by Ts Dr Suhailah Mohamed Noor
Let’s be honest. The moment someone says, “I used AI to help me write my literature review,” most people raise their eyebrows. Some will whisper “Isn’t that plagiarism?” Others assume it means “You just let ChatGPT write the whole thing for you, didn’t you?”
The truth? That’s not how it works. And that’s definitely not how I use it.
So… Can You Use AI in Academic Writing?
Yes. But you’ve got to understand what it means to use it responsibly.
I’m not talking about clicking a button and getting a full essay. I’m talking about using AI to:
- Organise my messy thoughts,
- Draft a paragraph I’ll rewrite anyway,
- Suggest sentence transitions I might have missed, and
- Help me spot gaps in my argument.
But the ideas? The citations? The framing? That’s all me.
AI doesn’t decide my voice or my stance — I do.
What I Did for My Recent Paper (True Story)
In my recent paper, I introduced the term AI-aware assessment. Not just a catchy phrase, but a real conceptual contribution.
Here’s what AI helped me with:
- Proposing section titles (which I rewrote),
- Helping rephrase paragraphs for flow,
- Testing out definitions (then I refined them),
- Formatting references — only after I picked them myself.
What AI did not do:
- Choose the sources,
- Synthesise the argument,
- Draft my conclusion,
- “Think” on my behalf.
It’s like having a really fast assistant who suggests, but never decides.
Why I Believe This Matters
I think we need to stop fearing AI and start teaching students — and ourselves — how to use it well. Banning it doesn’t make students think. But guiding them to use it critically? That’s real learning.
This blog is part of a wider effort to help educators and researchers write with integrity — and sanity — in the age of AI.
My Takeaway for You
If you’re writing something important — a thesis, a paper, a grant — and you want to use AI, go ahead.
“You are the thinker. AI is just a tool.”
You’re the author. Let AI be your pen, not your brain.