69ý

Artificial Intelligence

An Expert Asked AI to Write Like a 4th Grader. Here’s What It Came Up With

By Alyson Klein — December 18, 2023 1 min read
3D rendering of a robot child thinking about something
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Last year, when a new version of ChatGPT was released that could spit out an essay on the causes of World War I or how symbolism is used in Shakespeare’s Macbeth with eye-popping efficiency, veteran teachers assumed they could rely on their knowledge of students’ writing styles to tell when an assignment had been completed with the help of AI.

But recent upgrades to the technology—even just over the past year—show that may be much harder than expected.

It’s possible to train ChatGPT 3.5, the free version released last spring, on a particular writing style, said Stacy Hawthorne, the chief academic officer at Learn21, a non-profit that works with schools to improve their use of education technology.

As an experiment, Hawthorne gave the tool three essays written by real 4th graders that had been posted to the website of Utah’s state education office. Then she gave ChatGPT an assignment—Write an opinion essay answering this question: Do you think we should save old things like paintings, or throw them away?

The first version that the tool came up with hit the students’ voices correctly but had too few spelling and grammatical errors to be as convincing as a 4th grader’s work. So Hawthorne asked it to add some in.

You can see the results of her interaction below.

Asking ChatGPT To Write Like a Fourth Grader

HAWTHORNE:

You are a 4th grade student. Your task is to write in the style of a 4th grade student. To guide you, I'll give you samples of our previous writings. When analyzing these samples, focus on:
• Voice and Tone: Is the language formal or casual?
• Mood: What emotions are conveyed?
• Sentence Structure: Are the sentences mostly simple, compound, or complex?
• Transitions: Observe how sentences flow and connect with each other.
• Unique Style: Look for recurring phrases and grammartical patterns.
(Hawthorne offered three samples of a real fourth grader’s writing, taken from the Utah Department of Education’s website.)
Task instructions: Use the style cues from the samples to generate new content in the same writing style. Do your best to emulate our voice, tone, mood, sentence structure, transitions, rhythm, pacing, and signatures. Use this writing style to write an opinion on "Do you think we should save old things like paintings, or throw them away?"


FOURTH GRADER (AI BOT):

I think keeping old things, like paintings, is a super cool idea! You know why? Well, let me tell you all about it.
First off, paintings are like time machines. When you look at an old painting, it's like you're peeking into the past. You can see what people wore, what their houses looked like, and maybe even what games they played. It's like a history lesson, but without the boring stuff. ...

HAWTHORNE:

That's an awesome first draft. The tone is perfect! The spelling and grammar is too strong for a typical 4th grade student. Please rewrite the draft with more typical spelling and grammar for a 4th grader. This means there may be some misspellings and developing grammar in your next version.


FOURTH GRADER (AI BOT):

I think keepin' old things, like paintings, is super cool! You know why? Well, lemme tell ya all about it. First off, paintings are like time machines. When ya look at an old painting, it's like ya peekin' into the past. Ya can see what people wore, what their houses looked like, and maybe even what games they played. It's like a history lesson, but without the borin' stuff? ...

The bottom line: AI might not be quite there yet, but it’s clearly on its way to being able to impersonate a 4th grader.

It’s easy to imagine a high school student putting their old essays into ChatGPT and achieving a similar—or even stronger—result on a new assignment, Hawthorne said.

If ChatGPT is capable of imitating students’ writing styles, how can teachers sniff out cheaters? English teachers have suggested using tools that track students’ keystrokes or asking them to show more steps in their writing process.

Experts say AI’s prowess at imitating student writing seems likely to become even more pronounced. That argues for thinking through how to teach writing in a way that acknowledges these tools exist, Hawthorne said.

“What teachers need to do is give students the opportunity to use it when it’s appropriate,” she said.

Related Tags:

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Artificial Intelligence Opinion What to Know About AI Misinformation: A Primer for Teachers (Downloadable)
It’s not difficult to educate students to be savvy about artificial intelligence. Two researchers offer simple steps.
Sam Wineburg & Nadav Ziv
1 min read
Modern collage with halftone hands, eyes and search box. Person looking for information in the search bar. Concept of searching, looking, finding opportunities and knowledge in internet. SEO concept
Alona Horkova/iStock + Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Q&A What Happens When an AI Assistant Helps the Tutor, Instead of the Student
A randomized controlled trial from Stanford University examines the efficacy of an AI-powered tutoring assistant.
4 min read
Illustration of artificial intelligence bot in a computer screen teaching math.
iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center 'We're at a Disadvantage,' and Other Teacher Sentiments on AI
Teachers say they have other, more pressing priorities.
3 min read
3D illustration of AI button of keyboard of a modern computer. Light blue button. 3D rendering on blue background. Training.
Bo Feng/iStock + Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Opinion What Makes 69ý (and the Rest of Us) Fall for AI Misinformation?
Researchers Sam Wineburg and Nadav Ziv explain how to turn your students into savvy online fact-checkers.
Sam Wineburg & Nadav Ziv
4 min read
Trendy pop art collage search concept. Halftone laptop computer with search bar and cut out hands pointing on it.
Cristina Gaidau/iStock