significant help
A student kept this note in her OneNote section for an essay. Each number matches a note below.
Essay 2. Label: AI-supported. Copilot may explain readings and grammar.1
I translated the second section of the article to understand the main argument.2 I asked Copilot to explain when to use “the” with plural nouns.3 I fixed the articles in my second paragraph myself.4 On Thursday, a tutor showed me that my third paragraph repeated my first one. I cut it and wrote a new paragraph about cost.5
- The assignment and the label. The note starts with the rules, so the student can check that her help fits them.
- Translation help. She says what she translated and why. She does not list every word she looked up.
- AI help. She names the tool and the question.
- What she did herself. This sentence shows who made the change.
- Help from a person. Tutor help is part of the record too. The change is specific: what she cut and what she wrote.
Language focus: saying who did what
Active sentences with a clear subject
In a writing record, the most important information is who did each thing: you, a tutor, or a tool. Put that person or tool first, as the subject. Then use a past-tense verb.
| Unclear: who did it? | Clear |
|---|---|
| The topic was chosen. | I chose the topic. |
| Some ideas were suggested. | Copilot suggested five ideas. I used one. |
| The paragraph was reorganized. | The tutor showed me a problem. I reorganized the paragraph. |
Sentences such as “The topic was chosen” are called passive. They are correct English, but they hide the person who did the action. In a record, name the person or the tool.
Common past-tense verbs for a record: asked, used, translated, chose, changed, cut, added, checked, wrote.
Sentence starters
Fill in each blank with your own words.
- To record AI helpI asked to . I used .
- To record translation helpI translated to understand .
- To record tutor helpA tutor showed me . I changed .
- To say what you did yourselfI myself.I chose and wrote .
Practice
- Which note is more useful?
- A. I used AI some.
- B. I asked Copilot to explain the difference between “affect” and “effect.” I fixed my sentences myself.
- Rewrite with a clear subject: “The introduction was rewritten.”
- You looked up four words in a dictionary while you wrote. Do you need a note for each word?
- True or false: If you keep a writing record, it proves that you did not use AI.
Show suggested answers
- B. It names the tool, the question, and what the student did. A does not say what AI did.
- One possible answer: “I rewrote the introduction.” The subject shows who did it. If a tutor or a tool helped, name them too: “A tutor suggested a new first sentence, and I rewrote the introduction.”
- No. A note is for significant help. Looking up a few words is a normal part of writing. Check that dictionaries are allowed.
- False. A record shows how your work grew. It cannot prove or disprove AI use. It helps you talk about your process.
Next step
Start your record with your next assignment
- Make one Word document for the assignment, saved to OneDrive, before you start writing.
- Make one place for notes: a OneNote section or a separate document.
- Write a short note each time you get significant help.
- Before you submit, read your notes and write your AI use note if your instructor asks for one.