Enhancing Academic Writing in a Linguistics Course with Generative AI: An Empirical Study in a Higher Education Institution in Hong Kong
Open accessAbstract
The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed information acquisition and utilization in higher education academic writing. This study fills the empirical research gap by examining how university students use generative AI tools for digital academic writing. The study investigates the experiences of 140 undergraduates enrolled in an ‘Introduction to Linguistics’ course at a university in Hong Kong employing generative AI applications, such as ChatGPT3.5 and the AI Image Generation feature in Padlet, for a collaborative multimedia Wikibook project spanning 13 weeks. The mixed-method approach included analyzing AI-generated content integration within 29 multimedia-enhanced Wikibook chapters, development logs with ChatGPT interactions, the assimilation of AI-generated content into drafts, and collaborative composition dynamics. Additionally, a survey with 98 student responses assessed perceptions regarding AI efficacy in academic writing support. Key findings reveal the multifaceted role of ChatGPT in shaping discourse, offering linguistic tools, and structuring information. The students recognized the advantages of leveraging AI tools, rapidly acclimating to their strengths and limitations through practical engagement. The outcomes of this research offer insights into students’ effective utilization of AI-generated content and suggest potential directions for incorporating generative AI tools into academic writing pedagogy.
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Excessive reliance on AI may weaken students' ability to engage deeply with their subjects and hinder their capacity to produce original work.
“This excessive reliance on AI may weaken students' ability to engage deeply with their subjects and hinder their capacity to produce original work [6,9].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
AI writing tools can reduce the need for external proofreading, thereby improving efficiency.
“The instant nature of the feedback provided also reduces the need for external proofreading, thereby improving efficiency [9].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
Many students may unknowingly engage in academic dishonesty by submitting AI-generated or paraphrased content without realizing its ethical implications.
“Many students may unknowingly engage in academic dishonesty by submitting AI-generated or paraphrased content without realizing its ethical implications [6,9].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
AI tools can help non-native English speakers improve their English writing proficiency.
“For example, non-native English speakers can use these tools to enhance their proficiency in English writing [20,22].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
AI-powered paraphrasing tools like QuillBot enable users to rephrase extensive passages with minimal effort, often producing surface-level changes that lack meaningful engagement with the original ideas.
“Moreover, AI-powered paraphrasing tools, like QuillBot, enable users to rephrase extensive passages with minimal effort, often producing surface-level changes that lack meaningful engagement with the original ideas.”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
Through the process of using AI for revision, students can improve sentence structure, refine word choices, and enhance coherence.
“Through this process, students can improve sentence structure, refine word choices, and enhance coherence [9].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
Traditional instruction methods foster deeper learning by requiring students to actively engage in the writing process.
“traditional instruction methods foster deeper learning by requiring students to actively engage in the writing process [9,21]”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
AI primarily focuses on surface-level improvements in writing.
“While AI primarily focuses on surface-level improvements, traditional instruction enables students to internalize writing principles and develop a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind grammatical and structural rules [9,32].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
When utilized as intended, AI writing tools are likely to help students refine their language skills over time, reducing the occurrence of grammatical mistakes.
“When utilized as intended, students are likely to refine their language skills over time, thereby reducing the occurrence of grammatical mistakes [9].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
Traditional instruction enables students to internalize writing principles and develop a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind grammatical and structural rules.
“While AI primarily focuses on surface-level improvements, traditional instruction enables students to internalize writing principles and develop a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind grammatical and structural rules [9,32].”
From The Role of AI in Academic Writing: Impacts on Writing Skills, Critical Thinking, and Integrity in Higher Education (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
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- Authors
- Wang, L., & Ren, B.
- Affiliations
- Education University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Lixun
- Venue
- Education Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-12-04
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1329
- ISSN
- 2227-7102 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4405003396
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 16
- FWCI
- 14.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Education Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Inter-institutional Collaborative Activities Portion of the Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant, The Education University of Hong Kong (T5004)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Artificial Intelligence in Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Discourse Analysis in Language Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
- Keywords
- generative AI, academic writing, ChatGPT, AI image generation, Padlet, Wikibooks, collaborative writing, multimedia writing, linguistics education, student perceptions, undergraduate students
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