Students Turn to AI for Essays Because Schools Teach Writing Like Formulas, Professor Says
A spring essay on Slate about hiring editors to make AI-written college essays sound human prompted Jessica Early, a professor of English education at Arizona State University, to reflect on a deeper problem: students lack confidence in their own writing voice because schools systematically remove opportunities to develop one.
Early said the real issue isn't that students use AI. It's that they've been trained to write formulaically - five-paragraph essays, scripted literary analysis, rigid structures - rather than learning to find and trust their authentic voice.
The Formula Problem
Schools have taught writing as a set of rules for years: thesis paragraph, three supporting statements, conclusion. This approach works as a teaching tool for beginners, but it doesn't prepare students to write for real audiences or real purposes.
"We write in the world across all different genres for different purposes, for different audiences," Early said. "And if we remove the ability to practice and to do that and to experience the joy of writing, then of course we're going to turn to AI."
AI excels at producing basic, formulaic writing - the exact kind schools teach. When students face high-stakes situations like college essays, they lack the confidence to write authentically, so they outsource the work.
The College Essay Problem
Universities want to read authentic voices, not formulas. A college admissions essay should show who the applicant is, not demonstrate perfect prose.
When a student uses AI to write an essay and then hires an editor to make it sound human, they've removed themselves twice from their own story. The result won't be genuine writing or a strong application.
"The ultimate goal in the best-case scenario is that students are writing their stories and they're telling who they are, and they've honed their voices and craft as writers so that they feel confident doing so," Early said.
The Solution: Agency and Interest
Early doesn't think the situation is beyond repair. Schools need to give students writing assignments they care about - topics they're invested in, real audiences to write for, genres that let them tell their own stories.
When students have agency over what they write, they develop voice. They want to write. They're more likely to use AI as a tool - to brainstorm, to check their thinking - rather than as a replacement for their own work.
Teachers can show students how to use AI critically: What ideas does it offer? What does it get wrong? How does it limit my thinking?
This requires nuance, but it's teachable. AI for Writers means understanding when to use it and when to rely on your own expertise and voice.
The Broader Lesson
The problem extends beyond college admissions. Schools need to rethink how they teach writing at all levels - AI for Education means preparing students to use these tools wisely, not to avoid them entirely.
When students write for real purposes, with real stakes, about topics that matter to them, they come alive as writers. That's what schools should be building toward.
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