OpenAI's official release! The writing guide for ChatGPT is here~12 suggestions to help you improve your writing efficiency!
Recently, OpenAI released an article on their website providing a writing guide for students.
The guide begins by stating: If used properly, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool to help students develop rigorous thinking and clear writing skills, assist them in ideating, mastering complex concepts, and getting feedback on writing drafts.
However, there are also ways of using ChatGPT that can be counterproductive - such as generating an entire article instead of writing it yourself. This deprives students of the opportunity to practice, improve their skills, and deeply engage with the material.
The guide mentions a total of 12 writing suggestions:
- Let ChatGPT handle citation work
- Quickly get up to speed on new topics
- Steps to find relevant resources
- Gain a more complete understanding through questioning
- Review outlines to improve flow
- Test logic through reverse outlines
- Develop your ideas through Socratic dialogue
- Ask GPT to challenge your arguments
- Compare your ideas to history's greatest thinkers
- Iteratively improve your writing through feedback
- Use advanced speech mode as a reading companion
- Don't just complete the task - refine your writing skills
The guide emphasizes the importance of academic integrity at the end, calling on everyone to cite any dialogues with ChatGPT in their assignments to ensure transparency of sources.
Here are the details of the 12 suggestions-
1. Let ChatGPT handle citation work
AI excels at automating tedious and time-consuming tasks like formatting citations. You just need to remember to cross-check all source information for accuracy against the original materials.
For example, you can give GPT instructions like:
• Here is my bibliography. Please format the citations in MLA style.
• Convert my references from MLA format to APA format.
• Read through my paper and tell me if I'm missing any citations.
2. Quickly get up to speed on new topics
ChatGPT can provide a basic understanding of a subject, helping you kickstart your research.
For example, you can ask GPT to quickly explain the differences between Keynesian economics and classical economics:
• What is Keynesian economics, and how does it differ from classical economic theory?
• Give me an overview of different motivation theories.
GPT first explains the concepts of Keynesian economics and classical economics separately:
Then, it outlines the key differences between the two in terms of government intervention, demand vs. supply, and short-term vs. long-term, and explains them:
Finally, it provides an overview of different motivation theories, including Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, McClelland's acquired needs theory (achievement motivation theory), self-determination theory (SDT), expectancy theory (Vroom), equity theory, goal-setting theory (Locke and Latham), and behavioral theory (Skinner's operant conditioning).
3. Steps to find relevant resources
ChatGPT can guide you by recommending relevant scholars, resources, and search terms for your research.
However, remember that while it can help point you in the right direction, ChatGPT cannot substitute for reading original materials and peer-reviewed articles. And since language models may generate inaccurate information, you should always verify the facts.
For example, you can input the instruction:
I'm researching the impact of social media use on mental health. What are the key scholars in this field, what are their main contributions, and what resources and keywords should I use to search academic databases?
GPT not only answers the question by identifying the main scholars and their contributions, recommending reference resources, and suggesting keywords for database searches, but also provides some very useful search strategy tips.
Its search strategy tips are:
1. Combine keywords: Use Boolean operators (AND, OR) to combine keywords, such as "social media AND adolescence AND anxiety", to get more specific results.
2. Use filtering options: Limit your results to recent research, especially within the past 5-7 years, as this field is rapidly evolving.
3. Track citations: Look at the reference lists of key articles to find foundational research and other influential scholars in the field.
4. Set alerts: Use keywords to set up alerts for new research in academic databases like PubMed, PsycINFO, or Google Scholar, so you can stay up-to-date.
4. Gain a more complete understanding through questioning
ChatGPT can help you connect the dots and fill in gaps in your understanding of complex topics by answering questions that other sources may have overlooked or buried within chapters.
For example, you can ask GPT:
What I don't understand about quantum mechanics is: Are we really saying that Schrödinger's cat is both alive and dead before we open the box, or is the cat just a metaphor to illustrate that electrons are in a superposition before being observed?
Based on this question, GPT first explains what Schrödinger's cat is, and then directly addresses the question itself:
5. Review outlines to improve flow
After you've written an outline, ChatGPT can help you review the structure and provide feedback on the flow of your ideas.
