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ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm.
People are describing it as ‘the next Google’ and suggesting that it could put a lot of people out of jobs.
Regardless of whether or not these claims are true, ChatGPT is an absolutely incredible tool that every student should be using.
I’ve loved testing out all the different uses of ChatGPT and have found that it’s helped me make the studying process faster, more efficient, and more fun.
In today’s issue, I’ll share three tips on how I use ChatGPT to do those things and how you can do the same.
Firstly, what is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that has been designed to help people write text more quickly and efficiently. It uses natural language processing and machine learning to generate text that is tailored to the user’s preferences and on a huge variety of topics.
It can be used in a variety of ways:
- Answering questions and providing detailed information
- Writing content for blogs, articles and other written work
- Summarising large pieces of text
- Helping with research and finding sources
- Generating ideas for projects
- Coming up with innovative solutions to problems
- Automating various tasks, such as writing emails
- And more!
However, ChatGPT is only as intelligent as the person using it. It’s vital to understand how to feed it information in the best way or else you won’t be getting anything useful back.
So here are three ways I’ve been using ChatGPT to make my life as a student easier and improve the efficiency of my work.
Let’s jump straight in.
Use #1: Generate ideas for essays
One of my favourite ways to use ChatGPT is to generate ideas for essays and presentations.
However, you can’t simply ask it for ideas by inputting the title of the essay. Providing some background information and asking highly specific questions makes the results significantly better.
I recently wrote an essay about what the priorities for skin surgery and skin cancer research are. Here’s how I broke it down and asked ChatGPT for ideas:
These were a bit too vague, so I asked ChatGPT to expand on each of these points:
Rather than copy and paste the content products (which can be counted as plagiarism), I use the bullet-pointed lists and overall topics to give my essay its structure.
Use #2: Understand complex topics
Another great way to use ChatGPT is to help find answers to complex questions and provide detailed information.
When reviewing a lecture or reading from a textbook, if I come across something I don’t understand, I ask ChatGPT for an explanation.
Previously, I would search through various textbooks or spent ages scrolling through random websites following a Google search.
However, it was always extremely time-consuming and difficult to find the explanation that I needed and understood.
That’s where ChatGPT comes in. By asking very specific questions, I am able to generate answers that explain exactly what I don’t understand.
For example, when I was learning about immune deficiencies, here’s how I used ChatGPT:
This gives me a great starting point to then go on to learn (or ask ChatGPT to teach me) about each of these in turn.
Use #3: Find relevant sources
Lastly, ChatGPT can be used to quickly find relevant sources and information for research purposes.
It can be used to search for articles, books, and other materials on a variety of topics. The AI technology can help narrow down search results and provide more specific results than a standard web search.
Additionally, ChatGPT can be used to find sources from a variety of sources, such as academic journals, websites, and books.
This can help students find the most accurate and up-to-date information for their research. However, ChatGPT does not have any information beyond 2021, so keep this in mind.
Here’s an example I used for my essay on skin cancer:
For each of the articles, I went on to read them to pick which ones were the most useful. Once again, this is not a case of copy and paste!
In summary
ChatGPT is incredible.
It has become an invaluable tool for students, as it can help with a variety of tasks and make the studying process a lot faster and more efficient.
As we get deeper into 2023, it’s becoming more important than ever that we understand tools such as ChatGPT and how to provide it with prompts to get the best information out.
How will you be using ChatGPT?
There are countless other AI tools popping up, which will only continue to improve the life of students. Look out for my next newsletter issue, where I’ll be listing out all the best AI tools and how you can use them as a student and/or content creator.
ALLIE DUNIN 