Case A — the assignment as students see it
This is the brief students receive. It is written in plain language. The AI-use level of every stage is shown with an icon and its text label, and the example disclosure statement at the end shows what honest AI use looks like.
SOC 101 Essay 2 — “Does social media harm adolescent mental health?”
You’ll build this essay in five small pieces instead of one big scramble. Each piece gets a clear AI rule. The rules are about learning, not policing: some parts of this task build your brain, and some parts AI can genuinely help with — the level for each part tells you which is which.
The five stages and what each one is worth
| Stage | Due | Worth | AI level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Proposal | Week 5 | 5% | AI Planning — AI can help you plan |
| 2. Annotated source list | Week 7 | 10% | No AI — you find and read these yourself |
| 3. Draft + AI-use log | Week 8 | complete/incomplete | AI Collaboration — AI feedback allowed, logged |
| 4. Final essay | Week 10 | 15% | No AI for new writing |
| 5. Your defence (5 min) | Week 10–11 | 5% | No AI — you answer, live or recorded |
Stage 1 — Proposal (5%). One page: your position, your thesis in one sentence, and two counter-arguments worth taking seriously. AI level 2 · AI Planning: you may use AI to brainstorm counter-arguments or outline. Write down in your own words which position you commit to — AI doesn’t get to pick.
Stage 2 — Annotated source list (10%). Find five scholarly sources (peer-reviewed articles or academic books) yourself. For each one: the full APA 7 reference, a ~120-word annotation in your own words, and a verification note — how you got the full text (which database or the library), plus one direct quotation with its page number. AI level 1 · No AI: no AI-generated references, summaries or annotations. We check sources — and AI still invents references that don’t exist, so this protects your grade.
Stage 3 — Draft + AI-use log (complete/incomplete). Write a full draft and hand it in with a one-page log: every time you used AI, what you asked, what you kept, what you threw out and why. AI level 3 · AI Collaboration: AI may give feedback on your draft — clarity, flow, counter-arguments you’ve missed. It may not write passages for you. Graded for completion only: an honest log full of “AI suggested X, I rejected it because Y” scores the same as a short one.
Stage 4 — Final essay (15%). 1,500 words, revised from your draft. AI level 1 · No AI for new writing: the essay must be your words. (Your own draft carries forward — that’s the point of stage 3.) Same rubric dimensions as the old essay: argument, evidence, analysis, writing.
Stage 5 — Your defence (5%). Five minutes, in your tutorial or recorded on your phone/LMS, or written (three questions, ~250 words each — your choice, all count the same). We’ll ask from a published question bank: how you found one source, why you chose your framing over the counter-argument, and one thing you changed after feedback or AI critique. AI level 1 · No AI — this is the part that certifies the thinking is yours.
Why these rules (the honest version)
- AI can already produce a fluent essay on this topic. That’s fine — a fluent essay was never the actual goal. The goal is that you can find real evidence, reason from it, and defend it. The stages make that visible.
- We don’t use AI detectors. They misfire — including against writers whose first language isn’t English — and OpenAI retired its own detector for inaccuracy. Your honest disclosure log is worth more than any detector, and nobody is penalised for honest AI use at the stated levels.
- If life gets in the way, talk to us before the deadline. An honest late proposal beats an AI-polished silent scramble.
Your AI disclosure statement
Stages 2, 4 and 5 have no AI use to declare (that’s the rule). Stages 1 and 3 (and anything else you used AI for) get one short paragraph at the end of the submission, like this example:
AI use statement. For this essay I used ChatGPT (free tier) at AI Planning level: I asked it for possible counter-arguments to my thesis and listed two in my plan. For the draft I worked without AI (No AI). After the draft I used the university’s AI feedback tool at AI Collaboration level to check paragraph clarity; I rewrote two paragraphs in my own words where it suggested changes I disagreed with. I verified every source by opening and reading it — AI suggested none of them.
You can be honest about more AI use, not less: an overstated disclosure costs you nothing but a conversation.
Quick checklist before you submit each stage
- Did I check the AI level for this stage?
- If AI level 2 or 3: is my disclosure paragraph written?
- Stage 2 only: did I open and read every source myself?
- Does every file have my name, my tutorial group and the stage number?
Questions? Ask early. The whole point of the levels is that you never have to guess.