#composition studies

[alexjohnstonart]

Some quick winter thumbnail compositions. I like how droopy pine trees get when weighed down by snow ❄️

[slowtides]

I teach writing at a university level, and I just had a student submit something that I believe is probably AI generated because it is very broad and nondescript, with limited textual evidence, and the textual evidence it does use is completely made up (it does not exist in the original document they are analyzing). It's for a rough draft, and during the conference, I asked him point blank if he used AI to write any of it, and I explained why I was asking. He denied using AI and said he was just using outside sources. He also said that he has no idea how to use AI.

I had to make a decision about whether I call this student a liar (he is a bilingual student who has been struggling to attend class due to personal issues). I decided that at the end of the day, it didn't matter, because the essay was unacceptable whether it was AI-generated or not. So I dropped the AI conversation and instead focused on pointing out ways he could improve his essay, ways his essay did not meet the prompt requirements, etc. I also gave him an extension that I had offered to two other students who had issues with their drafts because of extensive absences.

My rationale for this is that the only thing I would gain by accusing this student of being a liar is the satisfaction of proving myself right. It would not help the student become a better writer, it would not address the root cause of the issue, and it would not foster trust between me and the student. Instead, it would turn a learning opportunity into a punishment and it would alienate the student to an extent that would keep them from succeeding in the class. And I would risk further marginalizing a multiply-marginalized student whose language practices are already contested in academic spaces. Which is probably the most important thing to me.

So instead I gave him a path forward--I gave him more opportunities for revision and feedback, and I also gave him more time. And for a student who works, who commutes to campus, and who is clearly struggling, it seems like that better addresses the situation that might have led him to use AI in the first place. To me, so long as there isn't a clear academic policy on AI writing (which there isn't a consensus about whether it is technically plagiarism so?), it's just not worth potentially harming a student. Hopefully this was a learning opportunity for him, and he has more of an idea about how to succeed in the class.

What do y'all think? If you are a teacher, would you have handled it differently? Why/why not? This is my first time encountering something like this, so I'm really open to your thoughts and ideas.

[recovering-vamp]

Composition studies of Suspiria (2018).

[anglerflsh]

the

[theaonlax]

Okay so i think Akaashi works really really hard.

And what are we gonna do with an over-working boi?

That's right~

Bonus: A CLOSE UP FOR YA bc they're such cuties

[cattnipt]

seafood

[monstermonger]

A full moon shines, an omen of safe travels.

[choccy-sippy]

More saltburn serennedy redraw for @blveherb love u clown

[shepscapades]

49. Moon Waltz - Piano Version — Cojum Dip

Tuna, i don't know HOW you picked this song but it's literally one of the most heart wrenching things on dbhc Tango's playlist so. congratulations. i think <3 I think I said ages ago in some tags that Tango was about to get the dbhc Etho Angst treatment, and i got very quickly distracted/consumed by Destruction and Doc/Xisuma related Angst, but boy oh boy am i glad i get to finally hit on a little bit of this poor man's trauma LDFKJGDFG

I'l try to keep this brief but. I'm insane enough about the hermitcraft season 8 finale as is, and even more than that i'm crazy enough about Tango's hermitcraft season 8 finale, and then on top of all that, you're telling me a jaded, bitter android whose characterizing moments of anger and failure are carried on his sleeve is the same android who tried to be the hero and save his friends, only to let an oversight be the reason he not only fails, but destroys his body in the process???? ?? ? A machine who isn't supposed to make oversight mistakes???? A machine who somehow let a rabbit be the reason he failed ? ? ??? I dont know what you expected from me other than to be extremely unwell about him and this whole arc in general

The base version of this song is just as good, but something about the piano version gets the vibes just right for these scenes... Something about the waltz-style cheeriness of the vocals contrasting to how horrific the lyrics and situation actually are. Idk man i'm fine don't look at me

[lunarharp]

orufrey collab with @perplexingly, i did the lines and she the colour & composition guidance 🖤🤍 i was so grateful for the chance!

the lyrics are translated from الكون جنة معاك - an arabic cover song by palestinian singer elyanna.

[wasyago]

a deal with a... *checks notes* a trustworthy individual?

[melle-otterwise]

"I'll just wait here then" scene, but there's a kiss

[slowtides]

As a writing teacher, I have a lot of thoughts about Chat GPT that are still percolating, such as how Chat GPT and other automated writing systems can be used in classrooms as writing tools. But there are several theses that I feel reasonably strongly about.

At this point, submitting student work to AI detectors violates your students' intellectual property rights. This is also true for plagiarism detectors like Turnitin. Students have a right to their own intellectual property, and submitting it to AI detectors and Turnitin means they may lose intellectual property rights, their work may be reproduced without their consent, and it may be used for research purposes without their informed consent. All of this is cop behavior, in my opinion.

Making students do in-class, timed writings under pressure instead of take home essays will not make them better writers. There is tons of research in writing studies to support this (I can link to it if people are interested), and we've known this for a long time. But for literally fifty years, writing studies has almost unanimously agreed that the way to support the development of student writing is to teach writing as a process wherein drafting, seeking feedback, and revision are the priorities. This also has the added benefit of increasing accountability because students must demonstrate sustained focus on a single project.

One of the best ways to discourage AI-generated writing is to give students prompts where they have to engage with the text in a very specific, localized, and/or personal ways. Changing prompts from vague analysis disconnected from their daily lives to engaged, personal prompts will challenge your students intellectually and creatively. Instead of giving vague prompts, find ways to connect prompts to the city you're in, the communities your students are from, the local people in your world. This is possible across all disciplines; it just takes more creativity and front-end labor on the teacher's part.

When I've talked to my students about Chat GPT and whether they would use it, most of them said they wouldn't. I take this with a grain of salt because I am a teacher and there is a power dynamic there that is difficult to cross--they wouldn't want to say anything that would make me suspicious of them. But when I asked it in a more hypothetical way, like "What is a hypothetical situation in which you would use Chat GPT?" most of them said they would use it if they ran out of time, if they didn't care about the assignment, or if they were just lazy. Here's the thing--really lazy students won't put in a lot of effort anyways, so that category doesn't matter as much. But one way you can work around the idea of students running out of time is by giving them more time to do assignments and enforcing check-ins like different phases of draft work. Part of teaching writing well is giving students opportunities to learn and practice time management, which is a very difficult skill. And one way you can work around students not caring is by either giving more engaged, personal, and localized prompts or by having students create their own prompts. There is a lot of research in literacy studies that shows that giving students choices improves their engagement.

I'm still thinking about a lot of other things related to Chat GPT and automated writing systems, but this is where I'm currently at. I'm still reading the research in the field as it comes out, as well as waiting for university and programmatic policy changes. But what I've come to is that if you don't want students using Chat GPT and automated writing systems, then you can't treat students like their writing is automated and disposable. Making your class meaningful is a huge step toward supporting students as they write and make meaning in the world.

[e-adlirez]

“The capital lies before us, my friend. What a sombre place it seems and one that holds the answers to many a mystery. I too have felt the pull of this place, though now I sit before it I find myself hesitant to descend.

“Is it fear, I wonder, or something else that holds me back?”

[dimalry]

Studying composition using Gwynriel and my god am I proud of myself 🥹