7 Ways to Spot AI Writing in the Classroom

The most obvious ways to spot AI writing in the classroom are fading away. 

Sure, an unusually formal tone, polished-but-plain essays, or obvious ChatGPT sayings can still raise questions. 

However, studies have shown that LLM writing is difficult for humans (including teachers) to identify.

So, if teachers want a better, more reliable way to recognize AI-generated work in education, it may be time to start doing a more comprehensive review.

If one or more of the following signs of AI writing show up in student work, it may be worth taking a closer look. Note that some examples have been AI-generated to illustrate the contrast.

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

• Teachers should review multiple signs when trying to spot AI writing in the classroom, including:

1. A “Likely AI” flag by an AI detection tool like Originality.ai. These tools can be a great first check for possible AI use, but teachers shouldn’t rely on AI content detection scores alone
2. Neutral stance. AI text often takes a neutral position and avoids taking a clear stance on something, like an argumentative essay
3. Overly smooth writing. Writing that seems too smooth and doesn’t show any of the student’s thought process
4. Perfectly structured papers that stay surface-level. AI-generated essays may contain perfectly formed intros, subtopics, and conclusions, but stay surface-level with generic claims or weak examples
5. Students who can’t explain their work. If a student can describe their thesis but can’t otherwise explain their writing, it may be worth a closer look
6. Writing that doesn’t match the student’s usual voice. Sudden changes in the way the student usually writes could be a sign that something is off
7. Classic AI writing tells. Well-established signs of AI text, like repetitive phrasing and formulaic paragraphs, may not be as reliable as they used to be, but they can still be useful when combined with other indicators

Try Originality.ai’s Chrome Extension or Moodle Plugin to maintain AI transparency in your classroom. Note, an AI detection score should not be the only indicator of cheating.

1. An AI Detector Flags Student Work as Likely AI Writing

Although AI detectors shouldn’t be the only way teachers and even professors check for AI text in student work, they can be useful as a first step.

Tools like Originality.ai have high AI detection accuracy, sure, but being aware of the risk of false positives matters when dealing with student work. 

To spot AI writing in the classroom, AI detectors should be used as more of an initial check. 

When something about a student’s work seems off or otherwise raises questions, teachers can run the writing through Originality.ai to see if the content detection score indicates “Likely AI” text. If it does, teachers can take a closer look at the writing.

2. The Paper Answers the Question But Sidesteps Taking a Real Stand

This is one of the ways to spot AI text that can be extremely easy to miss if you’re grading in a hurry. AI may be good at generating responses to questions, but it often avoids taking a real stand on an issue.

And research backs that up. 

In a study titled How LLMs Distort Our Written Language, researchers found that LLM users were more likely to produce neutral argumentative essays that avoided taking a particular stance than those written entirely by humans.

3. The Writing Sounds Smooth, But Doesn’t Really Show How the Student Got There

Student writing often shows indications of how they worked through the idea. Teachers may notice where a student hesitates, overcommits, circles back, or otherwise works through an idea before landing on their position.

AI usually doesn’t show this same kind of friction, with paragraphs often standing on their own and seamlessly gliding into the next. In this case, it may seem a little too polished for an assignment that asks students to explain something in their own words.

A student might write something like:

 “At first, to understand how light impacted plant growth, my group conducted an experiment where we placed plants in varying levels of sunlight over a month, and then measured how tall they grew.” 

While AI might generate something more along the lines of:

 “To investigate how light affects plant growth, the students conducted an experiment in which identical plants were exposed to different amounts of sunlight and their heights were measured over four weeks.”

The student’s version may start a bit choppier, but it also shows active consideration. A paper that sounds a little too smooth and arrives at the analysis a little too easily might deserve a closer look. 

Most students won’t have a perfectly thought-out, academic answer every time. After all, they’re still learning.

4. The Essay Checks Every Box, But Stays Surface-Level

AI essays can look complete because GenAI tools are designed to continue likely patterns in text. So, when prompted to write an essay, ChatGPT and the like can easily produce the familiar parts of one: an introduction, background details, arguments, counterarguments, and conclusion. 

On the surface, what it generates often looks like a perfectly organized, well-written essay. Upon closer inspection, though, AI-generated text often reads very generic or surface-level. 

It may cover the prompt, but the writing itself misses the specific details and real-world examples teachers may expect from a student who has actually thought through and understood the material.

