how i use AI to brainstorm — not write — my essays. and why that distinction matters more than you think 💀
Using AI to think better is a superpower. Using AI to think instead of you is academic self-sabotage.
everyone's using AI right now. some are using it to grow their thinking. some are using it to replace it. which one are you? this guide is for the ones who want to stay on the right side of that line ✨
🚨 hot take: if AI wrote your essay, it's not YOUR essay. we need to be honest about this 💀
there's a massive difference between using AI as a thinking partner and using it as a pen-for-hire. one makes you smarter. the other makes you a very sophisticated copy-paster. let's be real 🫦
these are my exact tactics — battle-tested, zero guilt, full integrity. the key: i bring the thinking, AI helps me think harder 🔬
when i have a prompt but no idea where to START, i describe the topic to AI and ask "what are 10 different angles someone could argue here?" i don't use those angles. i use them to figure out which angle i actually want to argue. it's like spinning a compass until YOU decide which direction to walk.
finding my thesis before i even have one 🧭
i write my argument first. then i literally ask AI: "argue against everything i just said as hard as you can." the counterarguments that come back show me where my essay is weak BEFORE my teacher sees it. then i fix it myself. it's the best pre-submission check that has ever existed fr.
fight me (so my teacher doesn't have to) 😤
i tell AI my thesis and ask "what questions should i be able to answer to prove this argument?" the questions it generates show me all the things i haven't thought through yet. it's not writing for me — it's poking holes in my thinking so i can patch them. DIFFERENT thing entirely.
the AI asks, i answer. my essay gets stronger 🔍
sometimes i need to understand a topic before i can argue about it. i ask AI to explain the background like i'm a smart 16-year-old — not so it can write my intro, but so i actually UNDERSTAND what i'm about to write about. understanding is step zero. writing is step ten.
comprehension before composition, always 🌱
i paste my completed draft and ask "what did i NOT say that i should have said? what assumptions am i making that i haven't acknowledged?" this is the most dangerous one so i only do it AFTER writing, and i only use the observations to decide whether to add anything — in my own words, always.
feedback, not replacement. periodt 👑
🧪 the goal isn't to use AI less — it's to use it in ways that make YOUR thinking better, not invisible
how you talk to AI determines whether it expands your thinking or replaces it. the same topic, three different prompts, three completely different ethical outcomes 👀
"Write me a 600-word essay about the ethics of fast fashion."
🚫 this is ghostwriting"What are the main ethical arguments against fast fashion? Give me a list of points."
⚠️ better but still passive"My thesis is that fast fashion is an ethical issue of collective responsibility, not individual guilt. What would a philosopher critique about this argument? What am I missing?"
✅ this is how we do itnot all AI use is equal. not all AI use is cheating. but some of it absolutely is — let's be honest about the whole spectrum bestie 👇
most people aren't deliberately cheating — they just let the line get blurry. so here's the line, unblurred and unambiguous, bestie 💀
"A tool that thinks for you is a crutch. A tool that helps you think better is a superpower."
— Lavanya Arora (yes i'm quoting myself, deal with it 💅)
now go write something that's actually YOURS bestie 🚀✨
