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How to Write a Paper with ChatGPT | Tips & Examples

Published on August 17, 2023 by Koen Driessen . Revised on November 16, 2023.

A good research paper demonstrates your academic writing skills and knowledge of your chosen topic.

Your research paper should be based on in-depth independent research. However, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be effectively used throughout the research process to:

  • Brainstorm research questions
  • Develop a methodology
  • Create an outline
  • Find sources
  • Summarize and paraphrase text
  • Provide feedback

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Table of contents

Brainstorming research questions, developing a methodology, creating an outline, finding sources, summarizing or paraphrasing text, receiving feedback, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions.

You can use ChatGPT to help formulate research questions , brainstorm potential thesis statements , or narrow down a broad subject area to a specific topic that interests you.

However, make sure that the outputs make sense and meet the requirements of your assignment. You can adapt these outputs manually, or use further prompts to ensure they meet your needs. For more information, see our tips for creating effective ChatGPT prompts .

  • Generate three possible research questions for a research paper on the following topic: “The role of virtual reality in enhancing training and skill development in various industries.”
  • “What are the cognitive and skill development benefits of virtual reality-based training compared to traditional training methods across different industries?”
  • “How does the level of immersion in virtual reality training impact knowledge retention and skill transfer in fields such as medicine, aviation, and manufacturing?”
  • “What are the key factors that influence the successful integration and adoption of virtual reality technology for training purposes in diverse industries, and what challenges hinder its widespread implementation?”

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Your paper should clearly indicate the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research.

You can use ChatGPT to help decide what kind of research you will conduct (e.g., qualitative or quantitative ), how you will analyze the data, and how you will mitigate potential research bias .

Bear in mind that you should be able to rationalize your chosen methodology . For example, you should ensure that it is either a standard methodology in the field or can be justified.

  • Suggest three quantitative research methods appropriate to the following question: “What are the cognitive and skill development benefits of virtual reality-based training compared to traditional training methods in the field of healthcare?”
  • Experimental Study: Conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) where healthcare professionals are randomly assigned to either a virtual reality-based training group or a traditional training group. Both groups would receive training in specific healthcare tasks, and their cognitive and skill development outcomes would be measured and compared. Performance metrics, such as accuracy, speed, and efficiency, could be quantitatively assessed to determine the benefits of virtual reality-based training over traditional methods.
  • Survey Research: Design a comprehensive survey targeting healthcare professionals who have undergone both virtual reality-based training and traditional training. The survey could include Likert-scale questions and structured response options to gauge their perceived cognitive and skill development benefits from each training method. Additionally, open-ended questions could be included to gather qualitative insights on specific strengths and weaknesses of each training approach.
  • Task Performance Analysis: Implement a task-based assessment that simulates real-life healthcare scenarios, where participants are evaluated on their ability to handle critical situations. Participants would go through both virtual reality-based training and traditional training before being assessed in the simulated scenarios. Their performance in the assessment could be objectively measured using predefined criteria, allowing for a quantitative comparison of skill development between the two training methods.

A clear outline can help structure your paper, organize your arguments effectively, and make your research more efficient.

You can use generative AI tools like ChatGPT to formulate a potential outline to help guide your research. You can be as specific as you like, giving an overview of your research objectives , main arguments, and any evidence you intend to include in your paper.

However, ChatGPT outputs sometimes contain factual inaccuracies. It’s important to check the headings and subheadings suggested in the output and adapt them to meet your needs.

  • Create an outline for an academic research paper with the following research question:“What are the cognitive and skill development benefits of virtual reality-based training compared to traditional training methods in the field of healthcare?”The paper will be about 10 pages long.

A. Theoretical basis for cognitive and skill development in training

B. Application of cognitive theories to virtual reality-based training

C. The role of immersive learning environments in skill acquisition

D. Conceptual framework for the study

IV. Research Methodology

A. Research design and approach (e.g., quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention)

B. Selection of participants and sample size calculation

C. Description of the virtual reality-based training and traditional training programs

D. Instruments and measures for assessing cognitive and skill development

E. Data collection procedures and ethical considerations

V. Data Analysis

A. Overview of statistical methods used for data analysis

B. Treatment of data and data cleaning

C. Quantitative analysis of cognitive and skill development outcomes

D. Presentation of findings with charts and tables

VI. Results

A. Presentation of the results of the cognitive and skill development assessments

B. Comparison of outcomes between virtual reality-based training and traditional training

C. Statistical significance and effect size analysis

D. Interpretation of the results and implications

VII. Discussion

A. Interpretation of findings in the context of the research question

B. Comparison of results with existing literature

C. Explanation of how virtual reality-based training impacts cognitive processes and skill development

D. Limitations of the study and areas for future research

VIII. Practical Implications

A. Practical applications of virtual reality-based training in healthcare settings

B. Recommendations for integrating virtual reality training in healthcare education

C. Benefits of virtual reality for continuous professional development in healthcare

IX. Conclusion

A. Summary of key findings

B. Reiteration of the research question and hypothesis

C. Contributions of the study to the field of healthcare training

D. Concluding remarks

X. References

You can use ChatGPT to help find sources relevant to your research. However, it’s important to be aware of the limitations of ChatGPT (for example, it occasionally cites nonexistent sources).

Instead of asking ChatGPT for specific source recommendations, try asking it for recommendations on the types of sources relevant to your research topic. You can also use it to generate a list of relevant keywords to use in your literature search.

  • What types of sources could I use to write a research paper on the following research question?“What are the cognitive and skill development benefits of virtual reality-based training compared to traditional training methods in the field of healthcare?”
  • Academic Journals: Peer-reviewed journals are valuable sources of scholarly research. Look for articles in medical education, cognitive psychology, virtual reality applications in healthcare, and technology-enhanced learning.
  • Research Studies: Seek out published research studies that specifically investigate the impact of virtual reality-based training on cognitive and skill development in healthcare professionals.
  • Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: These studies provide comprehensive overviews of existing research on a specific topic, making them a valuable source for summarizing and analyzing the overall evidence.
  • Books and Book Chapters: Academic books and book chapters authored by experts in the fields of medical education, virtual reality, cognitive science, or instructional design can provide in-depth insights and theoretical foundations.
  • Conference Proceedings: Proceedings from relevant conferences and symposiums may present the latest findings and advancements in virtual reality-based training and healthcare education.
  • Educational Institution Websites: Universities and medical schools often publish research papers, case studies, and whitepapers related to medical education and virtual reality training.
  • Industry Reports: Reports and whitepapers from healthcare organizations or technology companies exploring the benefits of virtual reality-based training in the healthcare sector.
  • Government and Non-profit Organizations: Look for reports and publications from government agencies and non-profit organizations that focus on medical education and healthcare training.
  • Online Databases: Utilize academic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, and ScienceDirect to search for peer-reviewed research articles and conference papers.
  • Expert Interviews: If possible, conduct interviews with experts in medical education, cognitive science, and virtual reality to gain valuable insights and perspectives.
  • Surveys and Polls: Refer to reputable surveys and polls related to virtual reality-based training in the healthcare industry for additional statistical data.

You can use ChatGPT to paraphrase or summarize text. This can help you to condense sources to their most important points and explore new ways of expressing your ideas.

Alternatively you can use the more specialized tools featured on Scribbr’s AI writing resources page (including Scribbr’s free text summarizer  and  Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool ) which are designed specifically for these purposes and will give a smoother user experience.

  • Provide a short summary of the following text:“One of the most profound applications of VR in healthcare is its use in surgical training. Traditionally, surgical training has relied on a combination of didactic lectures, observation of procedures, and hands-on experience in the operating room. However, these methods may not provide the ideal environment for novices to develop the necessary dexterity and spatial understanding essential for complex surgeries. VR overcomes these limitations by offering immersive, true-to-life simulations that allow surgeons to navigate through intricate anatomical structures, practice incisions, and learn to manage unexpected challenges that may arise during surgeries. This hands-on experience in a risk-free environment not only enhances technical skills but also builds confidence and reduces the learning curve for new surgical techniques.”
  • Virtual Reality (VR) has a profound impact on healthcare, particularly in surgical training, as it provides immersive simulations that help surgeons develop dexterity, spatial understanding, and confidence for complex surgeries in a risk-free environment, ultimately enhancing their technical skills and reducing the learning curve.

When you’ve finished writing your research paper, you can use ChatGPT to receive feedback. You can be as specific as you like, selecting particular aspects the output should focus on (e.g., tone, clarity of structure, appropriateness of evidence to support your arguments).

You can also use ChatGPT to check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. However, it’s not designed for this purpose and occasionally misses errors. We recommend using a more specialized tool like Scribbr’s free grammar checker . Or, for more comprehensive feedback, Scribbr’s proofreading and editing service .

  • Feedback the above text with regard to appropriateness of evidence and coherence of structure.
  • The research paper demonstrates a well-structured and coherent presentation of the cognitive and skill development benefits of VR-based surgical training. The introduction effectively sets the context and rationale, while the literature review incorporates relevant historical and empirical evidence. The theoretical framework strengthens the foundation for the analysis.The methodology section could provide more details on the research design and study selection criteria. However, the sections on cognitive and skill development benefits present compelling evidence, supported by appropriate sub-sections.The exploration of improved patient outcomes lacks concrete examples but effectively outlines potential benefits. The section on challenges and future directions raises relevant points, but suggestions for solutions could enhance practicality.Overall, the paper combines theoretical, empirical, and practical evidence, offering a well-rounded approach. It establishes the significance of VR-based surgical training and concludes with a concise summary of key findings.

