ChatGPT is capable of doing many different things very well, with one of the biggest standout features being its ability to compose all sorts of text within seconds, including songs, poems, bedtime stories, and essays.
The chatbot’s writing abilities are not only fun to experiment with, but can help provide assistance with everyday tasks. Whether you are a student, a working professional, or just getting stuff done, we constantly take time out of our day to compose emails, texts, posts, and more. ChatGPT can help you claim some of that time back by helping you brainstorm and then compose any text you need.
How to use ChatGPT to write: Code | Excel formulas | Resumes | Cover letters
Contrary to popular belief, ChatGPT can do much more than just write an essay for you from scratch (which would be considered plagiarism). A more useful way to use the chatbot is to have it guide your writing process.
Below, we show you how to use ChatGPT to do both the writing and assisting, as well as some other helpful writing tips.
How ChatGPT can help you write an essay
If you are looking to use ChatGPT to support or replace your writing, here are five different techniques to explore.
It is also worth noting before you get started that other AI chatbots can output the same results as ChatGPT or are even better, depending on your needs.
Also: The best AI chatbots of 2024: ChatGPT and alternatives
For example, Copilot has access to the internet, and as a result, it can source its answers from recent information and current events. Copilot also includes footnotes linking back to the original source for all of its responses, making the chatbot a more valuable tool if you’re writing a paper on a more recent event, or if you want to verify your sources.
Regardless of which AI chatbot you pick, you can use the tips below to get the most out of your prompts and from AI assistance.
Before you can even get started writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that gives them leeway for their own self-expression and analysis.
As a result, students have the task of finding the angle to approach the essay on their own. If you have written an essay recently, you know that finding the angle is often the trickiest part — and this is where ChatGPT can help.
Also: ChatGPT vs. Copilot: Which AI chatbot is better for you?
All you need to do is input the assignment topic, include as much detail as you’d like — such as what you’re thinking about covering — and let ChatGPT do the rest. For example, based on a paper prompt I had in college, I asked:
Can you help me come up with a topic idea for this assignment, “You will write a research paper or case study on a leadership topic of your choice.” I would like it to include Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Leadership Grid, and possibly a historical figure.
Also: I’m a ChatGPT pro but this quick course taught me new tricks, and you can take it for free
Within seconds, the chatbot produced a response that provided me with the title of the essay, options of historical figures I could focus my article on, and insight on what information I could include in my paper, with specific examples of a case study I could use.
