Class 05 — AI as Research & Writing Assistant

Date: TODO · Slides: TODO

Objectives

• Use AI appropriately in the research process: scoping, vocabulary, structure.
• Use AI for revision feedback rather than ghost-writing.
• Detect hallucinated and mismatched sources.

Agenda (60 min)

Time	Block
0–5	Warm-up: best documented AI mistake from homework.
5–15	Mini-lesson: what AI does well in research (narrow a topic, generate search terms, outline, summarize-then-verify) and what ruins it (trusting its bibliography). On writing: AI as editor gives feedback; AI as ghostwriter gets you nowhere on Class 4’s test.
15–35	Source-hallucination drill: students ask AI for 3 sources on a topic, then verify each one — does it exist? say what AI claimed? Most classes find at least one invented or mismatched citation. Document the pattern.
35–50	Revision loop: students bring a paragraph of real writing (their own, not AI-generated). AI critiques; student revises; compare drafts. The human made the choices.
50–60	Exit ticket: the rule you’ll follow for AI and sources, in one sentence.

Key terms

• Citation hallucination — plausible sources that don’t exist or don’t say the claim.
• Feedback vs. generation — “critique my draft” vs “write my draft”.
• Search vocabulary — how experts phrase queries; AI can teach this fast.

Seven-Question connection

Q4 (accuracy) again — the drill makes it visceral: never cite what you haven’t opened. Q3 — revision feedback supports YOUR writing; ghost-writing replaces it.

Homework / log entry

Research-assisted mini-project for another class (or a personal question): log scoping prompts, at least one verified source, and one rejected AI claim.

Teacher notes

• If students don’t have a writing sample ready, keep a folder of anonymized past paragraphs.
• The drill works best with obscure-ish topics — that’s where fabrication spikes.