If you want more tips on using AI tools , understanding plagiarism , and citing sources , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations, examples, and formats.

  • Citing ChatGPT
  • Best grammar checker
  • Best paraphrasing tool
  • ChatGPT in your studies
  • Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
  • Types of plagiarism
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Citing sources

  • Citation styles
  • In-text citation
  • Citation examples
  • Annotated bibliography

Yes, you can use ChatGPT to summarize text . This can help you understand complex information more easily, summarize the central argument of your own paper, or clarify your research question.

You can also use Scribbr’s free text summarizer , which is designed specifically for this purpose.

Yes, you can use ChatGPT to paraphrase text to help you express your ideas more clearly, explore different ways of phrasing your arguments, and avoid repetition.

However, it’s not specifically designed for this purpose. We recommend using a specialized tool like Scribbr’s free paraphrasing tool , which will provide a smoother user experience.

No, it’s not a good idea to do so in general—first, because it’s normally considered plagiarism or academic dishonesty to represent someone else’s work as your own (even if that “someone” is an AI language model). Even if you cite ChatGPT , you’ll still be penalized unless this is specifically allowed by your university . Institutions may use AI detectors to enforce these rules.

Second, ChatGPT can recombine existing texts, but it cannot really generate new knowledge. And it lacks specialist knowledge of academic topics. Therefore, it is not possible to obtain original research results, and the text produced may contain factual errors.

However, you can usually still use ChatGPT for assignments in other ways, as a source of inspiration and feedback.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Driessen, K. (2023, November 16). How to Write a Paper with ChatGPT | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/ai-tools/chatgpt-research-paper/

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ChatGPT for Research and Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide

Som s. biswas.

Department of Pediatric Radiology, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.

Introduction

This commentary provides a concise step-by-step guide on using ChatGPT, an advanced natural language processing (NLP) model, for research and publication purposes. The guide assesses crucial aspects, including data preprocessing, fine-tuning techniques, prompt engineering, and ethical considerations. By addressing challenges related to biases, interpretability, and plagiarism, this commentary offers insights and recommendations for the responsible and ethical use of ChatGPT. The guide empowers researchers to ethically integrate ChatGPT effectively into their workflows, enhancing productivity and improving the quality of their scientific publications. Through clear instructions and guidelines, researchers can tap into the transformative potential of ChatGPT, driving scientific progress in a language-driven world.

In recent years, the field of NLP has witnessed remarkable advancements, bringing us closer to the realm of humanlike language generation. Among these advancements, ChatGPT, based on the groundbreaking GPT-3.5 architecture developed by OpenAI, stands as an impressive language model capable of generating coherent and contextually relevant text responses. With its ability to understand and respond to user inputs, ChatGPT has opened up new possibilities for various applications, including research and publication. 1 – 3

The traditional process of conducting research and publishing scientific papers has been significantly transformed by the emergence of ChatGPT. Researchers and authors can now leverage the power of this sophisticated language model to streamline and enhance their workflow, leading to improved efficiency and higher-quality publications. However, using ChatGPT effectively in the research and publication domain requires a comprehensive understanding of its capabilities, limitations, and best practices.

In this commentary I offer my thoughts for a step-by-step guide for researchers and authors who seek to harness the potential of ChatGPT in their research endeavors and publication efforts. By exploring various aspects, such as data preprocessing, fine-tuning techniques, prompt engineering, and ethical considerations, this guide will equip researchers with the necessary knowledge to harness the full potential of ChatGPT in their scientific pursuits. Moreover, this commentary will delve into the challenges associated with using ChatGPT for research and publication, including biases, interpretability, and concerns regarding plagiarism. By addressing these challenges directly, I aim to provide researchers with valuable insights and recommendations to navigate these important issues and ensure the responsible and ethical use of ChatGPT as a research tool. 4

The significance of my guide lies in its potential to bridge the gap between the rapid progress of language models like ChatGPT and the research and publication process. By elucidating the intricacies of integrating ChatGPT into scientific workflows, researchers will be empowered to leverage this advanced technology effectively, thereby enhancing the overall quality and impact of their research output. 5 In the following sections, I present a comprehensive overview of the steps involved in using ChatGPT for research and publication.

Step 1: Title and Title Page Creation by ChatGPT

ChatGPT can be a valuable tool in generating titles for research papers. Its ability to understand and generate humanlike text allows it to analyze and synthesize information provided by researchers to craft concise and impactful titles. By leveraging its vast knowledge base and language capabilities, ChatGPT can assist in capturing the essence of a research paper, conveying the main focus and contributions succinctly. Researchers can collaborate with ChatGPT by providing relevant information, such as the subject, objectives, methodology, and key findings of their study. ChatGPT can then generate multiple title options, offering different perspectives and angles that researchers can consider. This collaboration with ChatGPT can save time and stimulate creativity, helping researchers refine their titles to accurately represent their work and engage potential readers. ChatGPT can then be used to create the entire title page and then can also customize based on each journal’s recommendations.

For example:

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Thus, we see that ChatGPT can write an entire title page based on just the title and author details. We notice that ChatGPT has created an email address that is incorrect and needs manual rectification. However, the rest of the title page, including keywords and the running title, is appropriate.

Step 2: Abstract/Summary Creation by chatGPT

ChatGPT can assist in condensing complex information into a clear and engaging abstract/summary, helping researchers communicate the significance and novelty of their research to a wider audience. By leveraging the language proficiency of ChatGPT, researchers can save time and effort in crafting abstracts while ensuring that the key aspects of their study are accurately represented.

In this example, we demonstrate that ChatGPT can create an entire abstract just by using the title alone. However, the more information researchers provide (preferably the entire body of the paper should be entered into chatGPT), the more accurate the abstract becomes.

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Step 3: Introduction Creation by ChatGPT

By collaborating with ChatGPT, researchers can provide key information, such as the background, significance, and objectives of their study. ChatGPT can then generate a well-structured introduction that sets the context, highlights the relevance of the research, and outlines the paper’s objectives. Also, ChatGPT can be used to generate keywords and generate an abbreviations list from the article by using prompts. However, it is important to note that the generated introduction should be reviewed, customized, and refined by the researchers to align with their specific study and writing style.

In the example below, we note that ChatGPT has not only created an introduction but also the objectives of the study, which can then be edited by the human author.

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Step 4: Can ChatGPT Create a Literature Review?

Yes, ChatGPT can help generate a literature review, but it is important to note that it may not have access to the most up-to-date research articles and studies due to copyrights and limited access to some journals. Additionally, a literature review typically requires a comprehensive analysis of multiple sources, so the generated response may not cover all relevant studies. Nonetheless, it can assist in providing a basic literature review on a given topic, which will need human authors to add to and edit it.

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As we can see, ChatGPT is not as good at giving a detailed review of the literature as it is at summarizing contents or creating an introduction. Thus, its use is limited, if there is any at all, in this section of the paper.

Step 5: Can ChatGPT Assist in Brainstorming the Methodology of Studies?

ChatGPT can be a helpful tool in conceptualizing the methodology for research papers. By engaging in a conversation with ChatGPT, researchers can discuss their research objectives, study design, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques. ChatGPT’s natural language understanding allows it to provide suggestions and insights based on its knowledge base and understanding of research methodologies. Although ChatGPT can assist in generating ideas and providing guidance, it is important for researchers to critically evaluate and adapt the suggestions to align with their specific research goals and requirements.

Although the methodology is something that is unique to each paper and needs a human researcher to conceptualize it, we see in this example that ChatGPT can assist by giving ideas and examples based on the input of the title by the human researcher. Thus, ChatGPT can be part of brainstorming sessions when conceptualizing a study, although this section needs significant editing by a human, unlike the introduction or summary.

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Step 6: Do Not Use ChatGPT for Fabricating Patient Data or Results!

This section of the paper must be authentic, and ChatGPT has a limited role, if any, because patient data have to be original. ChatGPT also currently cannot analyze clinical data compared with statistical software, like SPSS Statistics and Base SAS. However, Microsoft appears to be developing an Excel copilot that uses AI to create graphs and plots, and its use needs to be evaluated once it is released to the public. 6

Step 7: Discussion and Conclusions

This section of the paper can be generated by ChatGPT if all results are pasted as input; however, this section also needs manual editing because inaccuracies are common. By discussing their research with ChatGPT, researchers can also identify potential limitations, discuss the broader implications of their findings, and propose future research directions. Although ChatGPT can generate suggestions and facilitate the thought process, it is important for researchers to critically evaluate the information provided and ensure that the Discussion and Conclusion sections align with the specific research objectives and findings of their study. Ultimately, ChatGPT can serve as a supportive tool in developing a comprehensive and well-rounded discussion and conclusion for research papers.

