How AI Can Improve Your Academic Skills

AI is changing how students enhance their academic skills by generating ideas, refining drafts, and using generative AI to brainstorm, structure essays, and fine-tune writing. Students are boosting productivity by using AI across multiple platforms like Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Samsung Galaxy AI, ChatGPT, and Apple Intelligence to assist with outlines, research papers, and even simulating peer review, ensuring their work meets the highest academic standards.

In this article, you’ll learn how to leverage AI for writing, research, and feedback with examples and prompts to guide you.

1. How Generative AI Can Improve the Writing Process

2. How To Use AI For Research Assistance

3. How Can AI Be Used for Peer Review and Feedback

How Generative AI Can Improve the Writing Process

Writing remains a critical skill assessed by teachers and professors. Generative AI, integrated into Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Samsung Notes, ChatGPT, and Apple Pages, helps students refine their writing. These tools provide feedback on sentence structure, coherence, and overall clarity, ensuring that essays and other assignments are well-organized.

How Does Generative AI Enhance Your Writing Skills?

Generative AI enhances writing skills by providing instant feedback on grammar, sentence structure, and flow. Students receive suggestions on improving sentence clarity, rephrasing complex sections, or refining thesis statements. The suggestions act as a tutor, helping students actively learn from the revisions.

Suppose you’re working on a research paper about climate change. Use AI to review your draft and suggest improvements like rephrasing complex sentences or refining your thesis.

Prompts:

• Can you analyze my essay on climate change and suggest improvements to my sentence structure and thesis statement?

• How can I improve the flow and coherence of my research paper on the effects of global warming? Please offer suggestions and a grade score of my current work.

What Are Large Language Models in AI Writing Tools?

Large language models (LLMs) such as Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT are advanced algorithms trained on massive amounts of text. AI can help students study by providing sophisticated writing assistance by analyzing and improving your drafts.

AI-generated content is a helpful tool for brainstorming and refining ideas, but it's crucial to maintain academic integrity. AI can assist in drafting and editing, but the final work must reflect your original thoughts to avoid plagiarism. Review AI-generated suggestions carefully to ensure alignment with academic standards.

How Can AI Help with Brainstorming for Writing?

AI can generate ideas based on simple prompts, making it easier to brainstorm topics for essays or research papers. For example, you’re tasked with writing an essay on social media’s impact on Canadian adolescents. AI can suggest subtopics like mental health effects or privacy concerns, helping you narrow your focus and develop a thesis.

Prompts:

• I’m writing an essay on the impact of social media. Help me brainstorm ideas and possible subtopics?

• Generate a list of potential essay angles about the impact of social media on Canadian adolescents.

Editing and Refining Text with AI

Editing is one of the most time-consuming aspects of writing. How students can save time with AI is by suggesting edits that improve grammar, clarity, and sentence structure. It will analyze your text for grammatical errors, phrasing, and inconsistencies. These tools provide suggestions for improving your writing and explaining the reasoning behind each edit.

For example, after drafting your essay ask AI to identify areas for improvement. It might suggest rephrasing sentences or correcting verb tenses.

Prompts:

• Can you review my essay on [topic] and suggest improvements to grammar? Explain your reasoning for each suggestion.

• Identify any grammatical errors in this paragraph on [topic] and offer revisions to improve clarity.

How To Use AI For Research Assistance

Research is a big part of your academic skills arsenal. Luckly, there are Chromebook Plus and Microsoft Copilot+ PCs that have built-in AI features for students to streamline the research process, helping you find, analyze, and cite academic papers more efficiently, saving time and enhancing the quality of work.

How Can AI Help Me Find, Review, and Organize Relevant Papers?

Finding the right sources is one of the most time-consuming parts of any academic project. AI can locate relevant literature, summarize key findings, and even help you organize papers by tagging them based on relevance, research topics, or challenges.

Prompts:

• Find recent research papers on [insert topic].

• Can you summarize the main findings in section [insert] of this paper on [insert topic]?

How Can AI Help Me Understand Complex Academic Papers?

Dense academic papers can be difficult to understand, especially with technical language. AI can assist by breaking down complex language, simplifying jargon, and summarizing key concepts for better comprehension.

Prompts:

• Summarize and explain this section of the paper [insert section].

• Explain the methodology used in this research study on [insert study].

By summarizing research and simplifying jargon, AI helps students grasp core concepts more efficiently.

How Can AI Assist Me with Data Collection and Analysis?

Data collection and analysis are critical components of any research project. AI simplifies the process by automating data collection, processing large datasets, and identifying trends. This is especially useful in fields that rely heavily on data analysis or advanced statistical methods.

Prompts:

• Help me analyze this dataset on [insert topic].

• Can you identify trends in this data on [insert topic]?

How Can AI Help Me Manage and Organize Citations?

Managing citations can be tedious, but AI can generate accurate citations in multiple formats, ensuring you follow proper academic standards. These AI tools also detect incomplete or incorrect citations, helping you maintain compliance with citation guidelines.

Prompts:

• Generate an APA citation for this journal article [insert article information: title, author(s), date published, etc.].

• Convert this MLA citation into Chicago style [paste MLA citation].

Additionally, AI can organize your citation lists to help manage multiple references across your academic papers.

How Can AI Be Used for Peer Review and Feedback?

As a student, receiving feedback on your writing and research is crucial for improving your academic work. However, obtaining timely and thorough peer review can be challenging, especially when working on tight deadlines. AI like Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT offer a unique solution by simulating peer review and providing constructive feedback to help refine your writing and research.

How Can AI Simulate Peer Review for Your Writing?

Generative AI simulates the process of receiving detailed feedback on your writing. These tools analyze your essay, focusing on structure, argumentation, clarity, coherence, and more. For example, if you're writing a persuasive essay, it will point out areas where your argument is weak or lacks evidence, suggest improvements, and even provide examples of stronger phrasing or more compelling arguments. This AI-based feedback helps refine writing and improve the overall quality.

Prompts:

• Review my essay on [insert topic] and provide feedback on its structure and argument?

• What improvements can I make to the thesis statement and supporting arguments in my research paper? [paste your thesis statement and supporting arguments].

Can AI Offer Constructive Feedback for Research?

Beyond writing, generative AI can provide detailed feedback on your research progress. Whether you're conducting an experiment, compiling a literature review, or gathering data, AI can assess your current work and provide insights into areas for improvement. It can also suggest additional sources or identify gaps in your research. For example, if you’re working on a research paper about renewable energy, AI can evaluate your methodology, highlight potential improvements, and suggest additional readings or experiments.

Prompts:

• Can you assess the current state of my research on [insert topic] and suggest areas I need to explore further?

• What improvements can I make to my research methodology to strengthen my results?

How Does AI Compare to Traditional Peer Review?

AI can quickly identify grammatical errors, assess logical consistency, and suggest improvements. However, while AI is highly efficient at providing structural and mechanical feedback, it may lack the subject-matter expertise that peers or professors bring. AI-generated feedback should be seen as a supplement rather than a replacement for peer review. As generative AI becomes more of a trusted companion for enhancing academic skills, it is important to remember that these tools are here to support thinking, voice, and ideas—not replace them.