Artificial Intelligence is a major topic of conversation, including how it can (or if it should) be used in the classroom. With any emerging technology there will be concerns about ethical use and gaps in technology access, and both can and should be addressed in the English 100 classroom. Taking time to build your understanding of generative AI and how it can be situated within the writing process, and articulating your intentions for its use in your classroom, can help alleviate concerns for both you and your students.

Understanding AI

Generative Artificial Intelligence tools, like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot, use technology and information to produce human-like text. In these large language models (LLMs), most often a user inputs a prompt and the tool outputs a response. Drawing from online content like articles, books, and websites, the AI tool will seek to output text which is responsive to both context and genre as communicated in the user’s prompt. This responsiveness and the tool’s often authoritative tone can make it hard to distinguish AI-generated writing from human writing. However, at this stage, AI tools cannot determine accuracy of information or ethically use or cite source material. See more in the Resources section below about how LLMs work.

ChatGPT and other AI tools are accessible via web browser and require registration and the creation of an account to access their software. UW-Madison students have access to Microsoft Copilot.

We have English 100 program guidelines rather than firm policy regarding the use or prohibition of generative AI tools in E100 classrooms. We do, however, ask that instructors work to develop their own critical AI literacy, “not just how AI models work but also about the risk, rewards, capacities, and complications of AI tools” (MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper 1). We hope to pass this literacy on to students, as many are becoming fluent but not literate in the use of these tools. Out of this literacy, instructors should develop their own policies that center the value of writing to learning, academic integrity, and an ethic of transparency around the use of assistive technologies.

The MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI advises that any policies related to Generative AI “keep academic integrity, learning outcomes, and the teacher-student relationship at their core” and work to “reduce harm…while keeping educational development at the center” (MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper 2). Any policies and the ideas/concerns/goals they are founded upon should be openly discussed with students, in hopes of encouraging critical thought and literacy among students regarding the use of generative AI in this class and other rhetorical situations. See the Sweetland Center for Writing guidance on course policies for chatbots and the collaborative Google Doc of varied classroom policies from university instructors across the country.

The UW-Madison Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring has also created a resource for understanding and discussing Generative AI. The resource includes suggestions for ways to discuss AI in the classroom and guidance on instructional opportunities and challenges. What is presented is not institutional policy but rather guidance.

Classroom Strategies for Addressing Generative AI

Discuss Advantages and Disadvantages Alongside Learning Outcomes

Have a conversation about Generative AI early in the semester and then regularly throughout each sequence, discussing how generative AI interacts with the goals of each sequence. Providing students context about AI’s strengths and weaknesses will help them understand where it fits (or doesn’t fit) in the writing process, particularly in relationship to the learning outcomes of particular assignments. Some weaknesses of AI have been mentioned here already: accuracy of information and ethical use and citation of sources. Additionally, AI writing tends to be formulaic and lack emotion, and it can reproduce bias and spread misinformation. Ask students, too, how the use of Generative AI might affect some groups of people/writers differently than others. Other possible risks and rewards have been outlined by the MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI. Reading an article like “What AI Teaches Us about Good Writing” or any number of other thinkpieces or articles can provide a framework for classroom conversation.

Provide Guidelines for Acceptable Use

Giving students explicit guidelines about where and when it is appropriate to use AI in your classroom can be helpful for students as they navigate the semester, not just your class but other classes. A general policy should be outlined in the syllabus but guidelines should also appear in individual assignments and classroom activities, and Generative AI use should be an ongoing conversation. Encourage transparency regardless of your guidelines, asking students to reflect on their writing tools, technologies, and processes. If you use AI in the classroom, students should not be required to share personal information or incur costs to access software like ChatGPT. Instead, consider using UW-Madison supported software like Copilot.

Co-construct Classroom Expectations

After discussing AI’s affordances and limitations, collaborate with students to create a list of expectations for your classroom, including the use of AI tools. Ask students to connect these expectations with the learning outcomes and goals of the E100 classroom and specific assignments. Collaborating in this way can provide agency and accountability for students, and it can frame student responsibility to the learning of themselves and each other, rather than to you (the instructor).

Create and Revise Assignments 

Consider revising or creating assignments to account for the possibility of AI by emphasizing specificity, referring to local concepts, and incorporating reflection. Avoid assignments that purely ask students to summarize texts, instead asking them to analyze and evaluate according to a specific purpose. Scaffolding assignments and asking students to show the stages of their writing work are hallmarks of the program and may also temper inappropriate use of AI tools. Developing multimodal projects also may also raise student engagement and decrease student overreliance on Generative AI. AI tools may also be helpfully used at the invention and revision stages of the writing process. Overall, create projects that are based on course outcomes, and assess them according to these outcomes outside of any possible AI use.

Facilitate Writing Process Reflection and Documentation

The English 100 portfolio system lends itself to frequent reflection, which is a skill that students need to learn and practice (see more in the Build Reflective Learning into the Portfolio Process chapter). Consider incorporating reflection questions which specifically ask students to share their process, including both their use of AI tools and the feedback and support they received from other individuals and resources. Generative AI tools can often provide a transcript of their “conversations,” which students could use as documentation.