Step 8: References

As per the author's experience, although ChatGPT is capable of creating references for an article, most of them are incorrect. So, using ChatGPT for creating references is not recommended. However, ChatGPT can convert references into any journaling style if the references are entered into ChatGPT and it is asked to convert them into a specific style.

Disadvantages of Using ChatGPT in Research

Although ChatGPT offers numerous advantages for assisting in the writing of research papers, there are also some important potential disadvantages to consider:

  • Lack of domain expertise: ChatGPT is a general-purpose language model trained on a diverse range of Internet text, which means it may lack the specific domain expertise required for certain research topics. It may generate responses that are not accurate or well informed in specialized fields, potentially leading to incorrect or misleading information in research papers.
  • Inconsistency and variability: ChatGPT’s responses can be inconsistent and vary depending on the input phrasing or prompt formulation. This can lead to unpredictability in generating reliable and coherent content, requiring additional effort to refine and ensure accuracy in research papers.
  • Limited control over output: Although researchers can guide the model’s responses through prompts, ChatGPT’s generation process is still primarily autonomous. Researchers have limited control over the precise content and structure of the generated text, which may require careful editing and review to align with specific research goals, standards, and above all, accuracy.
  • Biases and ethical considerations: Language models like ChatGPT can inadvertently reflect biases present in the training data. These biases may perpetuate existing societal or cultural biases in research papers, potentially leading to unfair or discriminatory content. The careful examination and mitigation of biases are crucial to ensure ethical and unbiased research output. 7
  • Lack of interpretability: ChatGPT’s decision-making process is complex and not easily interpretable. Researchers may struggle to understand the reasoning behind the model’s generated responses, making it challenging to assess the reliability and credibility of the information provided. Ensuring transparency and interpretability in research papers becomes more challenging with such models. ChatGPT should cite the sources for its data, like Google Bard does.
  • Plagiarism concerns: Because of its vast training data from the Internet, ChatGPT may inadvertently generate text that resembles or replicates existing content without proper citation or attribution. Researchers must be cautious about unintentional plagiarism and ensure that generated content is appropriately referenced and original. So, all ChatGPt-generated articles need to be double checked using antiplagiarism software.

In this commentary I have provided a comprehensive step-by-step guide for researchers and authors on harnessing the power of ChatGPT in the realm of research and publication. By exploring crucial aspects, such as data preprocessing, fine-tuning techniques, prompt engineering, and ethical considerations, the guide equips researchers with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively integrate ChatGPT into their scientific workflows. 8

Through clear instructions, examples, and guidelines, researchers can navigate the complexities of using ChatGPT, leading to enhanced productivity and improved quality in their research output. Moreover, I address the challenges associated with biases, interpretability, and plagiarism concerns, ensuring the responsible and ethical usage of ChatGPT as a research tool.

The significance of this research lies in its ability to bridge the gap between the rapid advancements in language models like ChatGPT and the research and publication process. By empowering researchers with the skills to leverage ChatGPT effectively, this guide fosters innovation, drives scientific progress, and opens up new possibilities for transformative contributions to various fields. 9

As language-driven technologies continue to evolve, researchers must stay abreast of the latest advancements and best practices. The step-by-step guide presented in this commentary serves as a valuable resource, providing researchers with the knowledge and guidance necessary to maximize the potential of ChatGPT in their research endeavors. By embracing the capabilities of ChatGPT and ensuring its responsible and ethical use, researchers can revolutionize the way research and publications are conducted. With ChatGPT as a powerful tool in their arsenal, researchers are poised to make significant strides in their respective fields, pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge and ushering in a new era of language-driven innovation. 10

However, and to reiterate, I cannot overemphasize that ChatGPT has, at present, many disadvantages, including inconsistencies, bias, and plagiarism concerns, that must be addressed by the human author before the article is submitted for publication to a journal, as well as prior to publication, because the human author(s) is solely responsible for their research integrity and accurate reporting.

In conclusion, I have attempted to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively leverage ChatGPT for research and publication purposes. It has also highlighted the problems and precautions that the human author(s) must take before publishing ChatGPT-generated content. By embracing this step-by-step guide, researchers can unlock the full potential of ChatGPT, driving scientific progress and shaping the future of research and publications.

  • Please use ChatGPT only if allowed by your institution, research lab, and the journal in question.
  • Please acknowledge ChatGPT within your manuscript/published paper wherever you are using it.
  • Please do not fabricate or plagiarize data. ChatGPT can be used only for summarizing texts, improving English writeups, and brainstorming ideas, and not for creating fabricated research raw data.

Acknowledgment.

The author acknowledges that this article was partially generated by ChatGPT (powered by OpenAI’s language model, GPT-3; http://openai.com ). The editing was performed by the human author.

Disclosures. The author declare no conflicts or financial interest in any product or service mentioned in the manuscript, including grants, equipment, medications, employment, gifts, and honoraria.

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How to use ChatGPT to do research for papers, presentations, studies, and more

screenshot-2024-03-27-at-4-28-37pm.png

ChatGPT is often thought of as a tool that will replace human work on tasks such as writing papers for students or professionals. But ChatGPT can also be used to support human work, and research is an excellent example. 

Whether you're working on a research paper for school or doing market research for your job, initiating the research process and finding the correct sources can be challenging and time-consuming. 

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ChatGPT and other AI chatbots can help by curtailing the amount of time spent finding sources, allowing you to jump more quickly to the actual reading and research portion of your work.

Picking the right chatbot 

Before we get started, it's important to understand the limitations of using ChatGPT . Because ChatGPT is not connected to the internet, it will not be able to give you access to information or resources after 2021, and it will also not be able to provide you with a direct link to the source of the information. 

Also :  The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other noteworthy alternatives

Being able to ask a chatbot to provide you with links for the topic you are interested in is very valuable. If you'd like to do that, I recommend using a chatbot connected to the internet, such as Bing Chat , Claude , ChatGPT Plus , or Perplexity . 

This how-to guide will use ChatGPT as an example of how prompts can be used, but the principles are the same for whichever chatbot you choose.

1. Brainstorm

When you're assigned research papers, the general topic area is generally assigned, but you'll be required to identify the exact topic you want to pick for your paper or research. ChatGPT can help with the brainstorming process by suggesting ideas or even tweaking your own. 

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For this sample research paper, I will use the general topic of "Monumental technological inventions that caused pivotal changes in history." If I didn't have a specific idea to write about, I would tell ChatGPT the general theme of the assignment with as much detail as possible and ask it for some proposals. 

My prompt: I have to write a research paper on "Monumental technological inventions that caused pivotal changes in history." It needs to be ten pages long and source five different primary sources. Can you help me think of a specific topic? 

As seen by the screenshot (below), ChatGPT produced 10 viable topics, including "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge", "The Internet and the Digital Age", "The Telegraph and the Communication Revolution", and more. 

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You can then follow up with ChatGPT to ask for further information. You can even tweak these topics with an angle you like more, and continue the feedback loop until you have a topic you are settled on. 

2. Generate an outline

Once you have selected a topic, you can ask ChatGPT to generate an outline, including as much detail for your assignment as possible. For this example, I used the first topic that ChatGPT suggested in the previous step.

My prompt: Can you give me an outline for a research paper that is ten pages long and needs to use five primary sources on this topic, "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge"? 

ChatGPT generated a 13-point outline that carefully described the areas I should touch on in my paper, as seen in the photo (above). You can then use this outline to structure your paper and use the points to find sources, using ChatGPT as delineated below. 

3. Tell ChatGPT your topic and ask for sources

Now that you have a topic and outline established, you can ask ChatGPT about the topic of your project and ask it to deliver sources for you.

My prompt: Can you give me sources for a ten-page long paper on this topic, "The Printing Press and the Spread of Knowledge"?

ChatGPT outputs a list of five primary and five secondary sources that you can include in your paper. Remember, because ChatGPT can't give you internet links, you will need to seek out the specific resources on your own, whether that's Googling or visiting your school library. 

Also:  How to use Stable Diffusion AI to create amazing images

When I asked Bing Chat the same question, it provided sources with clickable links that you can use to access the material you need quicker. For that reason, I would use Bing Chat for this step. 

4. Describe a specific idea and ask for sources

Instead of describing the whole topic, you can also use a chatbot to find sources for a specific aspect of your paper.

Also:  How (and why) to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus

For example, I asked ChatGPT for sources for a specific bullet in the paper outline that it generated above. 

My prompt: Can you give me sources for the social and intellectual climate of when the printing press was generated?

As in the prior example, ChatGPT generated five primary and five secondary resources for the topic. 

Using this feature for smaller chunks of your essay is a good alternative because it gives you more options on sources and provides tailored insight that you can use to carefully craft your piece. 

5. Ask for examples of a specific incident

I use this prompt a lot in my workflow because I can sometimes remember that something specific happened, but can't pinpoint what it was or when it happened. 

This tool can also be used when you need to find a specific example to support your topic. 

Also:  How to use ChatGPT to write an essay

In both cases, you can ask ChatGPT to help you identify a specific event or time period, and incorporate those details in your article. 

In our essay example, if I wanted to include a rebuttal and delineate a time when implementing technology had negative impacts, but couldn't think of an incident on my own, I could ask ChatGPT to help me identify one.

