Combating AI-Generated Essays with Collaborative Annotation Assignments
From AI Workarounds to Active Engagement
As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become more accessible, faculty are encountering a rising challenge: students submitting AI-generated essays. These tools can produce polished, seemingly original responses to prompts in seconds—leaving little evidence of the student’s actual learning process.
Traditional essays and discussion board posts are especially vulnerable to this kind of shortcut. But social annotation presents a different kind of challenge—one that AI struggles to mimic. By engaging students in collaborative annotation assignments with Hypothesis, educators are preserving authenticity, fostering deeper thinking, and making learning visible.
The Limitations of Passive Assignments in the AI Era
Instructors across disciplines are discovering that some of their most trusted assignments—like open-ended essays and static discussion boards—are now the easiest to outsource. Without structured guidance or scaffolded engagement, students can bypass critical thinking entirely.
Why? Because annotation doesn’t just measure what a student can produce—it captures how they process, interpret, and connect ideas.
What Makes Annotation More AI-Resistant
Unlike essays that can be written externally and uploaded, Hypothesis requires students to engage with the text in real time. Each annotation is tied to a specific passage, timestamped, and publicly visible to peers and instructors. That level of contextual thinking is difficult—if not impossible—for AI to convincingly fake.
“More thought goes into annotations than into the discussion board,” said Merilee Madera, faculty member at West Liberty University.
Here’s why annotation assignments are more resistant to AI misuse:
- Students must read and respond to specific moments in a text.
- Their thinking is visible and traceable—teachers can see who said what, when, and why.
- Peer responses create a layer of accountability and encourage active dialogue.
Collaborative Assignments that Encourage Authentic Engagement
Faculty don’t need to give up writing—they just need to rethink how it happens. Annotation-based assignments can preserve the best parts of written reflection while making them more resistant to shortcuts. Some successful strategies include:
- Asking students to leave original annotations on required readings.
- Encouraging peer-to-peer replies and conversation threads.
- Prompting students to explain why they annotated specific passages and what they learned from the discussion.
These activities transform reading and writing into a shared process of exploration and meaning-making.
Combining Hypothesis with AI in a Thoughtful Way
Rather than banning AI altogether, some educators are asking students to engage with it critically. Hypothesis becomes the space where students interrogate AI-generated content—learning not just how to use these tools, but how to challenge them.
“I’m teaching educators how to use AI as an assistant to engage their students better,” said Diana Fordham of Missouri Southern State University.
Examples of AI-integrated annotation assignments:
- Compare an AI-generated summary with the original reading and annotate the differences.
- Annotate an AI-generated essay to evaluate its tone, structure, and argument.
- Use AI to generate a first draft, then refine ideas through peer feedback in Hypothesis.
This turns AI into a starting point—not a shortcut—and ensures students stay active in the learning process.
Conclusion: Make Writing Count Again
Faculty don’t need to abandon writing assignments—but we do need to make them smarter. Annotation is one of the most effective tools for promoting authentic engagement and reducing opportunities for academic dishonesty.
By moving from static, solitary writing tasks to dynamic, collaborative annotation, instructors can:
- Reinforce academic integrity.
- Make thinking visible.
- Foster deeper understanding of course materials.
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