First-Year Writing Program Resources

A process-based guide for using Generative AI in academic writing and research, created by the Michigan Tech First-Year Writing Program.

Downloadable PDF Version

• Generative AI Responsible Use Matrix

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Stage	Purpose	How and Why	Responsible Usage	Irresponsible Usage	Risks of Use
Planning	Understanding a task and the steps you need to take to complete it.	GenAI can help you understand possible processes that works for your task.	Breaking down a writing assignment into smaller steps; generating a timeline or graphic organizer for the project; asking for assistance understanding instructions.	Accepting a fully developed plan from GenAI without considering your own needs and assignment purposes.	You may lose the ability to understand instructions and plan for yourself. GenAI may misinterpret the assignment, and will not understand its purpose as well as you or your instructor.
Invention	Brainstorming topics, themes, or concepts.	GenAI can suggest ideas or expand on prompts that you build on and add your own perspective to.	Using GenAI to help expand on ideas; pose multiple questions; have a dialogue with; or run multiple iterations.	Using GenAI to generate the entire topic idea without having some initial ideas first.	You may miss opportunities to explore your own thinking and to develop creative and critical thinking skills.
Research	Gathering background information on a topic.	GenAI can suggest keywords for the topic being researched.	Verifying GenAI-generated sources with library searches, article databases, or Google Scholar.	Using GenAI as a search engine, as it is unreliable and more limited than valid search engines or academic databases.	You might not develop your own inquiry and curiosity or problem-solving skills by identifying what topics to research. You lose opportunities to generate and refine keywords and search strategies through trial and error, part of problem-solving. You might miss or inadvertently absorb bias in the way GenAI gathers information.
Reading	Identifying key points in a reading assignment.	GenAI can unpack and summarize texts as part of the research and writing process.	Asking GenAI to create a reading guide for an article. Using AI to generate a summary of articles to help select those that are relevant to your research question.	Substituting GenAI-generated summaries for actually reading.	You may not understand your topic or sources beyond a surface level. You might miss the chance to develop critical reading, analysis, and synthesis skills. You could misrepresent a writer’s claims.
Outlining	Generating different outline templates and ways to organize thoughts.	GenAI can make sample outlines to see how ideas can be structured.	Using GenAI outlines as a starting point or to create a template.	Copying outlines without adapting the output to your topic and perspective.	You might miss opportunities to learn how to structure ideas and to organize texts in response to a writing situation. You might not learn the ability to organize large projects or learn cognitive strategies to manage information.
Drafting/Writing	Composing text during drafting stage.	GenAI should not be used to compose text during the drafting stage. Drafting should be original work.	Asking GenAI to suggest famous or popular examples of the types of text you have to write as models.	Using GenAI for drafting the substance of your text that will be submitted for your class. Submitting GenAI-generated text output without modification and claiming it to be original. Using GenAI to modify GenAI output to appear more human-written.	Over-reliance can lead to stagnation in your writing skills. You might see decreasing proficiency with independently composing in situations where GenAI technologies are not available to you.
Revising	Refining and improving clarity.	GenAI can suggest edits, reword sentences, or increase readability.	Using GenAI to enhance clarity while ensuring your original voice stays. Asking GenAI for a list of revision strategies.	Relying on GenAI to make changes for you.	You might not develop (or even start to lose) your own writer’s voice. Revision is an opportunity to rethink ideas and content, so you may not learn to discern important from unimportant information or refine your claims. You may lose control over your own intellectual property or risk data privacy by putting your work in commercial tools.
Editing and Proofreading	Correcting errors in grammar, refining style, and syntax.	GenAI can give feedback on grammar, style, and tone.	Double checking GenAI suggestions before accepting changes.	Accepting GenAI changes without reviewing for accuracy.	You may miss errors, incorrectly edit the text, and fail to develop personal proofreading skills.
Formatting	Ensuring proper structure and adherence to style guide templates.	GenAI can format text for reports, style guide adherence, and presentation.	Using GenAI for style guide conventions and genre conventions.	Letting GenAI format content without checking for errors.	You may not understand conventions for different style guides, reports, and other types of writing.
Final Draft	Polishing before submission.	GenAI can double check consistency and overall effectiveness.	Ensuring GenAI-assisted work aligns with ethical and responsible use of GenAI in your context. Citing GenAI when and in what way it is used in final draft.	Relying entirely on GenAI without reviewing or reflecting on the changes. Not disclosing GenAI usage.	You could miss skill development in metacognitive knowledge and judging a text’s appropriateness for the situation. Submitting material that you’re responsible for without understanding why could also have academic and professional consequences.
Reflecting	Thinking about your process and monitoring your learning.	Reflecting on how you used GenAI as part of your process. GenAI could create prompts for you to consider and help you go more in depth with your thinking.	Using GenAI-generated prompts to support deeper reflection (as a starting point for your own thinking).	Treating GenAI as capable of metacognition or as a substitute for your own reflection.	GenAI does not have the capacity for metacognition. You may lose opportunities to develop self-knowledge and task-knowledge.

