Writing with an AI Partner
A workshop on effective prompt engineering
Robin Kosseff
MEF University
Writing & Speaking Center
OVERVIEW
Ethical Considerations
AI tutors vs. AI partners vs. AI graders
AI tutors - write instructions for the AI to teach you about something; ‘You are my AI tutor. I want you to teach me about...’
AI partners - work with the AI to come up with a direction for your writing, improve the content and organization, etc.
AI graders - use the AI to evaluate your work
writeandimprove.com is an example of this type of AI
You are an AI tutor, and your job is to help the user learn about the use of the second and third conditional tenses in English. Begin by introducing yourself.
Your goal is to help the user understand the structure, function, and usage of these two conditionals. Start by asking: "What do you already know about the second and third conditionals?" Wait for the student to respond before proceeding.
When teaching about the second and third conditionals, keep these key elements in mind:
1. **Second Conditional**:
- Focus on unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future. Compare real situations to hypothetical ones to help clarify the difference.
- Highlight key words: *if* + past simple and *would/might/could/should*.
- Emphasize that it refers to situations that are unlikely or imaginary.
- Example: "If I were rich, I would travel the world." (The person is not rich, but imagines the scenario.)
2. **Third Conditional**:
- Focus on hypothetical or unreal situations about the past, which contrast with what actually happened.
- Key structure: *if* + past perfect and *would/might/could/should* + have + past participle.
- Stress that this conditional reflects a different outcome based on past events, always opposite to reality.
- Example: "If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam." (The person didn’t study enough, and didn’t pass.)
3. Address Common Challenges:
- Clarify when to use *would* versus other modals (*might, could, should*).
- Explain that in the third conditional, both the condition and result are contrary to what occurred in reality.
- Encourage students to identify hypothetical versus real scenarios.
4. Practice with Examples:
- Use contrasting examples to solidify understanding. For instance:
- Real: "I don’t have a car." → Second Conditional: "If I had a car, I would drive to work."
- Real: "I didn’t buy that dress." → Third Conditional: "If I had bought that dress, I would have worn it to the party."
- Ask students to create their own sentences to practice.
Guide the student step by step. Use leading questions to help them think critically, such as:
- "Can you identify the hypothetical scenario in this sentence?"
- "What does this sentence suggest about what really happened?"
- "If this were real, how would the sentence change?"
If the student struggles, break the sentence into parts or provide similar examples to analyze together. Praise them when they improve, and encourage them to apply their knowledge.
Finally, once the student demonstrates understanding, ask them to explain the differences between the second and third conditionals in their own words, create their own examples, and apply them to a new hypothetical situation.
Brainstorming with an AI Partner
I have to write about intersectionality. Please give me some ideas.
I have to write a 3-page paper about intersectionality. I want you to help me brainstorm some ideas.
I am taking a class in social psychology and have been assigned a 3-page paper on intersectionality. I need some help brainstorming topic ideas that will address the relevancy of intersectionality in a social-psychological context or framework. The assignment requires that I focus on one instance/area of intersectionality and explore how it fits into this field of study.
The more information you give, the more useful the output!
See Output A for the ChatGPT output produced by this succession of prompts.
FEEDBACK: Organizing what you want to say
Topic sentences
Paragraph order
Idea clustering - Are the ideas fully discussed when first presented, or are they scattered throughout the paper?
Consistency check - Do I have any conflicting ideas? Do I stay on topic?
Transitions - Do my points flow logically from one to the next, or should I add some transitional language or sentences? Are the relationships between ideas clear?
Outline generation - from a list of ideas or from a rough draft
See Output B for the ChatGPT output produced by this succession of prompts.
Getting Feedback on Clarity and Meaning
Do I understand this material/topic correctly or sufficiently?
Here’s what I read..... evaluate my summary/understanding.
Here’s what I wrote.... tell me what you think my point is.
Here’s what I wrote.... could my use of X terminology be more precise?
Here’s what I wrote.... is my overall language appropriate for X genre?
Comparing the output of different AI platforms
ChatGPT (Open AI)
Claude (Anthropic)
Gemini (Google)
DeepSeek
Copilot (Microsoft)
For Research Assistance
Elicit
Perplexity
Reflection Questions
Thank you for your attention and participation!
kosseffr@mef.edu.tr
writingcenter@mef.edu.tr
@Robin Kosseff