For example, AI-written essays may say a character “learns important lessons,” or that a book “reveals broader truths about society,” without actually explaining what those lessons and truths are or why any of it even matters. 

It may sound like the student is making a point, but there isn’t enough detail to show what they actually understood from the text.

5. The Student Can’t Really Explain the Rationale Behind Their Decisions

One way to spot AI in the classroom isn’t in the assignment itself, but in the aftermath. If students have a hard time supporting their work or explaining the rationale behind it, it may be a sign they relied too heavily on AI.

So, if teachers suspect AI use, they can ask students a few simple follow-up questions about their work, such as: 

• Can you tell me a little more about your thesis? How’d you come up with it?
• Why did you make this choice instead of that one?
• What point did you want to make here? 
• Which part was the hardest? Why?

If a student repeats the thesis, but can't build on it, or paraphrases a paragraph, but can’t tell you why they added it, the writing may be worth a closer look.

Of course, any student might stumble a little. They might forget exactly which words they used or every single step of their thought process, but usually, they can explain the core idea if they’ve spent time working on the concept or assignment.

6. The Paper Doesn’t Sound Like the Student’s Usual Writing

Every student, and really every writer, has a sort of “fingerprint” or patterns in the way they write, and writing habits they tend to lean on. 

For example, they might use a similar structure or rely on a favorite transition phrase a bit too often. So, if they submit something that seems to be missing their usual voice or writing habits, it could be worth paying attention to.

Students can change their voice and improve their writing over time, of course, and one stronger paper isn’t hard proof of AI use. However, if a student usually writes in a direct, concrete way but suddenly submits something that sounds much more formal, polished, or textbook-like, it may be worth comparing it with their earlier work.

7. The Classic AI Writing Tells Still Show Up

Although many of the classic signs of AI-generated text are less reliable than they used to be, it’s not like they’ve disappeared completely. As long as teachers aren’t relying on these signs alone as definitive proof, they can still help spot possible AI writing in the classroom.

Some of the more classic AI writing tells include:

• Repetitive phrasing or sentence patterns. Many sentences start the same way throughout the writing, like “This shows…” or “This highlights…”
• Formulaic paragraphs. Every paragraph follows the same general pattern: topic sentence, broad explanation, generic example, tidy wrap-up sentence.
• Neat transitions. Transition phrases like “Another important thing to consider…” or “This demonstrates the broader idea that…” keep showing up in the text.
• Flat tone. Even when the assignment requires the student’s opinion or interpretation, the writing sounds smooth and detached.
• Sudden textbook-like language. The student’s writing suddenly sounds more like a textbook than…the student’s writing.
• Unusually flawless grammar or no typos. Not all students have perfect grammar, spelling, or punctuation. If it’s missing the usual mistakes, it could be worth paying attention to.
• Lack of personal touch. The writing just doesn’t sound like it came from the student. It’s missing their usual phrasing, perspective, or examples.

The key thing to remember here is that these signs are often only signs of possible AI use if they don’t match the student’s usual writing habits. Some students will naturally use things like repetitive phrasing or neat transitions.

What to Do If Teachers Suspect AI Writing from Students

If teachers suspect that a student used AI, the first thing to keep in mind is that a polished essay isn’t proof on its own. 

Each sign should be part of a larger review. Teachers should consider the AI detection score, as well as compare the paper with the student’s usual writing to see if it seems off or different, and check whether the reasoning behind their claims holds up. 

If those checks raise red flags, then it may help to talk to the student about it and see if they can explain their work in their own words.

Teachers may even choose to get ahead of AI writing by having students install Originality.ai’s Chrome extension. If a student writes their paper in Google Docs, Writer Replay can provide a character-by-character replay of the writing process, including paste locations and the document’s revision history.

Further Reading

• 70+ AI in Education Statistics
• Teaching With AI: The Complete Guide
• AI in Academia: How AI Is Impacting Colleges and Universities

FAQs About Ways to Spot AI Writing in the Classroom

Is it common for students to use AI?

Yes, it’s becoming increasingly common for students to use AI for schoolwork. According to the Digital Education Council, about 86% of students worldwide admit to regularly using AI in their studies.

What are teachers using to detect AI writing?

Teachers often use both software and manual methods to detect AI writing. They may use AI detectors like Originality.ai to help flag student work as likely AI-generated, then follow up by checking whether the assignment sounds different from the student’s usual writing, seems unusually surface-level or neutral, or is hard for the student to explain in their own words.