You can give GPT an instruction like:
Review my outline and provide feedback on the structure of my paper. Is my logic easy to follow? Do my points connect smoothly from one to the next? Where can I improve the structure to strengthen my argument or make the sequence clearer?
6. Test the logic through reverse outline
The reverse outline is a technique for evaluating the structure of an article by identifying the main point of each paragraph. By clearly seeing the structure of your paragraphs, you can work backwards to assess whether the logic of the article flows smoothly.
You can give GPT the instruction:
Please create a reverse outline for my article. Summarize the main idea of each paragraph in 10 words and present it in outline form.
7. Develop your ideas through Socratic dialogue
Just as Socrates engaged in dialogue with his interlocutors, ChatGPT can serve as an intellectual sparring partner to help you articulate and refine your ideas.
For example, you can input the following instruction to have GPT engage in a dialogue with you on a specific question:
I am writing a university paper on Virginia Woolf's use of stream of consciousness technique in "To the Lighthouse". (I will paste the assignment guidelines and grading criteria below.) Please first review these guidelines, then interview me through a series of targeted questions to help me:
• Develop a clear, debatable thesis statement that responds to the assignment
• Incorporate counterarguments and consider different perspectives
• Synthesize my initial thoughts with new insights to refine my argument
8. Ask GPT to refute to test your argument
To strengthen your argument, try having ChatGPT challenge your logic, identify potential weaknesses, and raise counterarguments you may have overlooked.
You can ask GPT:
Which parts of my argument are solid? Where are there inconsistencies in my logic? What counterarguments have I failed to anticipate?
9. Compare your ideas to the greatest thinkers in history
You can also have ChatGPT inhabit the perspective of the thinkers you are discussing - for example, if you want to challenge Kant's epistemology, debate mystical love with Rumi, or discuss feminism with Simone de Beauvoir, ChatGPT can assist you.
For instance, you can input the instruction:
Let's engage in a philosophical debate roleplay. You will play René Descartes, arguing that free will is the foundation of human nature. I will play David Hume, asserting that all behavior is determined by external causes. In each round, you will pose a question challenging my position, then refute me based on Descartes' writings. Incorporate some interesting stage directions.
GPT responds:
[Descartes strides onto the stage, adjusting his cuffs with confidence, his gaze sharp and slightly amused.]
Descartes: Ah, Mr. Hume! I must frankly state that I believe free will is not merely a feature of human nature, but the very core of our essence. The capacity to choose, as I have said, transcends the chains of external causality that may bind other forms of life or inanimate matter.
[He raises an eyebrow slightly, considering Hume's position with a smile.]
So tell me, if you believe all human actions are driven by external causes, what is it that animates the life of the mind and propels our choices in this very moment?
10. Improve your writing through iterative feedback
ChatGPT can provide ongoing suggestions to help strengthen your writing, allowing you to refine your work before submitting the final paper.
You can seek advice from GPT:
Give me five recommendations to improve my paper. I am a university student trying to enhance my writing skills, so do not rewrite the paper, just provide feedback on the structure, argumentation, evidence, clarity and flow of the writing, and any other areas for improvement. Explain the rationale for each suggestion.
Subsequently, GPT provided general strategies for improving the paper's structure, argumentation, evidence, clarity, and flow, along with the respective rationales.
11. Use advanced voice mode as a reading companion
In addition to providing written responses, ChatGPT offers an advanced voice mode that can answer questions or explain confusing passages in real-time.
Try enabling the voice mode while reading books, so you can gain additional context and assistance without disrupting your reading flow.
12. Not just completing the task - refine your writing skills
A university paper is not just about getting a grade - it's an opportunity to develop your thinking abilities.
Instead of just aiming to complete the assignment, try asking ChatGPT for suggestions on how to improve your critical thinking and clear writing skills.
You can input the instruction:
I want to become a better scholar, thinker, and writer. Based on my performance in this paper, please identify patterns and areas for improvement in my thinking and writing process, and explain your feedback. Then, suggest specific principles, practices, and strategies I can apply over time to enhance my writing skills.
Here is GPT's response:
References:
https://openai.com/chatgpt/use-cases/student-writing-guide/
This article is from the WeChat public account "New Intelligence", written by Jingyin and authorized for publication on 36Kr.
