2Phase 2 · The Wins
Module 4 · Editing With AI Without Losing Your Voice
Do This Today

Find Your School's Actual AI Policy

Lesson 4.2 4 screens · the search

You almost certainly haven't read it.

Quick check. Without looking: what does your school's official AI policy say? Most students answer one of three ways:

"I think we're not allowed to use it?" · "I think it's up to each professor?" · "I have no idea, honestly."

All three are guesses. None of them are policy.

Why "I'll just ask my prof" isn't enough

You'll absolutely ask your prof too (we'll write that email in a minute). But schools usually have three layers of policy: the school-wide academic integrity policy, the department or program policy, and the individual professor's syllabus. They can disagree. When they do, the strictest one usually wins. You need to know all three.

Step 1: Find the school-wide policy.

Almost every college and most high schools published an AI-and-academic-integrity policy somewhere between 2023 and 2025. Three fast ways to find it:

The three-search drill

  • Google search 1: "[your school name] generative AI policy". Usually surfaces an official PDF or a dean's page.
  • Google search 2: "[your school name] academic integrity ChatGPT". Schools often updated their existing integrity page rather than writing a new one. This catches that.
  • Google search 3: "[your school name] AI syllabus statement". Many schools published "suggested syllabus statements" for professors. Reading these tells you what the school expects profs to enforce.
Have Claude read it for you and translate
I'm trying to understand my school's AI policy so I can stay on the right side of it. Here's the official text from [school name]: [paste the policy]. Translate this into a one-page student-friendly summary. Specifically: 1. What is universally NOT allowed? (the bright-line stuff) 2. What is universally allowed? (the always-fine uses) 3. What requires disclosure? (uses I have to label or cite) 4. What is left to the professor? (and therefore I have to ask) 5. What's the actual penalty if I get this wrong? 6. The 3 most important sentences in this whole policy. Quote them directly. Be plain. No legalese. Pretend you're explaining it to me at a coffee shop.

If you can't find it

Email your registrar or your dean of students. Subject: "Looking for the school's AI policy." If your school doesn't have one yet, it means the professor's syllabus is the highest authority you have, and the email below becomes even more important.

Step 2: Read every syllabus this term for the AI section.

Most professors who care about AI now have a syllabus section about it. Sometimes it's two sentences, sometimes it's a page. Here's a prompt to help you understand it:

The syllabus AI scan
I'm uploading [number] syllabi for my classes this term. For each class, find the section that addresses AI use (it might be called "generative AI," "ChatGPT," "academic integrity," or "AI tools"). Then build me a one-table summary with these columns: - Class name - Professor's general stance on AI (banned / allowed / case-by-case / silent) - Specific allowed uses (brainstorming? outlining? editing? proofreading?) - Specific banned uses - Required disclosure (do I have to cite/note when I used AI?) - The exact quote that's most important to remember - My next action (ask the prof? safe to proceed? assume banned?) If a syllabus says nothing at all about AI, mark "silent" and tell me what to ask the professor. Be exact. I'd rather you write "the syllabus is unclear" than guess.

How to interpret what you find

  • "No use of generative AI" → take it literally. Even brainstorming. Even spellcheck. If your prof writes that, they mean it. Don't argue the spirit; follow the letter.
  • "Allowed with disclosure" → always disclose. Even when you only used it a little. The penalty for over-disclosing is zero. The penalty for under-disclosing is large.
  • "At my discretion" / "ask before using" → email before you start. Use the template on the next screen.
  • The syllabus says nothing → email the professor. Silence is not consent. Get a written answer in your inbox.

Step 3: The professor email (when the policy is unclear).

The professor will think much better of you for asking than for guessing wrong. Use the template below: copy, fill the brackets, send.

Professor email template: version A: short and direct
Subject: Quick question on AI use in [Class Code] Hi Professor [Last Name], I'm working on [the upcoming assignment / Paper 1 / the discussion posts] and want to make sure I'm using AI in a way that fits your expectations for this class. The syllabus addresses AI [briefly / generally / not specifically], and I'd like to be sure before I start. Could you let me know which of the following is OK in your class: 1. Using AI to brainstorm angles or possible thesis statements before I write 2. Using AI to outline once I have a thesis 3. Using AI as an editor on a draft I've already written (asking it to flag weak arguments, awkward sentences, etc.) 4. Using AI for proofreading and grammar 5. Anything you'd specifically want me to disclose if I do use it Happy to send a quick example of what I'd actually do if that's helpful. Thanks for the clarity. I'd rather ask now than guess. Best, [Your Name]
Professor email template: version B: when you've already started and want to check
Subject: Checking on AI use for [Assignment Name] Hi Professor [Last Name], I've been working on [assignment] and want to make sure how I'm using AI lines up with your expectations. Specifically, I've been: - [Specific thing 1, e.g., "Using Claude to brainstorm essay angles, then picking my own thesis"] - [Specific thing 2, e.g., "Asking it to flag weak arguments in my draft, then revising myself"] - [Specific thing 3, only include if true] I am NOT having AI write paragraphs for me. Everything submitted is in my own words. I just want to be transparent about the process and confirm that what I'm doing is OK in your class, and whether you'd like me to note this anywhere on the submission. Thanks, [Your Name]
Professor email template: version C: the AI is banned but you have a question
Subject: Clarification on AI policy in [Class Code] Hi Professor [Last Name], The syllabus is clear that AI tools are not allowed for [type of work]. I want to be careful about a couple of edge cases that might or might not count: - Grammar checkers like the built-in spellcheck in Word or Grammarly - A reading-comprehension prompt I might use on a difficult assigned text (just to make sure I'm understanding it before class, not for the assignment itself) - Translation or definition lookups for [language / unfamiliar terms] Could you let me know how you want me to handle each of these? I want to follow the policy faithfully and not run into something accidentally. Thanks, [Your Name]

Honest Work Code · Rule 3: "Their rules beat my rules."

The reason this lesson exists is because every other lesson in Module 4 is overridden by the answers you get from your school and your professors. If 4.6 (the edit-don't-write workflow) sounds great, but your professor said "no AI at all on this paper," Rule 3 says you don't run the edit-don't-write workflow on that paper. You write the paper, you don't touch AI, and you respect the rule of the room you're in. The framework on the previous page was the general case. The answers from your specific school and your specific profs are the real rules. Save them in a doc, refer back, and update each term.

Up next: 4.3: Brainstorm & Outline

Now that you know the rules, we're going to spend the rest of the module getting really good at the moves the rules allow. Starting with the easiest, most allowed, most time-saving step in the whole writing process: brainstorming and outlining.

Continue to 4.3 — Brainstorm & Outline →