Be Transparent about Your Use of Generative AI

If you ask students to share about their use, you should similarly be open about how you use (or do not use) generative AI to plan lessons, provide sample essays, or provide feedback. The E100 program follows the advice of experts and takes the stance that “tools for detection and authorship verification in GAI use should be used with caution and discernment or not at all” (MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper 2); however, if you plan to use AI detection software, students should be informed, preferably in advance of the assignment’s submission.

Additionally, we do not recommend using generative AI as the main form of feedback students receive on their writing. While these tools may allow for more instructor efficiency, this feedback may 1) perpetuate linguistic biases, 2) affect the instructor/student relationship, and 3) impact the overall E100 belief that writing is a complex social activity that facilitates “meaningful communication between humans” (MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper 2). Instead, consider how any AI generated feedback can supplement your feedback and the feedback of others, as well as how students might critically engage any feedback they receive, making connections to their rhetorical goals and learning.

Generative AI Lesson Plans

The E100 program has developed six different AI lesson plans for use throughout the semester. Lessons range from free-writes to open discussions to more structured discussions using a Structured Academic Controversy Protocol. Some lessons invite students to think through their own usage of these tools; others ask them to use these tools to see what they can and cannot do. Some of the lessons are integrated into the model calendar, but instructors are welcome to use or adapt any of these lessons at any point in the semester. Just consider how these discussions relate to the overall learning goals of the sequence.

More information about Integrating AI Lessons in English 100 and the recommended lesson plans can be found in this Google Doc.

Additional Resources

• • Teaching and Learning, “Generative AI – Instructional Opportunities and Challenges”: https://teachlearn.wisc.edu/generative-ai/
  • MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force
    • Website: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/
    • Quick Guide/Resources: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/resources/
    • Working Paper 1: Overview of the Issues, Statement of Principles, and Recommendations: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/working-paper-1/
    • Working Paper 2: Generative AI and Policy Development: Guidance from the MLA-CCCC Task Force: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/working-paper-2/ 
    • Working Paper 3: Building a Culture of Generative AI Literacy in College Language, Literature, and Writing: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/working-paper-3/ 
    • Student Guide to AI Literacy: https://aiandwriting.hcommons.org/student-guide-to-ai-literacy/
  • The WAC Clearinghouse, TextGenEd: An Introduction to Teaching with Text Generation Technologies: https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/collections/textgened/ 
  • Association for Writing Across the Curriculum Statement: https://wacassociation.org/statement-on-ai-writing-tools-in-wac/
  • University of California, Berkeley, Office of Ethics, “Appropriate Use of ChatGPT and Similar AI Tools”: https://ethics.berkeley.edu/privacy/appropriate-use-chatgpt-and-similar-ai-tools
  • Sweetland Center for Writing, University of Michigan, “Teaching Writing with Chatbots”: https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/instructors/guides-to-teaching-writing/teaching-writing-with-chatbots.html
  • Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools (Collaborative Google Doc): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RMVwzjc1o0Mi8Blw_-JUTcXv02b2WRH86vw7mi16W3U/edit

Other Readings on LLMS & Pedagogy

• Bhatia, Aatish. “Watch and AI Learn to Write by Reading Nothing but Jane Austen.” The New York Times. 27 Apr 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/04/26/upshot/gpt-from-scratch.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
• Bowman, Samuel R. “Eight Things to Know about Large Language Models.” Critical AI. vol. 2, no. 2, 1 Oct. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1215/2834703X-11556011
• Hartenberger, Laura.”What AI Teaches Us about Good Writing”: https://www.noemamag.com/what-ai-teaches-us-about-good-writing/
• Laquintano, Tim, et al. “An Introduction to Teaching with Text Generation Technologies.” TextGenEd: Teaching with Text Generation Technologies. WAC Clearinghouse, 2023. https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/collections/textgened/
• McMurtrie, Beth. “AI to the Rescue.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 20 Jun 2025. https://www-chronicle-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/special-projects/the-different-voices-of-student-success/ai-to-the-rescue
• Mitchell, Kim M. “A ChatGPT Teaching Experiment”: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/just-visiting/2023/08/16/chatgpt-teaching-experiment

• O’Connell, Derek. “How are Students Really Using AI?: Here’s what the data tell us.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 14 Jul 2025. https://www-chronicle-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/article/how-are-students-really-using-ai

• O’Rourke, Meghan. “I Teach Creative Writing.This is what AI is Doing to Students.” The New York Times, 18 July 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/opinion/ai-chatgpt-school.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z08.MXIa.0nf4K2rFOshu&smid=url-share
• Vee, Annette. “How are Students Using AI?” Computation & Writing (Substack). 12 May 2025. https://aiandhowweteach.substack.com/p/how-are-students-using-ai