My prompt: What was a time in history when implementing technology backfired on society and had negative impacts?

Within seconds, ChatGPT generated 10 examples of incidents that I could weave into the research as a rebuttal. 

6. Generate citations

Creating a page of the works you cited, although valuable and necessary for integrity, is a pain. Now, you can ask ChatGPT to generate citations for you by simply dropping the link or the title of the work, and asking it to create a citation in the style of your paper. 

Also:  How to make ChatGPT provide sources and citations

I asked ChatGPT to generate a citation for this article for ZDNET. As seen by the photo (above), the tool asked me to include the access date and the style for the citation, and then quickly generated a complete citation for the piece.

ChatGPT generated: 

Great, here's the MLA citation for the web link "How to Use ChatGPT to Write an Essay" from ZDNET, accessed on September 15: "How to Use ChatGPT to Write an Essay." ZDNET, https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-use-chatgpt-to-write-an-essay/. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.

If you used something other than a website as a source, such as a book or textbook, you can still ask ChatGPT to provide a citation. The only difference is that you might have to input some information manually. 

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Home → Academic Writing → How to Use ChatGPT to Write a Research Paper: Tips and Tricks to Get You Started

How to Use ChatGPT to Write a Research Paper: Tips and Tricks to Get You Started

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Jordan Kruszynski

  • January 4, 2024

how to write research paper with chat gpt

If you’re an academic, you’ve probably spent a lot of time planning and writing research papers. It’s a fine art, and one that requires a fair amount of skill, precision and preparation. But whether you’re an old master in the field, or a rookie embarking on your first serious research paper, there are tools that can help you to simplify the planning stages and organise your thoughts more effectively.

One of those tools is the (in)famous ChatGPT , and it’s this that we’ll be focusing on in our article. In the right hands, ChatGPT can become a powerful research tool that will make your paper-writing that little bit easier. So sit back, relax, and discover our tips and tricks for using ChatGPT to write a research paper.

What is ChatGPT?

Just in case you don’t already know, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool developed by OpenAI that can help you with your research. It uses natural language processing to understand what you’re looking for and provide you with relevant information. You can ask it questions, and it will provide you with answers in a conversational style, as well as offer sources to back up its information.

One of the biggest advantages of ChatGPT is that it can save you time. Instead of spending hours searching for sources, you can simply ask ChatGPT for help. This can bring you a reliable list of sources for further investigation fairly quickly. It’s crucial to note however that the AI shouldn’t be exploited to do the actual writing of the paper for you. This could see you accused of plagiarism or misconduct, and besides, as a researcher, you’re probably rightfully proud of your ability to write a compelling paper.

Another advantage of ChatGPT is that it’s always available (even when libraries or other sources of information might be inaccessible) so you can work on your research paper at any time of day or night.

Interested in learning more about how AI programs like ChatGPT are changing the academic landscape? Listen to Oxford researcher Samantha-Kaye Johnston’s views from the frontline in this exciting episode of The Research Beat podcast.

The benefits of using ChatGPT to write a research paper

There are many benefits to using ChatGPT for research papers. Firstly, as we mentioned earlier, it can save you time . A slow drag of several hours looking for specific sources can be reduced to just a few minutes with the AI’s help.

Secondly, it can help you find sources that you might not have found otherwise . ChatGPT has access to a wide range of sources, including academic journals and books.

Thirdly, it can help you organise your research . ChatGPT can provide you with a summary of the information you’ve gathered, making it easier to analyse and integrate into your research paper.

How to use ChatGPT to write a research paper – a step by step guide

  • Start by creating a list of questions that you want to answer in your research paper.
  • Open ChatGPT and ask it one of the questions on your list, for example, ‘What is the critical history of feminist literature in Europe?’
  • ChatGPT will provide you with a list of sources to check out.
  • Read through the sources and take notes on the information that is relevant to your research question.
  • Repeat steps 2-4 for each question on your list.
  • Once you’ve gathered all of your information, organise it into an outline for your research paper.
  • Use the information you’ve gathered to write your research paper.

Working with your sources

Once you have your sources in order, you might want to use prompts to get help from ChatGPT with other parts of the writing process. A prompt is a specific instruction to the AI that can give you tailored information or responses. For example, if you’re struggling to understand part of another research paper, you could use the following prompt:

‘Please explain the following paragraphs in simple words. I am having trouble understanding (insert concept here).’

Input the prompt along with the relevant passage from the source, and ChatGPT will provide a summary that could help you to unlock your understanding of the tricky concept.

Looking for ChatGPT prompts tailor-made for academics? Check out Audemic’s list of over 50 prompts to help you with your work and research!

Writing tips and tricks for using ChatGPT

When using ChatGPT to write a research paper, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Firstly, make sure that you’re using reliable sources . ChatGPT can provide you with a list of sources, but it’s up to you to determine which ones are reliable.

Secondly, make sure that you’re paraphrasing the information you’ve gathered in your own words . You don’t want to cheat or be accused of it.

Finally, make sure that you’re using the information you’ve gathered to answer your research questions . Everything you uncover through ChatGPT should be used to feed your own understanding and improve the quality and precision of your answers.

Common mistakes to avoid when using ChatGPT to write a research paper

While ChatGPT is an excellent tool for research papers, there are some common mistakes to avoid:

  • Crucially, don’t rely too heavily on ChatGPT. It’s essential to do some of your research on your own and use ChatGPT to supplement it.
  • Don’t forget to cite your sources correctly. Just because ChatGPT provided you with the information doesn’t mean that you don’t need to cite it. Moreover, ChatGPT cannot actually produce academic citations for you.
  • Always remember to proofread your research paper carefully, especially if you’ve used AI elements to construct it.

ChatGPT vs. traditional research methods

While traditional research methods have their advantages and always will, ChatGPT, as we’ve seen, has some of its own. We think one of the best uses for AI programs like ChatGPT is to accelerate parts of the paper-writing process that would otherwise take hours. If you can use the AI to produce a list of interesting and relevant sources, then you can get to work quickly as an academic, studying and analysing those sources to determine their value within your paper. In general, if you approach ChatGPT with an attitude of maintaining quality and integrity, then it can only enhance your work.

Final Thoughts

ChatGPT is everywhere at the moment, and while it has stirred up a great deal of controversy thanks to its implications for academic integrity, it can be an excellent tool for helping to write research papers . The key is using it correctly, and not relying too heavily on it. Focusing on how it can enhance your already-sharp academic writing skills will allow you to save time, find plenty of valuable sources, and organise your paper’s structure more effectively. And that’s how to use ChatGPT to write a research paper!

ChatGPT is not the only AI tool that can help with these parts of the paper-writing puzzle. If you want to listen to academic papers, break them down into digestible pieces and freely take notes on them, then Audemic is waiting for you. Try it for free today!

Keep striving, researchers! ✨

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Use ChatGPT To Write A Research Paper: Chat GPT For Scientific Papers

Producing academic writing can be daunting, but with ChatGPT, OpenAI’s advanced AI language model, the process becomes more accessible and efficient.

Here, learn how ChatGPT transforms the traditional approach to writing research papers, offering innovative solutions from structuring outlines to crafting intricate arguments.

Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or a novice writer, discover how ChatGPT’s capabilities can enhance your research process, ensuring a comprehensive and well-articulated paper.

Use ChatGPT To Write A Scientific Research Paper 

Step 1: General Introduction

Imagine you’re about to write a scientific research paper. You have a specific topic in mind but are struggling with how to structure your paper or what essential points to include in your introduction.

This is where ChatGPT, OpenAI’s powerful AI language model, steps in to assist in the writing process.

Start by asking ChatGPT to create an outline. For instance, you could provide ChatGPT with your research question and any relevant details about your study.

The AI will generate an outline that covers key aspects of your introduction, helping you to organize your thoughts and structure your paper effectively.

how to write research paper with chat gpt

After you’ve brainstormed and provided the necessary prompts, ChatGPT can help draft an initial version of your introduction. Remember, the output generated by ChatGPT may vary, and it’s essential to use ChatGPT in conjunction with your own expertise.

For example, you might tell ChatGPT to write an introduction for a paper on the impact of a certain technology in healthcare. ChatGPT can generate text based on your prompt, providing insights into:

  • Existing research,
  • Gaps in the literature, and
  • The significance of your study.

This initial draft can serve as a valuable foundation for your research paper.

Some prompts that you can use include:

  • Develop an introduction that captures the readers’ attention and provides a concise overview of the research topic: [research topic].
  • Compose an introductory paragraph that effectively introduces the readers to the topic at hand: [research topic]. Provide background information, and context for the research.
  • Create an introduction that sets the stage for an academic article centered around [research topic]. Highlight its rationals, and the structure of the article.

Step 2: Problem Statement

When you use ChatGPT to write a research paper, especially for crafting a problem statement, you begin by providing a clear prompt.

This includes outlining your research question and any specific details about your topic. ChatGPT’s AI language model then processes this information to generate a concise and coherent problem statement.

For instance, if your research paper is on the environmental impact of urban development, you would ask ChatGPT to focus on this specific topic.

The AI can assist by generating text that highlights existing research gaps, the significance of the study, and why addressing this particular issue is vital.

