As educators, we already know that AI<\/a> is everywhere. Indeed, the urgency to prepare students for an AI-driven future has prompted many institutions to promote AI fluency across the curriculum. But what does this mean in English classrooms where our goal is teaching students to read critically, write well, and think for themselves? English instructors\u2019 responses to AI may vary from \u201cI\u2019m open\u201d to \u201cFreaking out.\u201d And we get it. In many ways, English courses<\/a> feel especially vulnerable to AI\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n A student of Susan\u2019s once asked for class feedback on her persuasive essay. In an otherwise well-reasoned paper, she argued for<\/em> the opposition instead of answering it. \u201cLet\u2019s think this through,\u201d Susan said, and the student blurted, \u201cI hate thinking! Thinking is hard!\u201d The class exploded in laughter. Yes, thinking is hard. However, students sometimes overlook the fact that sustained, sometimes painful, effort is how we all learn \u2014 that finally \u201cgetting it\u201d feels wonderful. English courses help build tolerance for the bumps and frustrations of thinking it through<\/em>.<\/p>\n A recent Gallup survey on AI use<\/a> among college students revealed that 45 to 65 percent are using AI to complete coursework \u2014 primarily chatbots, programmed not to guide learning but to complete the task. Notably, six of the nine uses cited were writing tasks, no matter what the class. Why? We suspect that the pressures of little time, anxiety, and grades cause students to turn to AI for the very work that requires the most time and practice: writing.<\/p>\n In the race to reexamine curricula, we worry that developmental writing students could be early casualties in today\u2019s AI-driven economy. For students just learning to wrestle with language and give meaning to their ideas, AI may impede the learning process. AI outputs look so perfect compared to their own halting attempts, and studies show that students who lack academic confidence are more likely to outsource their thinking<\/a> to AI. Researchers at MIT<\/a> found that students who asked ChatGPT to write their papers became increasingly cognitively disengaged and even had trouble remembering what the paper said.<\/p>\n As English professors and Cengage authors exploring AI (and like our students, frequently amazed by what it can do), we ask,\u00a0\u201cHow can we put guardrails around AI-use in basic writing courses so that it promotes rather than replaces learning<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>It seems that forbidding AI use or relying on AI checkers just isn\u2019t effective. The MLA\u2019s 2025 \u201cStatement on Educational Technologies and AI Agents\u201d<\/a> advocates that faculty expertise should inform the content and selection of educational AI because teachers know what guardrails will support learning in their disciplines. Here are five guidelines we find useful now.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Safeguard teaching methods and activities that spark human creativity, encourage student interaction, and prioritize process over product<\/a>. Some examples include writing workshops, oral and visual presentations, and detailed discussions of readings. Help your students build their own evolving definition of excellent writing. Emphasize the exciting human work that AI cannot replace.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Each step of the writing process is a thinking <\/em>step. We don\u2019t recommend that developing students use AI to prewrite. Brainstorming, for example, is a vital creative step in which students learn to pour ideas onto paper they didn\u2019t know they had. Likewise, organizing, drafting, and revising are tasks that challenge and refine their thinking. Each step is an exercise in discovery that the student misses if AI is introduced too soon.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Three such readings that we chose for \u201cEvergreen: A Guide to Writing with Readings,\u201d 12th Edition<\/a> explore young men hooked on gambling apps, TikTok\u2019s transformational effect on the music industry, and a humorous op-ed on people dating chatbots. Students love these discussions about digital technology and the writing tasks that flow from them. They learn so much more about AI ethics, capabilities, and liabilities than they do from well-intentioned cautions.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Early in the term, ask students to help draft your AI class policy to foster deeper ownership of the AI agreements for your course. Ask, \u201cWhen do your students use AI and why?\u201d Interestingly, many students who use chatbots have ethical qualms and worry about their cognitive growth. Be honest about your own concerns, too, and make sure that everyone agrees on how AI will be used in your classroom.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In \u201cEvergreen,\u201d we added AI Toolbox Tips. This helps students try out AI and practice honing prompts in a structured way. For example, they might prompt AI to create a personal study planner to organize college tasks. Or they might try using AI to explore career paths.<\/p>\n\u201cThinking is hard!\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Human creativity, student interaction, and process over product<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Don\u2019t throw out what works in your English course<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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For developing writers, resist injecting AI into every part of the writing process<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Assign current articles and readings about AI in society<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Openly discuss students\u2019 use of AI<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Introduce and class-test AI assignments gradually and with guardrails <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"Susan](\"https:\/\/blog.cengage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1-SusanFawcett-gray-150x150.jpg\")
Susan Fawcett, MA, formerly of Bronx Community College, City University of New York, is the author of \u201cEvergreen: A Guide to Writing with Readings\u201d and \u201cGrassroots: The Writer\u2019s Workbook with Readings,\u201d both in their 12th editions.<\/p>\n![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/blog.cengage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2-KarenCox-150x150.jpeg\")
Karen Cox, Ph.D., is English Department Chair at City College of San Francisco and co-author of \u201cEvergreen: A Guide to Writing with Readings,\u201d 12th Edition.<\/p>\n