More on Plagiarism… and the Spectre of ChatGPT

I wrote earlier on plagiarism, which you can read here.

However, I would like to add an update as I have become familiar with its evil stepsister, ChatGPT.

Recently I was working with a student who was attempting a transfer to USC from a UC.  I work with a lot of USC applicants so I know the main prompt quite well. So she sends me her draft and it was wonderful. It really was one of the nicest essays I’d read right out the gate. Just an effortless flow. Plus, the prompt was the typical, Why Us? and she spoke about the various attributes of USC. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but she went at it from an angle I hadn’t seen before. So I commented that this was just a wonderful essay.

And then she said…

Oh, thanks.  It’s ChatGPT.

What?  Well, first I have to give her props for actually admitting it, but then I said I can’t condone this, so I ended up not working with her. But it was an an eye opener, for sure, and it got me to analyzing it.

How to tell if it’s ChatGPT (or variant)

What made the essay stand out was what I might call an effervescent flow.  It’s hard to describe in any literal sense, but as one teacher told me, you know it when you see it. And now I know it.

Also, regarding the actual content extolling Why USC, as I noted, the essay went at it from an angle I hadn’t before seen and in retrospect, it was too impersonal, too clean. Perhaps a tip-off?  I think what it boils down to is every essay needs a personal stamp. Conversational. Idiosyncratic in its own way.

ChatGPT detection software

Most admissions offices now have ChatGPT software, although as of this writing, it’s not reliable. The problem students will have taking the ChatGPT gamble, is if the reader has a hunch it’s fake it will go straight in the trash. Since I now recognize the style, my radar goes up if I feel I might be reading it. Of course, I don’t want to accuse someone without proof, but an admissions reader likely wont give the student the benefit of the doubt because applicants are a dime a dozen.

Hire a professional, if necessary

My suggestion is if you are unsure of your writing ability or content, hire a professional essay/application editor. Yes, I’m an editor, but I’m not pitching myself. Pick anyone you think will point you in the right direction. What you want is an essay that sounds personal and is unique in and of itself, so that any ChatGPT or variant will not inadvertently be brought into the picture..