ChatGPT can help structure your paper, creating an outline that seamlessly leads from the problem statement to other sections of your paper.

Remember, the content generated by ChatGPT should be used as a starting point. It’s crucial to review and edit this to ensure originality and accuracy. Proofreading the paper for grammar and making necessary revisions is a must.

Step 3: Research Question :

Writing research questions for your paper can seem daunting, but with ChatGPT, you can streamline this critical part of the writing process. You can start by asking ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas specific to your topic.

Say your research paper is on climate change’s effects on agriculture. Tell ChatGPT, “Generate research questions about the impact of climate change on crop yield.”

ChatGPT’s output will include various questions, such as “How does increased temperature affect wheat production in the Midwest?” These prompts can spark further ideas and help you refine your research objectives.

how to write research paper with chat gpt

Remember, while ChatGPT can assist in the research paper writing process, it cannot write the paper entirely. Use the content generated by ChatGPT as a foundation, and then build upon it with your research and insights.

It’s always vital to review and edit the AI-generated material to ensure it aligns with your research goals and fills the gaps in existing literature.

Some example prompts to generate research objectives include:

  • Generate a list of potential research questions about [research topic]
  • Suggest innovative research questions focusing on [research topic]
  • Identify research questions exploring the relationship between [variable 1 in research] and [variable 2 in research]

Step 4: Literature Review

Next, ask ChatGPT to assist in creating an outline for your literature review. For example, if you input, “Create an outline for a literature review on AI and environmental sustainability,” ChatGPT can structure your paper effectively, outlining key:

  • and subtopics.
This AI language model excels in organizing research, laying out a coherent structure for your review.

Now, onto the juicy part: generating content. You can provide ChatGPT with prompts like, “Summarise recent studies on AI and renewable energy sources.”

ChatGPT will respond with a synthesis of:

  • Incorporating recent studies and
  • Key findings.

While ChatGPT can generate text and even suggest citations, it’s always crucial to cross-check and validate these with your research materials.

Remember, ChatGPT’s output is a starting point. You still need to review and edit the content for grammar, punctuation, and relevance to your research topic.

It’s essential to use ChatGPT in conjunction with your expertise, especially when analysing and interpreting data. The AI model can provide a valuable foundation, but the depth and accuracy of your literature review depend on your critical analysis and human expertise.

  • Analyze and summarize the existing literature on [research topic], identifying the major theories, methodologies and results used in previous research.
  • Analyze the limitations in the existing literature on [research topic], suggesting gaps for further research and exploration.
  • Conduct a systematic literature review on [research topic], organising and categorising the relevant research papers based on their research questions, methodologies, and findings.

Step 5: Research Methodology

The next step is structuring your paper, particularly the methodology section. Here, ChatGPT’s prowess in generating an organized outline comes into play.

You can ask ChatGPT to create an outline for your methodology section. This AI tool can suggest various research methods relevant to your topic, such as:

  • Qualitative,
  • Quantitative, or
  • Mixed methods.

It’s like having a virtual research assistant who understands the nuances of scientific research paper writing.

When it comes to the actual content generation, ChatGPT can provide you with a basic draft. For example, you can prompt ChatGPT with, “Generate a draft for the methodology section on a paper about online learning effectiveness.”

how to write research paper with chat gpt

ChatGPT will produce a text that covers key aspects like:

  • Sample size,
  • Data collection methods, and
  • Analysis techniques.

While ChatGPT can generate content, it’s essential to use it in conjunction with your own expertise. The content needs to be reviewed and edited to fit your specific research context.

ChatGPT can assist in organising your research and generating initial drafts, but the accuracy and relevancy of the methodology depend on your input and analysis.

  • Write a detailed methodology section for conducting a qualitative study on [research topic].
  • Create a data collection plan and describe the data analysis techniques in a quantitative research study on [research topic]
  • Suggest a research design and methodology for conducting an experimental study on [research topic].

Step 6: Findings

Once you’ve gathered your data, the next step is to make sense of it. Here, ChatGPT can be used to brainstorm different ways to analyse and interpret your data. 

If your research paper is on the effects of a new educational strategy on student performance, you can ask ChatGPT to suggest various statistical methods to analyze your results. 

how to write research paper with chat gpt

ChatGPT’s ability to process natural language and generate text-based suggestions can provide you with unique insights that may not have been immediately apparent.

When it comes to writing about your findings, ChatGPT can assist in structuring this section of your paper. You can tell ChatGPT about the results you obtained and ask for help in creating an outline that effectively presents these findings.

The AI model can suggest how to organize your results, discuss their implications, and highlight key points that are relevant to your research question.

You will need to review, edit, and ensure that the findings are accurately represented and align with the collected data.
  • Analyse the findings related to [research topic] below, and then present and interpret the quantitative data collected below in a comprehensive report.
  • Discuss the reliability and validity of the data about  [research topic] in the study below, based on relevant literature.
  • Describe the key patterns and trends observed in the qualitative data gathered during the research on [research topic].

Use Chat GPT To Brainstorm And Write A Research Paper

ChatGPT emerges as a revolutionary tool in the realm of academic writing, offering unparalleled assistance in crafting research papers. Its ability to generate ideas, structure content, and provide insights makes it an invaluable asset for researchers and students alike.

It’s important to remember that while ChatGPT is a powerful aid, the uniqueness and depth of a research paper ultimately depend on the writer’s critical thinking and expertise. Embrace ChatGPT as a collaborative partner in your scholarly endeavours for enhanced research and writing efficiency.

how to write research paper with chat gpt

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This list of writing prompts covers a range of topics and tasks, including brainstorming research ideas, improving language and style, conducting literature reviews, and developing research plans.

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✨ NEW UPDATE: Literature Review Generator

A Custom GPT for Literature Review Generator has been released. It efficiently parses PDF files of research publications, extracts key themes, and creates a literature review section for your academic publications.

TRY NOW: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-G3U8pZGwC-literature-review-generator

ChatGPT Prompts for Academic Writing

In this repository, this list of writing prompts covers a range of topics and tasks, including brainstorming research ideas, improving language and style, conducting literature reviews, and developing research plans. Whether you're a student, researcher, or academic professional, these prompts can help you hone your writing abilities and tackle your writing projects with confidence.

Use directly in: chat.openai.com

The list is regularly updated, so you can keep track of new prompts by following this repository.

TIPS: As there is a limit to the number of words that can be used in ChatGPT, you can input your text multiple times using the prompt "Read this [PARAPGRAPH]:" and then run your final prompt "Considering the above text...".

You can also use prompts splitter: chatgpt-prompt-splitter.jjdiaz.dev

BRAINSTORMING

Article sections, title/topic sentence, introduction, literature review.

NOTE: Be careful and double-check article existence. ChatGPT may generate fake references

Methodology

Experiments, future works, improving language, summarization, plan/presentation, working with documents (available only in gpt-4).

Upload a PDF file of a paper then:

Upload a PDF file of your paper then:

Upload PDF files of papers then:

Upload a figure image then:

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  • 07 July 2023
  • Correction 11 July 2023

Scientists used ChatGPT to generate an entire paper from scratch — but is it any good?

  • Gemma Conroy

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A pair of scientists has produced a research paper in less than an hour with the help of ChatGPT — a tool driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that can understand and generate human-like text. The article was fluent, insightful and presented in the expected structure for a scientific paper, but researchers say that there are many hurdles to overcome before the tool can be truly helpful.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02218-z

Updates & Corrections

Correction 11 July 2023 : An earlier version of this story implied that human researchers had guided ChatGPT through the steps to create a research paper. In fact, the data-to-paper tool developed by Kishony and Ifargan acted as an intermediary between ChatGPT and the researchers. The text has been corrected in several places to reflect this.

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How to Get ChatGPT to Write an Essay: Prompts, Outlines, & More

Last Updated: June 2, 2024 Fact Checked

Getting ChatGPT to Write the Essay

Using ai to help you write, expert interview.

This article was written by Bryce Warwick, JD and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Bryce Warwick is currently the President of Warwick Strategies, an organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area offering premium, personalized private tutoring for the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. Bryce has a JD from the George Washington University Law School. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 48,172 times.

Are you curious about using ChatGPT to write an essay? While most instructors have tools that make it easy to detect AI-written essays, there are ways you can use OpenAI's ChatGPT to write papers without worrying about plagiarism or getting caught. In addition to writing essays for you, ChatGPT can also help you come up with topics, write outlines, find sources, check your grammar, and even format your citations. This wikiHow article will teach you the best ways to use ChatGPT to write essays, including helpful example prompts that will generate impressive papers.

Things You Should Know

  • To have ChatGPT write an essay, tell it your topic, word count, type of essay, and facts or viewpoints to include.
  • ChatGPT is also useful for generating essay topics, writing outlines, and checking grammar.
  • Because ChatGPT can make mistakes and trigger AI-detection alarms, it's better to use AI to assist with writing than have it do the writing.

Step 1 Create an account with ChatGPT.

