AI Tools And Student Writing: Perceptions of Creativity, Authenticity and Authorship

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on New Trends in Teaching and Education

Year: 2026

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AI Tools And Student Writing: Perceptions of Creativity, Authenticity and Authorship

Rebecca Charry Roje

ABSTRACT:

Since generative artificial intelligence tools were publicly introduced in 2022, they have transformed the way we write in nearly every field of human endeavor. For educators, particularly teachers of writing, the changes have been dramatic, as we witness our students rapidly embracing the convenience and speed with which AI can help them plan, draft, revise and correct their academic writing. A traditional essay or research paper that once required weeks or months of careful research, drafting and revision can now be created in a few moments with the right AI prompts. This writing revolution has forced educators to fundamentally revise their methods of teaching and assessment.

While some in the academic community have welcomed Gen AI, particularly the efficient and personalized instruction and feedback it can offer students, others have sounded an alarm. Over-reliance on AI tools raises questions of academic integrity while repeated “cognitive offloading” has been shown to weaken students’ critical thinking capabilities. (Gerlich, 2025).

A broad consensus has emerged that AI tools are here to stay and will continue to improve in speed, accuracy, and capability. Therefore, the urgent task for educators is to find ways to productively incorporate AI into teaching and learning in academic writing contexts.

This research explores university students’ use of generative AI in writing short stories, using qualitative data from 39 students enrolled in an introductory literature course. Their written reflections on their use of AI for planning, drafting and revising their work are analyzed, focusing on their perceptions of the usefulness of AI, their own creativity, the authenticity of their work, and their sense of authorship. Relationships between student attitudes and gender, GPA, and native/nonnative speaker status are also explored, with implications for teaching and assessment practices.

Keywords: Creative Writing; Generative Artificial Intelligence; Academic Writing; Authenticity