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Cite Your Sources

Resources for creating citations and Works Cited lists

Overview

Before you use Generative AI in your classes or for an assignment, make sure you talk to your teacher. Each teacher may have different ideas about what is and what isn't acceptable use. They may also have specific ways in which they want you to document how you used AI.

 

Note: Image generated using Canva's Magic Studio from the prompt "warning sign about using generative AI".

Citation

If you are using Generative AI as a knowledge tool (meaning you are quoting or paraphrasing the information in your assignment), make a Works Cited List citation and an in-text citation in the same way you would when you use the words or ideas from any other source of information:

 

MLA Works-Cited-List Entry​:

Rule: "Prompt" prompt. Name of AI Tool, version, Publisher, Date, URL.

For example:

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great​ Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version,​ OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.​

 

​In-text citation​:

According to ChatGPT, ….... (“Describe the symbolism”).

 

NOTE: Be sure to share the exact URL that goes directly to your chat thread. Click the share button and grab the direct URL.

Declaration

If you are using Generative AI as a language or brainstorming tool (meaning you are using the tool to improve the grammar, fluency, or organization of your writing), write a reflection or declaration that includes the following:

  • Provides a written acknowledgment of the use of generative artificial intelligence
  • Specifies which technology was used
  • Includes explicit descriptions of how the information was generated
  • Identifies the prompts used
  • Explains how the output was used in your work

 

A suggested format:

"I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specific use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use]."

 

The above suggested format and examples below are from “Acknowledging the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence.” Student Academic Success, 18 Apr. 2023, www.monash.edu/student-academic-success/build-digital-capabilities/create-online/acknowledging-the-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence.

Examples

I acknowledge the use of [1] ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) to [2] generate materials for background research and self-study in the drafting of this assessment. I entered the following prompts on 4 January 2023:

  • [3] Write a 50-word summary about the formation of Monash University. Write it in an academic style. Add references and quotations from Sir John Monash.

[4] The output from the generative artificial intelligence was adapted and modified for the final response.

 

Legend: [1] AI system(s) and link; [2] specific use of generative AI; [3] prompt; [4] explanation of use.

I acknowledge the use of [1] ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) to [2] generate materials that were [4] included within my final assessment in modified form. I entered the following prompts on 4 January 2023:

  • [3] Write a 50 word summary about the formation of Monash University. Write it in an academic style. Add references and quotations from Sir John Monash.

 

Legend: [1] AI system(s) and link; [2] specific use of generative AI; [3] prompt; [4] explanation of use.

I acknowledge the use of [1] ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) [2] to refine the academic language and accuracy of my own work. On 4 January 2023 I submitted my entire essay (link to google document here) with the instruction to [3] “Improve the academic tone and accuracy of language, including grammatical structures, punctuation and vocabulary”. [4] The output (here) was then modified further to better represent my own tone and style of writing.

 

Legend: [1] AI system(s) and link; [2] specific use of generative AI; [3] prompt; [4] explanation of use.

If AI was permitted to be used in your assessment, but you have chosen not to use it, the following disclosure is recommended.

No content generated by AI technologies has been used in this assessment.

The IB and AI tools

From the IB Academic Integrity Policy pages 53-55

What does the IB expect when a teacher checks the authentication box to confirm that work is the student’s own?

  • The teacher has seen the student develop the work over a period of time—IB coursework is not designed to be completed in a single evening. This is the best approach in ensuring that the work belongs to the student, and it also encourages best practice in writing coursework.
  • The student can explain their work sufficiently—to give confidence that it has been created by them.
  • The student is clear when they are quoting other people’s ideas and when they are claiming an idea or conclusion as their own work—this is the expected way of referencing.
  • The teacher confirms the quality of the final piece of work is in line with what they would expect the student to be able to produce.

Teachers are the best placed to know what a student is capable of and when a piece of work appears not to have been written by that student. If teachers are not convinced that the work is the student’s own, it must not be submitted to the IB. 

 

How should teachers guide their students when using AI tools?
Students should be informed of the following rules.

  • If they use the text (or any other product) produced by an AI tool—be that by copying or paraphrasing that text or modifying an image—they must clearly reference the AI tool in the body of their work and add it to the bibliography.
  • The in-text citation should contain quotation marks using the referencing style already in use by the school and the citation should also contain the prompt given to the AI tool and the date the AI generated the text. The same applies to any other material that the student has obtained from other categories of AI tools—for example, images.

 

Using software to improve language and grammar
There are software programs available to help authors improve the quality of the language they use, from simple spell checkers to complex tools that rewrite sentences. IB assessments usually do not evaluate the quality of language or spelling so there is limited benefit in using such tools.

  • The exception is in language acquisition, where marks are awarded for sentence structure. In these subjects the use of such tools is not permitted.
  • The IB awards bilingual diplomas, and universities and schools look at the language subjects that are taken in for proof of being able to work in that language. Therefore students are not permitted to write essays in one language and then translate them to be submitted to the IB in another language. For subjects other than language acquisition, the use of spell checkers and bilingual dictionaries is acceptable.
  • The IB will always consider the use of software to support access and inclusion requirements for students. Please refer to the Access and inclusion policy for more details.
  • The IB allows students to use basic tools to support their spelling and grammar when this is not what is being assessed.

 

Confidence in IB results
The IB and IB World Schools are partners in maintaining the value (currency) of IB grades to be trusted by institutions. The IB needs to trust schools to do due diligence, and schools can trust the IB to take its responsibility seriously in the interest of their students.

Generative AI policies for journals

What policies are academic journals creating in response to AI? These real-world policies can inform schools as they develop their own expectations around the ethical use of AI tools.