GenAI Responsible Use Matrix © 2026 by Michigan Tech First-Year Writing Program is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

This table provides a framework for students, instructors, and literacy support professionals.

Downloadable PDF Version:

• Thinking Like a Writer: A Framework for College Literacy Practices

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Examples of resources include:

• Readings, handouts, course material, or static online content about writing for college
• The GenAI Responsible Use Matrix (above)
• Time spent working with a writing fellow, peer, or instructor (peer review, individual conferences, consulting session)
• Bibliographic instruction sessions in class and support provided by personnel such as MTU academic librarians in person, by email, or chat 
• Printed or online handbooks about college writing, reading, and research
• Policy documents provided by instructors, departments or programs, and the university that guide your decisions as a student

Examples of tools and technologies include:

• Generative AI chatbots or LLMs like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT, or Jem.AI designed for our course.
• Search engines or GenAI-powered research sites like Perplexity or Deep Seek
• Embedded AI technology like “help me write,” auto-prompted AI chatbots, or the “editor” feature in Microsoft Word that are part of composing programs. 
• Browser add-ons and extensions like Grammarly that are downloaded to your device

Discernment The writer:  Knows what the available resources can and can’t do Asks which resources are useful for any given moment in the writing process Selects, based on rhetorical knowledge of audience and purpose, options that are aligned with their goals as a writer	Strategy The writer: Knows what they are trying to accomplish with a text Can determine how or whether the available resources will help them accomplish their goal Can make intentional choices about their use of a range of tools and technologies (GenAI, human feedback, etc) for their writing goal
Critical Engagement The writer: Can assess the personal and social costs of different resource use practices:  environmental, personal, cognitive, labor, economic.  Assesses their use of resources in relation to this knowledge, values, and goals	Self-Awareness The writer: Monitors the effect of human and GenAI resources on their thinking, voice, and writing skills Engages in honest self-assessment about the value of literacy resources to their academic and personal principles

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¹ See Giordano, et al  Reaching All Writers: A Pedagogical Guide for the Evolving Writing Classroom (Utah State UP) for a full discussion of the TLAW framework.  

² Note that tools and technologies are not synonymous terms. A tool is an implement that is largely defined in purpose and its use is directed by the user; technologies are implemented (technological or otherwise) that both shape and are shaped by the user. The relationship is reciprocal.

In the age of GenAI as a technology to assist with composing,  the Writing Fellows program will support sustained relationships with a writer over a semester, contextual knowledge of a specific assignment and instructor’s expectations, and questions calibrated to a particular student’s thinking rather than generic output. Fellows are trained to focus conversations on the writer’s own reasoning and choices, regardless of how a draft originated, reinforcing that writing is a process of developing ideas rather than producing a finished text. 

Michigan Tech Students who are interested in serving as Writing Fellows should contact FYW director Holly Hassel (hjhassel@mtu.edu) and Writing Center director Matt Seigel (mbseigel@mtu.edu). 

Writing Fellows receive training in several areas:  

• Principles of peer response and non-evaluative feedback
• Genre awareness across UN 1015 writing projects
• Facilitation techniques for in-class writing workshops
• Working effectively with multilingual writers and writers with learning differences
• AI-aware writing pedagogy, including evaluating GenAI-assisted drafts and distinguishing genuine revision from AI substitution
• Professionalism, confidentiality, and the faculty-fellow relationship

• Attend class sessions as an embedded undergraduate writing consultant, 2-3 classes per week as necessary.
• Facilitate in-class peer review,  workshop sessions, and/or other class activities in coordination with the course instructor.
• Hold two office hours per week in the Writing Center (Walker 107), dedicated to students in their assigned section; students are expected to meet with their Fellow at least twice during the semester.
• Participate in monthly cohort meetings with the First-Year Writing Director or Writing Center Director.
• Complete one hour of weekly preparation, including reviewing course materials and meeting with their assigned instructor.
• Complete a reflective portfolio at semester’s end documenting their growth as a Fellow.