  • Before using the OpenAI's ChatGPT to write your essay, make sure you understand your instructor's policies on AI tools. Using ChatGPT may be against the rules, and it's easy for instructors to detect AI-written essays.
  • While you can use ChatGPT to write a polished-looking essay, there are drawbacks. Most importantly, ChatGPT cannot verify facts or provide references. This means that essays created by ChatGPT may contain made-up facts and biased content. [1] X Research source It's best to use ChatGPT for inspiration and examples instead of having it write the essay for you.

Step 2 Gather your notes.

  • The topic you want to write about.
  • Essay length, such as word or page count. Whether you're writing an essay for a class, college application, or even a cover letter , you'll want to tell ChatGPT how much to write.
  • Other assignment details, such as type of essay (e.g., personal, book report, etc.) and points to mention.
  • If you're writing an argumentative or persuasive essay , know the stance you want to take so ChatGPT can argue your point.
  • If you have notes on the topic that you want to include, you can also provide those to ChatGPT.
  • When you plan an essay, think of a thesis, a topic sentence, a body paragraph, and the examples you expect to present in each paragraph.
  • It can be like an outline and not an extensive sentence-by-sentence structure. It should be a good overview of how the points relate.

Step 3 Ask ChatGPT to write the essay.

  • "Write a 2000-word college essay that covers different approaches to gun violence prevention in the United States. Include facts about gun laws and give ideas on how to improve them."
  • This prompt not only tells ChatGPT the topic, length, and grade level, but also that the essay is personal. ChatGPT will write the essay in the first-person point of view.
  • "Write a 4-page college application essay about an obstacle I have overcome. I am applying to the Geography program and want to be a cartographer. The obstacle is that I have dyslexia. Explain that I have always loved maps, and that having dyslexia makes me better at making them."

Tyrone Showers

Tyrone Showers

Be specific when using ChatGPT. Clear and concise prompts outlining your exact needs help ChatGPT tailor its response. Specify the desired outcome (e.g., creative writing, informative summary, functional resume), any length constraints (word or character count), and the preferred emotional tone (formal, humorous, etc.)

Step 4 Add to or change the essay.

  • In our essay about gun control, ChatGPT did not mention school shootings. If we want to discuss this topic in the essay, we can use the prompt, "Discuss school shootings in the essay."
  • Let's say we review our college entrance essay and realize that we forgot to mention that we grew up without parents. Add to the essay by saying, "Mention that my parents died when I was young."
  • In the Israel-Palestine essay, ChatGPT explored two options for peace: A 2-state solution and a bi-state solution. If you'd rather the essay focus on a single option, ask ChatGPT to remove one. For example, "Change my essay so that it focuses on a bi-state solution."

Step 5 Ask for sources.

Pay close attention to the content ChatGPT generates. If you use ChatGPT often, you'll start noticing its patterns, like its tendency to begin articles with phrases like "in today's digital world." Once you spot patterns, you can refine your prompts to steer ChatGPT in a better direction and avoid repetitive content.

Step 1 Generate essay topics.

  • "Give me ideas for an essay about the Israel-Palestine conflict."
  • "Ideas for a persuasive essay about a current event."
  • "Give me a list of argumentative essay topics about COVID-19 for a Political Science 101 class."

Step 2 Create an outline.

  • "Create an outline for an argumentative essay called "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy."
  • "Write an outline for an essay about positive uses of AI chatbots in schools."
  • "Create an outline for a short 2-page essay on disinformation in the 2016 election."

Step 3 Find sources.

  • "Find peer-reviewed sources for advances in using MRNA vaccines for cancer."
  • "Give me a list of sources from academic journals about Black feminism in the movie Black Panther."
  • "Give me sources for an essay on current efforts to ban children's books in US libraries."

Step 4 Create a sample essay.

  • "Write a 4-page college paper about how global warming is changing the automotive industry in the United States."
  • "Write a 750-word personal college entrance essay about how my experience with homelessness as a child has made me more resilient."
  • You can even refer to the outline you created with ChatGPT, as the AI bot can reference up to 3000 words from the current conversation. For example: "Write a 1000 word argumentative essay called 'The Impact of COVID-19 on the United States Economy' using the outline you provided. Argue that the government should take more action to support businesses affected by the pandemic."

Step 5 Use ChatGPT to proofread and tighten grammar.

  • One way to do this is to paste a list of the sources you've used, including URLs, book titles, authors, pages, publishers, and other details, into ChatGPT along with the instruction "Create an MLA Works Cited page for these sources."
  • You can also ask ChatGPT to provide a list of sources, and then build a Works Cited or References page that includes those sources. You can then replace sources you didn't use with the sources you did use.

Expert Q&A

  • Because it's easy for teachers, hiring managers, and college admissions offices to spot AI-written essays, it's best to use your ChatGPT-written essay as a guide to write your own essay. Using the structure and ideas from ChatGPT, write an essay in the same format, but using your own words. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Always double-check the facts in your essay, and make sure facts are backed up with legitimate sources. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If you see an error that says ChatGPT is at capacity , wait a few moments and try again. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

how to write research paper with chat gpt

  • Using ChatGPT to write or assist with your essay may be against your instructor's rules. Make sure you understand the consequences of using ChatGPT to write or assist with your essay. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
  • ChatGPT-written essays may include factual inaccuracies, outdated information, and inadequate detail. [3] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about completing school assignments, check out our in-depth interview with Bryce Warwick, JD .

  • ↑ https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-what-is-chatgpt
  • ↑ https://platform.openai.com/examples/default-essay-outline
  • ↑ https://www.ipl.org/div/chatgpt/

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Step-by-step Guide to Using ChatGPT to Write a Report, Thesis and Dissertation

You must have heard or read about ChatGPT. What is it? A software or a magician? ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed and launched by OpenAI in November 2022. This chatbot can write answers, reports, codes, prompts, and more in seconds.

Moreover, it can write computer programs, compose music, teleplays, fairy tales, and write poetry and songs. It’s built with OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 and 4 families of large language models. The latest version of ChatGPT, released on 14th March 2023, is built on GPT 4 OpenAI model and can be purchased through a subscription for a specific time.

Benefits of using ChatGPT to write reports, theses, and dissertations

ChatGPT is a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot with many benefits. Today we shall be highlighting the benefits ChatGPT has on reports, theses, and dissertations.

Reports are professional documents submitted to an institute, department, company, and more. They are formal documents containing a written account of something observed or investigated. Below are some benefits of using ChatGPT to write reports.

Saves time:  ChatGPT saves your precious time; it writes your reports quickly and saves the time you would have spent researching and writing from the beginning.

Quality content:  The AI chatbot has been trained with massive data; hence it can write high-quality reports for you.

Variety of Styles:  Reports are usually long; thus, they can bore the reader if the content is not engaging. ChatGPT uses different styles, i.e., bullet points, lists, paragraphs, and more. This makes a report engaging.

Consistency and Productivity:  ChatGPT write the report in a consistent style and tone. This improves the readability of the report. Moreover, as ChatGPT saves your precious time, you can spend that time focusing on other tasks, improving your productivity.

Theses is a theory or personal research document. These are mainly written by university students proposing research papers on particular topics. Below are the benefits of using ChatGPT to write theses.

New idea:  ChatGPT helps you by providing a variety of ideas that can help you write your thesis. Moreover, the ideas can make your thesis stand out from others.

Guidance:  ChatGPT guides you throughout your thesis writing by providing references, and research material, summarising long research essays, and highlighting important points.

Writing Guidance:  The artificial intelligence model can advise and guide your style, tone, grammar, and more. ChatGPT guides you with this writing; further, it can proofread and rephrase your content.

3. Dissertation

Dissertation is a formal essay on a particular topic. It’s the same as the thesis and is mainly written and submitted by university students. Below are the advantages of using ChatGPT for writing a dissertation.

Knowledge:  ChatGPT is trained with vast knowledge and provides dissertation writers access to knowledge. The more diverse knowledge, the better dissertation.

Saves Time:  Dissertation writing is time-consuming; however, ChatGPT can generate texts for you instantly. You can ask ChatGPT to write sections, paragraphs, and particular dissertation headings. Moreover, it can proofread and check your dissertation's grammar, style, and errors.

Assistance with writing:  Dissertation requires a lot of time and effort. Moreover, quality is an essential factor you should keep in mind while writing a dissertation; chatGPT suggests ways to improve your dissertation writing. Moreover, ChatGPT can proofread, rephrase and highlight writing errors for you.

Step-by-Step Guide: Create a ChatGPT Account

Using ChatGPT might be complex; thus, we are here to help you. Below are steps to create an account and write reports and theses or dissertations.

1. Setting Up ChatGPT

Now that you know ChatGPT and its benefits associated with reports, theses, and dissertation writing, it’s time to set up a ChatGPT account.

The first thing to do is to visit the official website of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

After successfully landing on the official website of ChatGPT, you’ll see a login and sign-up option. You need to login in using your login credentials and progress further. However, if you do not have an account, click sign up, add an email, and create a password. Moreover, you’ll need to add your personal data, i.e., your date of birth, and verify your mobile number.

Afterward, you need to log in with the same email and password. OpenAI allows people to log in through Microsoft and Google accounts. If you have a valid Microsoft or Google account, simply click on login, click on Microsoft or Google, and log in to the selected account. Verify your phone number, and you’ll successfully log in to OpenAI to use ChatGPT.

