Let's get this straight from the start: this is a humor piece. No academic careers nor students were harmed in the making of this blog (we hope). In a world where essays write themselves, citations magically appear (sort of), and every student's "original thought" starts with "In the ever-evolving landscape of...", we thought it was time to laugh a little at the very serious subject of academic integrity. Because if we can't joke about plagiarism, ChatGPT, and that one student who cited TikTok as a source — what are we even doing in higher education?
Academic integrity isn't about never using AI tools to help with home assignments. It is about using them honestly. Like citing ChatGPT instead of pretending it's your inner voice of reason.
Need help surviving academic integrity season (a.k.a. summer)? We've got you covered—with a smile.
1. The Sherlock Scan
They read essays with a magnifying glass, muttering: "Hmm… suspiciously well-written. Sophisticated argument. Clear structure. Aha! This smells like ChatGPT with a thesaurus!"
2. The AI Whisperer
They copy the essay into ChatGPT and ask: "Did you write this?" And when the bot replies, "As an AI language model…", they scream: "GOTCHA!"
3. The "Reverse Uno" Move
They assign a follow-up oral presentation. "You wrote a brilliant 10-page paper on Hegelian dialectics. Please explain it to me. In 90 seconds. Without crying."
4. The "Inspiration Bingo"
They print out essays and play a fun round of:
- Overly formal intro
- Random quote from Churchill
- Wikipedia paragraph, unedited
- "According to a study…" (No citation)
Bingo! Essay's fake.
5. The Autocorrect Test
If the student writes: "I utilized a plethora of paradigms" … but can't spell "their" correctly in emails— It's flagged faster than a term paper titled "Why I Deserve an A."
6. The "ChatGPT Wrestling Federation"
They pit the essay against GPT and ask the AI to refute the claims. If GPT wins in under 5 paragraphs, the student loses the match. No rematch.
7. The "Ghost Citation Challenge"
They check the sources: "Interesting! You cited the 2012 Journal of Temporal Fish Philosophy. Too bad it doesn't exist."
Then assign a group project, for students to work togeder to solve real-world problems. With automated feedback and grading. 😈