Do you use AI? Well, that was a silly question: of course you do! Even if you aren't opening up Copilot (or ChatGPT, or Claude, or anything else) and asking questions, it's embedded in all kinds of digital tasks you are doing.
Fine. It's here, and we need to learn some skills to use it well. AI can help you to do all kinds of useful things! I like AI, and use it for a variety of different skills to help me in my day.
But do you know what it's pretty terrible at doing? Writing! Yeesh. It's painful to read the results. I hated a clearly badly-written AI trash article last week so much that I literally threw my phone on the ground! Ugh. AI garbage writing just grates against my brain, and I hate it so much!!!!
Obviously: if you are using it to write papers for class, well good grief. I don't really have to say that is a terrible idea, do I? First of all, your instructor almost certainly has told you not to do that, and there may be an exciting array of penalties.
But just for yourself, don't do this. The whole point to writing is to develop your own voice, to learn how to clearly speak for yourself and to share your ideas. Sure, here you are using those skills to do papers your instructors give you - great. Do that. But what you really want to do is to learn to write so you sound like yourself talking. A maybe dressed-up version of yourself, but you want someone to read a paper, or a report for work, or a TickTok script, or an email, or even (gasp!) a letter you might mail to a friend - and you want them to think "oh yeah, that sounds just like you talking with me."
You do not want to sound like some generic, poorly written AI trash. You want to sound like you! It does take some time, it does take some effort - but you here to learn things, to build skills, and to improve yourself and your prospects in life. Being able to write that way, not flashy or sounding super-smart or anything else - just writing so you are able to find and share your voice, that is great! Don't cheat yourself, and anyone who will read your words, by making yourself into some blah, boring, generically bad voice.
And, as with everything you are doing at SCTCC, there is plenty of help for you! Stop by the Library, and I'll help you find all kinds of resources that will build your confidence in your writing. I'll also help you find good resources you can use as you write papers. As you write and polish your work, head to the 2nd floor of the Heartland Building and chat with Seth in the CAS. He can help you with good citations, and working with you to edit your work so you hit that goal of sounding like you - and sounding good while you do it!