After successfully logging in to OpenAI, you can start a new chat or use previous ones (if you logged in before and used chatbot). Click the new chat button on the left and start using the chatGPT. You can ask questions, gain knowledge, ask to proofread your work, suggest edits, and do more instantly.

If you are in a country where the use of ChatGPT is not allowed and you wish to register an account, you can refer to my other article " How to use Chatgpt ". It provides a detailed tutorial on how to register an account in such countries.

How to use ChatGPT to write a report

Setting up the ChatGPT account is easier than using it. Below we’ll guide you thoroughly on how to write a report using ChatGPT.

Setting up the Parameters

The first thing you must do is set parameters. What are the parameters? Parameters are framework or structure. You need to set up the report's parameters as they help control the report’s content and use other reports’ material in arguments. You need to tell ChatGPT where to start and let it know the limits of your report. In short, you need to provide ChatGPT with a structure under which it should generate your report.

Creating an Outline

Create an outline for your report. The outline may start with an introduction, having headings, bullet points, paragraphs, and more. You must provide an accurate outline to enable ChatGPT to write your report. This ensures that your report covers all the aspects in a good flow and all the required information. Without an outline, chatGPT may be unable to write it in a flow or may write something unnecessary for your report.

Writing the Report

The last thing is to ask ChatGPT to write the report for you. You need to set parameters, provide an outline, write a good prompt, and wait for ChatGPT to generate the report for you for a minute or two.

Topic: Impact of remote work on employee productivity

Purpose: To understand and examine the impact of remote work on the productivity of employees with findings and recommendations.

how to write research paper with chat gpt

How to use ChatGPT to write a thesis or dissertation

As writing theses or dissertations is complex and requires time and energy, many people want to learn to use chatGPT to write them. Here’s how to write a thesis using Chatgpt.

Choosing a topic

After logging in to your OpenAI account, click on the new chat and choose a topic you want ChatGPT to write a thesis or dissertation on. This can be any topic that a normal human being can think of.

After deciding on a thesis or dissertation topic, you must create an outline. Creating an outline has its own benefits, as your theses will cover all aspects and topics in a flow, and the knowledge in the theses will be organized.

Writing the Thesis

Now that you have decided on a topic and created an outline, the next thing to do is write the thesis. Writing a good prompt will result in a good thesis. After writing a prompt for the thesis, click on the save and submit button, and wait a few minutes before ChatGPT can complete generating the thesis for you.

Topic: ChatGPT and its importance in conversational AI applications.

Purpose: To access and understand ChatGPT, its importance, benefits, and uses. Moreover, to examine its importance in conversational AI applications.

how to write research paper with chat gpt

Now, you can use AI to assist you in generating a thesis, but it's important to note that you still need to carefully review the content generated by the AI to avoid any fabrication. Additionally, there are some universities that currently do not allow AI-generated theses. These universities may employ AI detection tools to check if a thesis was written by AI. In such cases, you can try using a paraphrasing tool to rewrite the AI-generated content until it passes the detection:

Recommended AI detection tools:  GPT-2 Output Detector

GPT-2 Output Detector (1).png

Recommended paraphrasing tools:  Quillbot

Paraphraser (1).png

Perform another round of detection

Other AI or productivity tools recommended

There are various other AI or productivity tools that you can use instead of ChatGPT. Below are some.

1.  MidJourney

MidJourney is an artificial intelligence program that Mid Journey, Inc created and launched. The AI program can generate images and art using the prompts. You can use MidJourney for 20 free jobs to create or generate images for you on prompts. This software can help you create amazing images for your report and thesis. A thesis or report would look boring without images that engage the audience; hence you can use MidJourney AI to generate images for your thesis or report.

2.  WPS Office

WPS Office is a free office software that allows users to use Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF documents under a single roof. It’s free software that promotes creativity and boosts the productivity of users. The software has more than 500 million active users worldwide. The software lets users view, edit, translate, annotate, print, and do more. It’s compatible with Windows, MacOS, IOS, and Android.

Moreover, it’s free and has various advanced features and functions. The software enables users to write reports and a thesis using diverse tools. You can add bullet points, comments, and suggestions, highlight texts, and translate sentences and words. This is the best software for writing a report or dissertation, as it has templates for the report and thesis that can help you.

3. Chinchilla AI

Developed and launched by DeepMind in March 2022, this AI language model can better write your reports and thesis, requiring less computer power for interference and fine-tuning. The Chinchilla AI is said to outperform a number of traditional language models in terms of accuracy; hence, it can generate better and more accurate reports and a thesis for you. However, the software is currently in the testing phase and cannot be accessed by the general public.

A. Can I write a thesis with ChatGPT?

Yes. You can use ChatGPT to write a thesis. Start with choosing a topic, creating an outline, and writing a prompt to enable ChatGPT to generate a thesis on the topic for you.

B. Can I write a report with ChatGPT?

Yes. Writing a report using ChatGPT is possible and easy. All you need to do is set the report's parameters, create an outline, and submit a prompt to enable ChatGPT to generate the report.

C. How do you use ChatGPT to improve your writing?

ChatGPT can improve your writing by suggesting edits, proofreading, and suggesting new ideas. Moreover, ChatGPT can highlight errors too.

D. Can ChatGPT rewrite paragraphs?

Yes. ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can rewrite your texts better and make them more engaging and readable.

ChatGPT is a powerful artificial intelligence model that can help users with numerous tasks. So far, we have learned about ChatGPT and its benefits associated with report, thesis, or dissertation writing. Moreover, we learned how to write a thesis and report using ChatGPT. Setting up and using ChatGPT to write reports and thesis. The article also highlighted the best alternatives to ChatGPT for writing reports and thesis; one of them is  WPS Office .

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Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business

In the spirit of this article’s topic, we asked ChatGPT—a generative AI language model that can create original content in response to a user prompt—how it would set the context. Our prompt to the system:

Write the opening paragraph for an article about how transformative generative AI will be for business, in the style of McKinsey & Company.

ChatGPT’s response:

The rise of generative AI has the potential to be a major game-changer for businesses. This technology, which allows for the creation of original content by learning from existing data, has the power to revolutionize industries and transform the way companies operate. By enabling the automation of many tasks that were previously done by humans, generative AI has the potential to increase efficiency and productivity, reduce costs, and open up new opportunities for growth. As such, businesses that are able to effectively leverage the technology are likely to gain a significant competitive advantage.

Not perfect but overwhelmingly impressive.

For us and many executives we’ve spoken to recently, entering one prompt into ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, was all it took to see the power of generative AI. In the first five days of its release, more than a million users logged into the platform to experience it for themselves. OpenAI’s servers can barely keep up with demand, regularly flashing a message that users need to return later when server capacity frees up.

Products like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, as well as the underlying AI models that power such systems (Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, GPT-3, to name a few), are taking technology into realms once thought to be reserved for humans. With generative AI, computers can now arguably exhibit creativity. They can produce original content in response to queries, drawing from data they’ve ingested and interactions with users. They can develop blogs, sketch package designs, write computer code , or even theorize on the reason for a production error.

This latest class of generative AI systems has emerged from foundation models—large-scale, deep learning models trained on massive, broad, unstructured data sets (such as text and images) that cover many topics. Developers can adapt the models for a wide range of use cases, with little fine-tuning required for each task. For example, GPT-3.5, the foundation model underlying ChatGPT, has also been used to translate text, and scientists used an earlier version of GPT to create novel protein sequences. In this way, the power of these capabilities is accessible to all, including developers who lack specialized machine learning skills and, in some cases, people with no technical background. Using foundation models can also reduce the time for developing new AI applications to a level rarely possible before.

Generative AI promises to make 2023 one of the most exciting years yet for AI. But as with every new technology, business leaders must proceed with eyes wide open, because the technology today presents many ethical and practical challenges.

Moving illustration of wavy blue lines that was produced using computer code

What CEOs need to know about generative AI

Pushing further into human realms.

More than a decade ago, we wrote an article in which we sorted economic activity into three buckets—production, transactions, and interactions—and examined the extent to which technology had made inroads into each. Machines and factory technologies transformed production by augmenting and automating human labor during the Industrial Revolution more than 100 years ago, and AI has further amped up efficiencies on the manufacturing floor. Transactions have undergone many technological iterations over approximately the same time frame, including most recently digitization and, frequently, automation.

Until recently, interaction labor, such as customer service, has experienced the least mature technological interventions. Generative AI is set to change that by undertaking interaction labor in a way that approximates human behavior closely and, in some cases, imperceptibly. That’s not to say these tools are intended to work without human input and intervention. In many cases, they are most powerful in combination with humans, augmenting their capabilities and enabling them to get work done faster and better.

Generative AI is also pushing technology into a realm thought to be unique to the human mind: creativity. The technology leverages its inputs (the data it has ingested and a user prompt) and experiences (interactions with users that help it “learn” new information and what’s correct/incorrect) to generate entirely new content. While dinner table debates will rage for the foreseeable future on whether this truly equates to creativity, most would likely agree that these tools stand to unleash more creativity into the world by prompting humans with starter ideas.

