Using ChatGPT to write your Creative Story?
Written by Martin S
What is the future for English students?
With the recent release of GPT-4, ChatGPT’s premium AI it is clear that the business model is clear: create the most human artificial intellegence.
So we think about the English student who has an assignment to write a creative story, is anything stopping them from asking ChatGPT to do it?
There will always be a way for students to try and cheat the system, but as the old adage goes, they are only cheating themselves.
We’ve asked ChatGPT to write a creative story based on the prompt:
“Write a 200 word creative story that is set in 1950’s America written from the ability of a Year 10 English student in NSW Australia.”
Our verdict is … not great.
ChatGPT’s Creative:
The sun was beating down on the dusty streets of 1950’s America as John walked to school, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the upcoming dance. He had been practicing his moves for weeks and was determined to impress Mary, the girl he had been crushing on since the start of the school year.
As he walked into the classroom, he noticed that Mary was already there, sitting in her usual seat at the front of the class. John nervously took his seat at the back, trying not to draw attention to himself. But as the teacher began the lesson, John found himself unable to concentrate, his mind wandering to thoughts of Mary.
After what seemed like an eternity, the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day. John rushed out of the classroom and made his way to the school gym, where the dance was being held. As he stepped inside, he was immediately struck by the bright lights and the sound of the music.
He scanned the room for Mary, and finally spotted her across the dance floor, surrounded by a group of friends. Summoning all his courage, John made his way over to her and asked her to dance. To his delight, she said yes, and as they danced the night away, John knew that he had finally found the girl of his dreams.
1. How did ChatGPT do?
If you’re wondering whether this could be picked up by a teacher, the truth is that it depends. There are tools out there that already exist to make a prompt unique and undetectable by software, but you also have to ask, what is going through a teacher’s mind?
The story above exhibits core narrative elements: it has a introduction, rising action, conflict and resolution and undoubtely uses descriptive writing and a consistent third person voice.
However, it does all these elements sub-par and to a very mediocre standard. When you read the story there is no depth to our environment nor our characters, and it has pitifully attempted to include the prompt of it being 1950’s America.
2. Prompt it again?
Could you keep prompting ChatGPT until it created a narrative that would tick all the boxes?
But what would you be looking to change?
This is the fundamental catch-22 of ChatGPT and its application to High School English tasks. This solution would only be possible if the student knew what they needed to change.
It would be fair to say that most students who are thinking of using ChatGPT or any similar AI tool to do a weighted assessment or school task for them is likely to be caught.
There are various signals that come out of an AI written story that alert red flags and an academic misconduct interview is surely to set the records straight.
3. What is our future?
If AI can do everything, is there a point for students to continue drafting creatives or essays?
There are two broad perspectives that arise,
(a) Do we improve our detection tools to catch students using AI; or
(b) Do we incorporate AI into the learning process and encourage it’s usage.
Some schools and educational institutions have already devised new assessment formats to tackle this issue, the most creative we’ve seen so far is asking ChatGPT to write an essay and for the student to mark-up and comment on the mistakes it has made.
Our tutoring centre in Fairfield, NSW has been teaching for over 10 years and our projection is that AI will never truly replace the need for students to produce their own work. Students in the English classroom are learning how to structure their opinions into reasoned arguments and dissect complex literature to inform their opinion. The focus is teaching students HOW to do this and whether the assessment format changes to tackle AI tools, students will continue learning the same things that they have always learnt.
Take mathematics for example, we have had complex softwares like Wolfram Alpha which has been able to solve the most complex mathematics problems thrown at it, yet we still have a comprehensive Mathematics syllabus. Students are not taught how to better use a calculator, however, the calculator has been incorporated to allow more complex questions to be resolved under exam conditions.
There will always be a need for students to improve their academic ability, and now, with the introduction of AI tools, this need has increased ten-fold. The students that will succeed in our changing academic landscape are those who truly have mastered HOW things truly work.
Contact us today to find out how our tutors can help you succeed.
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