Using AI tools

AI tools can be meaningfully used at various points in the academic writing process, for example to support …

• the formulation of the research question and narrowing of the topic
• the literature search
• summarizing and understanding academic literature
• structuring content
• generating text
• content-related and linguistic revision
• proofreading

AI tools will not take away the time-consuming and sometimes exhausting thinking work that is an important part of academic work. But they can complement your work and sometimes also ease the burden. The better you know your topic, the requirements of academic work, and the tools themselves, the more they can support you.

Always clarify with your supervisors whether you are allowed to use AI tools for your current academic work and how you should make this use transparent.

Elicit

Elicit is an AI research tool that supports you in finding and analyzing academic articles. The tool can summarize articles briefly or compile a research overview from several articles.

Searching in Elicit does not replace systematic literature research. The program only has access to part of the available literature on a topic. Older and print literature is not available.

For all Ohm students, there is the possibility to attend the workshop Literature Research with AI as well as to access the associated training materials here.

ChatGPT & Copilot

AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Copilot can support you with many tasks in the writing process. For example, get support in idea generation by asking a question or entering a topic. Let ChatGPT also suggest research questions and outline drafts and use them as a basis for your own research question, outline, or topic narrowing.

ChatGPT can also generate entire text passages based on your inputs. Often, keywords and sentence fragments are sufficient as input. This function is especially useful if you are experiencing writer’s block and want to get into writing.

You can also use ChatGPT effectively to make the language style of your work more formal and academic – in German or English.

ChatGPT – like all other AIs – can hallucinate. More precisely: the answers of the AI are sometimes wrong, fabricated, or imprecisely worded. This is often difficult to recognize, especially if you are not yet very familiar with a topic. Academic work still requires you to build expertise yourself – in the original texts. You are responsible for the content of your academic work.

For all Ohm students, there is the possibility to attend the writing workshop Microsoft Copilot: Limits and Opportunities in the Writing Process as well as to access the related Workshop materials.

The Language Tool / Grammarly

In times of AI-based language checking, your work in terms of comma placement, grammar, and spelling should be perfect. Tools like the LanguageTool or Grammarly correct your text for you and rewrite it. This also benefits the style of your texts.

There is no single academic style that is correct for all disciplines. Whether the AI-revised text matches the linguistic style of your field, you must decide for yourself.

DALL-E

If you need graphic representations, image generators like DALL-E are practical. They generate simple as well as complex images and can serve as visual inspiration. In academia, DALL-E can be used to create visual representations of complex data or concepts that support and illustrate your work.

The images from image-generating AI tools are often subject to strong bias. This means: The images often show little diversity and many clichés. Take responsibility for the outcome of your images!

What does the use of AI tools cost me?

The use of AI tools can involve financial and other costs: many tools offer basic functions free of charge, but fees are often charged for advanced features. Members of Ohm can use Microsoft Copilot free of charge for 30 requests per day.

Checking the AI-generated results can also cost you time, since AI tools do not always deliver error-free or suitable content. And last but not least, excessive use can impair your own writing skills – therefore, use AI consciously and purposefully.

If a website or an app is free, you usually pay with your data! Get used to replacing names, personal data, internal matters, and details of research projects in your requests with placeholders.

Frequently asked questions

Der Beitrag AI Tools for Academic Writing erschien zuerst auf Online Writing Lab.

The final chapter of the paper contains a summary of the main statements of the work and possible conclusions derived from them. For a conclusion, you take up the research question, answer it in a summarized way, and provide a final evaluation. You can also comment on the hypotheses you formulated at the beginning of your paper.

What belongs in a conclusion?

• Recommendations for practice
• Placing the problem in a larger context
• Personal conclusions, if they are meaningful for the type of paper
• If applicable, an outlook on research gaps arising from your own scientific work
• Summarized answers to the questions posed in the introduction

The title of the final chapter corresponds to the content points you address and is therefore, for example, “Summary and Conclusion,” “Recommendations for Practice,” or “Outlook.”

A good conclusion is short and written neutrally despite evaluation.

What does not belong in a conclusion?

• You do not address new content aspects in the final chapter.
• In the final chapter, you do not present your personal opinion (based on gut feeling) but your justified evaluation, which is based on previous presentations and your conclusions. If applicable, you may also provide recommendations for action.

The conclusion is a mandatory part of the structure of a scientific paper.

Frequently asked questions

Der Beitrag Writing the Conclusion erschien zuerst auf Online Writing Lab.

Golden thread

The table of contents must be complete and logically consistent: It corresponds to the structure of the paper, which provides a meaningful, systematic, and logically coherent sequence of the topic covered. In a good structure, the subpoints relate to each other instead of following each other without connection. This structure becomes visible in the table of contents – also referred to as the golden thread, or red thread in German.

The quality of the paper’s structure is an essential criterion for evaluation.

Objectives and structure

This structure, reflected in the table of contents, should be self-explanatory. The goal is for readers to gain a first impression from the heading about what the chapters and subchapters are about. Understandable chapter headings usually consist of more than one or two words. Formulate headings concisely but as precisely as possible.

Depending on the scope and topic of the paper, dividing it into a maximum of three to four levels makes it more manageable. Often, two levels are sufficient. Too many subpoints fragment the paper and indicate that related topics were not grouped together sensibly.

The length of individual sections depends on their content, and you should aim for a suitable balance between the various chapters.

An outline is not a table of contents!

Keep in mind that your outline is a tool to help organize your text. After revising the draft, you should finalize the structure and naming of your chapters, which will then be set out in the table of contents.

Avoid these mistakes

• The table of contents reflects a paper structured in a way that is not appropriate for the subject of your work.
• The various topics are not clearly differentiated, i.e., main points do not form a logical frame for the subpoints, and subpoints are not mutually exclusive.
• The table of contents contains residual categories, such as “Other”. Check whether and where this content can be integrated sensibly.
• The research question is used as the heading of a section or the introduction.
• Page numbers are missing.
• Only one subpoint is included under a heading.

How it’s done

• The heading for a section sets out the principle for organizing the following subpoints, i.e., the upper tier in the structure forms a logical bracket around the subpoints below.
• The subpoints are mutually exclusive in content.
• If a chapter contains subpoints, there must be at least two.
• The content weighting of the subpoints is balanced.

Usually, you format the table of contents automatically using your word processing program: Word creates a table of contents based on your headings defined with formatting styles.

Example of a table of contents

The table of contents is a mandatory part of the structure of a scientific paper.

Frequently asked questions

Der Beitrag Creating a Table of Contents erschien zuerst auf Online Writing Lab.

How do I create a mind map?

• You can continue to add, change, design: Arrows, symbols, colors, or numbering are suitable for this.
• Main branches can become chapters, while the branches represent chapter contents or subchapters.
• You can write initial first drafts for the individual sub-topics.

Take your time to create your mind map without rushing and reflect on how best to structure your ideas.

Digital mind maps

You can also create your mind map digitally with various computer programs:

• XMind (free)
• Free Mind (free)
• MindManager (campus license)

Frequently asked questions

Der Beitrag How to Structure Your Ideas With a Mind Map erschien zuerst auf Online Writing Lab.