Business uses abound

These models are in the early days of scaling, but we’ve started seeing the first batch of applications across functions, including the following (exhibit):

  • Marketing and sales —crafting personalized marketing, social media, and technical sales content (including text, images, and video); creating assistants aligned to specific businesses, such as retail
  • Operations —generating task lists for efficient execution of a given activity
  • IT/engineering —writing, documenting, and reviewing code
  • Risk and legal —answering complex questions, pulling from vast amounts of legal documentation, and drafting and reviewing annual reports
  • R&D —accelerating drug discovery through better understanding of diseases and discovery of chemical structures

Excitement is warranted, but caution is required

The awe-inspiring results of generative AI might make it seem like a ready-set-go technology, but that’s not the case. Its nascency requires executives to proceed with an abundance of caution. Technologists are still working out the kinks, and plenty of practical and ethical issues remain open. Here are just a few:

  • Like humans, generative AI can be wrong. ChatGPT, for example, sometimes “hallucinates,” meaning it confidently generates entirely inaccurate information in response to a user question and has no built-in mechanism to signal this to the user or challenge the result. For example, we have observed instances when the tool was asked to create a short bio and it generated several incorrect facts for the person, such as listing the wrong educational institution.
  • Filters are not yet effective enough to catch inappropriate content. Users of an image-generating application that can create avatars from a person’s photo received avatar options from the system that portrayed them nude, even though they had input appropriate photos of themselves.
  • Systemic biases still need to be addressed. These systems draw from massive amounts of data that might include unwanted biases .
  • Individual company norms and values aren’t reflected. Companies will need to adapt the technology to incorporate their culture and values, an exercise that requires technical expertise and computing power beyond what some companies may have ready access to.
  • Intellectual-property questions are up for debate. When a generative AI model brings forward a new product design or idea based on a user prompt, who can lay claim to it? What happens when it plagiarizes a source based on its training data?

Would you like to learn more about QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey ?

Initial steps for executives.

In companies considering generative AI, executives will want to quickly identify the parts of their business where the technology could have the most immediate impact and implement a mechanism to monitor it, given that it is expected to evolve quickly. A no-regrets move is to assemble a cross-functional team, including data science practitioners, legal experts, and functional business leaders, to think through basic questions, such as these:

  • Where might the technology aid or disrupt our industry and/or our business’s value chain?
  • What are our policies and posture? For example, are we watchfully waiting to see how the technology evolves, investing in pilots, or looking to build a new business? Should the posture vary across areas of the business?
  • Given the limitations of the models, what are our criteria for selecting use cases to target?
  • How do we pursue building an effective ecosystem of partners, communities, and platforms?
  • What legal and community standards should these models adhere to so we can maintain trust with our stakeholders?

Meanwhile, it’s essential to encourage thoughtful innovation across the organization, standing up guardrails along with sandboxed environments for experimentation, many of which are readily available via the cloud, with more likely on the horizon.

The innovations that generative AI could ignite for businesses of all sizes and levels of technological proficiency are truly exciting. However, executives will want to remain acutely aware of the risks that exist at this early stage of the technology’s development.

Michael Chui is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute and a partner in McKinsey’s Bay Area office, where Roger Roberts is a partner and Lareina Yee is a senior partner.

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OpenAI Offers a Peek Inside the Guts of ChatGPT

Person using ChatGPT on a computer

ChatGPT developer OpenAI’s approach to building artificial intelligence came under fire this week from former employees who accuse the company of taking unnecessary risks with technology that could become harmful.

Today, OpenAI released a new research paper apparently aimed at showing it is serious about tackling AI risk by making its models more explainable. In the paper , researchers from the company lay out a way to peer inside the AI model that powers ChatGPT. They devise a method of identifying how the model stores certain concepts—including those that might cause an AI system to misbehave.

Although the research makes OpenAI’s work on keeping AI in check more visible, it also highlights recent turmoil at the company. The new research was performed by the recently disbanded “superalignment” team at OpenAI that was dedicated to studying the technology’s long-term risks.

The former group’s coleads, Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike—both of whom have left OpenAI —are named as coauthors. Sutskever, a cofounder of OpenAI and formerly chief scientist, was among the board members who voted to fire CEO Sam Altman last November, triggering a chaotic few days that culminated in Altman’s return as leader.

ChatGPT is powered by a family of so-called large language models called GPT, based on an approach to machine learning known as artificial neural networks. These mathematical networks have shown great power to learn useful tasks by analyzing example data, but their workings cannot be easily scrutinized as conventional computer programs can. The complex interplay between the layers of “neurons” within an artificial neural network makes reverse engineering why a system like ChatGPT came up with a particular response hugely challenging.

“Unlike with most human creations, we don’t really understand the inner workings of neural networks,” the researchers behind the work wrote in an accompanying blog post . Some prominent AI researchers believe that the most powerful AI models, including ChatGPT, could perhaps be used to design chemical or biological weapons and coordinate cyberattacks. A longer-term concern is that AI models may choose to hide information or act in harmful ways in order to achieve their goals.

OpenAI’s new paper outlines a technique that lessens the mystery a little, by identifying patterns that represent specific concepts inside a machine learning system with help from an additional machine learning model. The key innovation is in refining the network used to peer inside the system of interest by identifying concepts, to make it more efficient.

OpenAI proved out the approach by identifying patterns that represent concepts inside GPT-4, one of its largest AI models. The company released code related to the interpretability work, as well as a visualization tool that can be used to see how words in different sentences activate concepts, including profanity and erotic content, in GPT-4 and another model. Knowing how a model represents certain concepts could be a step toward being able to dial down those associated with unwanted behavior, to keep an AI system on the rails. It could also make it possible to tune an AI system to favor certain topics or ideas.

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Even though LLMs defy easy interrogation, a growing body of research suggests they can be poked and prodded in ways that reveal useful information. Anthropic, an OpenAI competitor backed by Amazon and Google, published similar work on AI interpretability last month. To demonstrate how the behavior of AI systems might be tuned, the company's researchers created a chatbot obsessed with San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge . And simply asking an LLM to explain its reasoning can sometimes yield insights .

“It’s exciting progress,” says David Bau , a professor at Northeastern University who works on AI explainability, of the new OpenAI research. “As a field, we need to be learning how to understand and scrutinize these large models much better.”

Bau says the OpenAI team’s main innovation is in showing a more efficient way to configure a small neural network that can be used to understand the components of a larger one. But he also notes that the technique needs to be refined to make it more reliable. “There’s still a lot of work ahead in using these methods to create fully understandable explanations,” Bau says.

Bau is part of a US government-funded effort called the National Deep Inference Fabric , which will make cloud computing resources available to academic researchers so that they too can probe especially powerful AI models. “We need to figure out how we can enable scientists to do this work even if they are not working at these large companies,” he says.

OpenAI’s researchers acknowledge in their paper that further work needs to be done to improve their method, but also say they hope it will lead to practical ways to control AI models. “We hope that one day, interpretability can provide us with new ways to reason about model safety and robustness, and significantly increase our trust in powerful AI models by giving strong assurances about their behavior,” they write.

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: gpt-4 technical report.

Abstract: We report the development of GPT-4, a large-scale, multimodal model which can accept image and text inputs and produce text outputs. While less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios, GPT-4 exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks, including passing a simulated bar exam with a score around the top 10% of test takers. GPT-4 is a Transformer-based model pre-trained to predict the next token in a document. The post-training alignment process results in improved performance on measures of factuality and adherence to desired behavior. A core component of this project was developing infrastructure and optimization methods that behave predictably across a wide range of scales. This allowed us to accurately predict some aspects of GPT-4's performance based on models trained with no more than 1/1,000th the compute of GPT-4.
Comments: 100 pages; updated authors list; fixed author names and added citation
Subjects: Computation and Language (cs.CL); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
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ChatGPT Goes to Law School

71 Journal of Legal Education 387 (2022)

16 Pages Posted: 25 Jan 2023 Last revised: 20 Oct 2023

Jonathan H. Choi

University of Southern California; University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Kristin E. Hickman

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law

Amy Monahan

University of Minnesota Law School

Daniel Schwarcz

Date Written: January 23, 2023

How well can AI models write law school exams without human assistance? To find out, we used the widely publicized AI model ChatGPT to generate answers on four real exams at the University of Minnesota Law School. We then blindly graded these exams as part of our regular grading processes for each class. Over 95 multiple choice questions and 12 essay questions, ChatGPT performed on average at the level of a C+ student, achieving a low but passing grade in all four courses. After detailing these results, we discuss their implications for legal education and lawyering. We also provide example prompts and advice on how ChatGPT can assist with legal writing.

Keywords: ChatGPT, law school, AI, natural language processing, Legal Data, NLP, Legal NLP, Legal Analytics, natural language understanding, evaluation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence and law

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Jonathan H. Choi (Contact Author)

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University of Southern California Gould School of Law ( email )

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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law ( email )

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University of Minnesota Law School ( email )

229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.umn.edu/profiles/daniel-schwarcz

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COMMENTS

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  25. ChatGPT Goes to Law School

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  26. AI content detector

    AI content detector. Use our free AI detector to check up to 5,000 words, and decide if you want to make adjustments before you publish. Read the disclaimer first. AI content detection is only available in the Writer app as an API. Find out more in our help center article.