You’ve written a brilliant essay. From the intro to the conclusion, it’s packed with all the right information. You’ve answered the question posed and crafted something sure to get you a great grade.
Then you run it through an AI detection program and it’s flagged as AI-generated content. What do you do now? You may be wondering “Why is my essay being flagged as AI?”
We’re here to tell you not to worry. There are reasons why this happens and they’re simple to fix. In this guide, we’ll answer any concerns you might have. We’ll also show how it’s possible to pass AI detection, submitting work you’re proud of.
Why Your Essay Was Flagged as AI
We must admit. It is quite disappointing to spend so much time gathering all the necessary information for an essay, researching your references, writing and editing it, and then it is flagged as AI.
There are several reasons your or your professor’s AI detection tool may have indicated that your essay was written by AI, such as:
- An AI tool like ChatGPT was used to write parts of the essay.
- You have edited some text that came from an AI program but did not rewrite enough of the information.
- Your essay does not include the first-person perspective or examples from your personal experiences.
- You are repeating the same words or sentences frequently.
- You are using overly complicated language.
If any of the above is true for your essay, it will probably be picked up as AI. However, do not worry. We propose some solutions as to how to overcome this issue further down in this article.
3 Top Reasons AI Detection Tools Are Used for Essays
There are a lot of things that can be achieved with a good-quality AI detection tool in academic work. Essay writing and content detection tools can benefit you and the work you submit.
When used legitimately, they’re a great way to enhance and subtly improve the content you’re creating. There’s no shame in running an essay through AI tools to check it for AI writing. You want peace of mind. You also want to be able to prove that what you’ve written is your own words and work.
However, you or your professor may want to use an AI tool for your essay for several reasons. We have outlined some of them below.
1. Run Plagiarism Checks
AI detection software can be used to good effect if you simply want to check for plagiarism. If you’re writing from scratch and using all the right research methods and tools, there’s nothing to worry about. Your work will be original.
An AI tool can help give you confidence when you check your work and it shows up as being human created.
2. Check for Correct References and Citations
AI detection tools for essays can also be used to ensure all the references and resources you’ve used are accurate. Making sure they do not include AI-generated text in any way is especially important. You want to be able to back up the facts and statistics you’ve quoted in your work.
3. Ensure Essays Follow Academic Standards
AI tools can make sure essays are rigorously researched, fact-checked, and have all the right resources in it.
Professors and teachers now use these tools to check their student’s work regularly. Through AI detection software, they also make sure that no one is struggling to complete essays. There might be reasons for this such as subjects being too complex or questions are not understood in depth.
Can AI Tools Come Up With False Positives?
In short, yes they can. You might be wondering how something gets flagged for AI. Quality AI detection tools from Smodin will limit the number of false positives that are highlighted. However, in some instances, they can get missed.
The best AI detectors in colleges will be as accurate as possible. However, there can sometimes be issues. The AI detector from Turnitin sometimes creates higher levels of false positives than is acceptable. Some educational establishments have opted out of using Turnitin for this reason.
Other AI programs do the same. Every educational institute will have its own preferred way of checking content these days. They all want to use the safest and most reliable tools to give accurate results and catch students who want to avoid AI detection.
What To Do if You Get a False Positive on Your Essay
Try not to stress about it too much. Sometimes it can be down to simple formatting issues or sentence structures that are perhaps a bit out of kilter. These can easily be altered.
Check the word count of the text being analyzed. The shorter the content is, the likelier it will be to flag up as a false positive. Always ensure there are at least 150 words to be checked. The average length of an essay will be much longer, and so will specific sections of writing.
It’s best to run the piece through a checker when it’s complete. You’re more likely to get a better result on 1,500 words of a completed essay than on a 150-word introduction.
Sometimes it can help to try a different AI-checking tool such as the one offered by Smodin. What is flagged as a false positive with one piece of software may well be fine with better-quality programs.
What Are the Benefits of AI Detection Tools?
It’s important to state that AI detection tools can be used positively. They’re a great way to gain confidence in your ability as a student writer and can enhance the quality of human-written text.
Here are some benefits of AI detection tools:
- Ensure that a piece of writing is authentic.
- Save time when doing research or when checking if a piece is original.
- Make suggestions for potential edits.
- Ensure a deeper understanding of a topic.
- Improve critical-thinking skills.
Smodin Is Your Go-To Superior AI Tool
When you’re evaluating the written work you’ve produced, you want to be reassured it’s 100% accurate. And you definitely don’t want to be asking the question, “Why is my essay being flagged as AI?”
Want to submit your writing with confidence? That’s why checking it with an advanced AI tool is a must.
You know you’ve put the hard work in and you just want peace of mind. Reliable, accurate tools can be hard to suss out. However, here at Smodin, we can help you.
Try our high-quality AI tools for reassurance and clarity when checking your essays and coursework. Choose Smodin’s AI Content Detector today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if my essay is flagged as AI?
Don’t panic! That’s the first and most important thing. Sometimes AI detectors throw up false positives and they’re easy to spot.
You can often fix minor issues by looking at your text. Make sure it’s free of repetitive or formulaic language. It’s worth looking at your sentence structure too, to pass AI detection.
What is a false positive in an essay?
A false positive is defined as being fully human-written content that is flagged as AI-generated. Many AI tools are highly accurate, so they won’t come up with many false positives. However, some of the lower-quality ones on the market may be prone to highlighting this erroneous message often.
How can an AI detection tool improve my essay?
AI detection tools are a great way to make sure that the essays and coursework you submit are thoroughly fact-checked. They’re plagiarism checkers too, so they can assess whether your written words are your own work.
They can also be used to create accurate bibliographies and citations. These are often the things that cause students issues.