About Ai

Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on ChatGPT, April 2024 Pp.
90-99
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/ChatGPT.5
Using Artificial Intelligence for Essay Writing
Shirley Ling Jen

Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
Corresponding author: lingjen81@yahoo.com
Abdul Rahim Salam

Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
Received:01/29/2024 Accepted: 04/02/2024 Published: 04/24/2024
Abstract
This study hopes to bring insights for researchers and educators in using artificial intelligence for
essay writing through a systematic review on the use of AI in writing for the past 10 years.
Although Artificial Intelligence has long existed in other fields such as medicine, engineering,
journalism, and forensic analysis, it has only made a great impact in the education field after the
emergence of ChatGPT. Generative Artificial Intelligence is seen as a tool that can assist teachers
and students in academics such as generating ideas, evaluating essays, storytelling, and providing
feedback. It has even been considered as the co-author in students’ manuscripts and essays.
However, there are still lack of studies on the usage of Artificial Intelligence in developing
students’ essay writing performance. Thus, this study hopes to enlighten researchers and educators
in using Artificial Intelligence tools in improving students’ essay writing performance. This study
will provide insights for researchers and teachers on the different types of artificial intelligence
tools that can be used in teaching essay writing. It also provides areas that researchers can focus
on since majority of the studies are conducted overseas and only two studies are carried out in
Malaysia so far. Hopefully, this study will provide useful information for language teachers in
using artificial intelligence tools in teaching essay writing to students.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, systematic literature review, technology in education, essay

writing, ChatGPT, student-centred activities
Cite as: Jen, S. L., & Salam, A. R. (2024). Using Artificial Intelligence for Essay Writing. Arab
World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on ChatGPT, April 2024: 90-99.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/ChatGPT.5
90
Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on ChatGPT, April 2024
Using Artificial Intelligence for Essay Writing Jen & Salam
Introduction
Although AI has long existed in other fields, it has only started making tremendous remarks
in the education field recently since the emergence of ChatGPT. AI was first termed in 1956 by
MacCarthy (Cristianini, 2016) who followed up the work of Turing (Turing, 2004). Turing (2009)
asserted that AI is described as the existence of intelligent reasoning and thinking that could go
into intelligent machines. Since then, the definition of AI has grown and changed as there have
been tremendous advancements in the field. Although there has been a lot of research on the usage
of Artificial Intelligence in other fields, the research on AI in particularly in the field of essay
writing is still lacking.
Hence, a systematic review on the use of AI in the field of essay writing was conducted in
this study. This study highlighted previous studies that have been conducted about AI in the field
of essay writing, the types of learners involved, the types of AI tools involved for essay writing
and the learning theories that support the use of AI.
This study seeks to answer the following research questions.
1. What types of learners are commonly selected for the research on the use of AI in essay
writing?
2. What types of AI tools for essay writing are used in the previous studies?
3. What are the learning theories that support the use of AI in essay writing?
Literature Review
Popenici and Kerr (2017) defined AI as a computing system that can engage in human-like
processes such as learning, adapting, synthesizing, self-correction and the use of data for complex
process in tasks. Acemoglu and Restrepo (2019) further added on that AI is the study and
development of machine-like software algorithms that interact with the environment. Although
there are many different definitions given to AI, one thing is for sure. AI has made a significant
impact on human lives, especially in recent years. AI has impacted many industries such as the
medical sector, engineering and film industry. This is because AI derives from developing
computing technology that is capable of undertaking many activities that require a higher degree
of human intelligence, including speech and visual recognition, as well as natural language
processing and decision-making.
Anderson (2023) asserted that ChatGPT which was first introduced in November 2022 was
pre-trained based on a vast corpus of human-generated text. Thus, ChatGPT is excellent at using
natural language, trained to guess the next word, generating highly human-like text, or performing
other human language tasks like having a dialogue. Thorp (2023) added on that ChatGPT also
serves as a communication source, a role typically held by humans. In addition, scholars also use
ChatGPT to assess their essay feedback and evaluate their performance.
Popenici and Kerr (2017) asserted that AI can revolutionise the field of education through
personalised learning experiences for users. Although AI has impacted many fields, it is relatively
young in the field of education. Jen and Salam (2024) asserted that the research on AI in education
field has only increased since the last few years. Although AI is a relatively young branch of
technology in the field of education, there has been a significant interest in AI and its role in
education, attracting increased academic, professional, and governmental interest. This is further
supported by Chiu et al. (2023), AbdAlgane and Jabir Othman (2023), Aydın and Karaarslan
(2022), Farrelly and Baker (2023), Jarrah et al. (2023) and Rahman and Watanobe (2023) who
asserted that AI has significantly affected education and classroom practice recently.
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In the field of essay writing, AI has even been considered as the co-author in students’
manuscripts. Some examples of AI tools used in education and learning include Chatbots,
intelligence tutoring systems, learning analytics, automated grading, and many others. Studies
done by Pradana et al. (2023), Rudolph et al. (2023), Dai et al. (2023), Su and Yang (2023), Sundar
and Liao (2023) and Hung and Chen (2023) have shown that ChatGPT has been used as the main
source of information for students.
Apart from that, Kim (2023) asserted that, AI can be a very useful tool that can assist L2
researchers by gathering necessary information such as the writing structure, relevant sources, and
new insights about the topic. AI also can provide feedback on the writers’ paper. In addition,
Generative AI such as ChatGPT and Gemini have the ability to generate a variety of content,
written and unpublished, which is generally distinguished by a high degree of uniqueness,
consistency of ideas, and depth of existing scientific understanding (Quintans-Júnior et al., 2023).
Although AI is a great assistance for students in their essay writing, there are many issues
regarding the use of AI such as ChatGPT and Gemini in education. There are cases of students
copying the essays from AI tools mainly ChatGPT as it can provide personalised answers based
on the students’ manuscripts. The use of AI tools also leads to cheating during online exams and
plagiarism in research papers. Thus, it is the responsibility for the instructors and teachers to
provide proper guidance to students in using AI. As supported by Lodge et al. (2023), one of the
main challenges of teachers is to equip students with proper knowledge in using AI tools.
Methodology
In this study, the principles of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and
Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement (Moher et al., 2015) was used. Researchers explained the
eligibility criteria, information sources, data-collection processes, data items, and synthesis of the
results. For example, this study reviewed publications indexed in recognized and reputed journals
to obtain an overview of AI utilization, specifically in determining the learner types, the AI
technology used for essay writing and the theories underpinning AI applications in the field of
writing.
Selection of Criteria
To obtain the data for this study, the scientific articles published in two reputable databases
were used: Social Sciences Citation Index (SCCI) and SCOPUS databases. The articles chosen
were based on the AI utilisation in the field of writing. The two databases were chosen as they are
known as reputable and highly-cited journals in the academic world (Bar-Ilan, 2018). The articles
in these two databases are more reliable compared to the rest. In addition, they are the main
resources of many review studies.
For SSCI-indexed articles, the Web of Science (WOS) was the access point in using
advanced search functions, with the input search items ‘artificial intelligence’, and ‘writing’. Also,
the parameters were set specifically for this study. For example, the language was limited to only
English articles, and the document types were limited to articles and proceeding papers. Finally,
the articles collected were from the period of year 2013 until year 2023. A duration of 10 years
was adequate to observe the AI trends in writing and the recent use of AI (Jen & Salam, 2024).
The results from WOS yielded 8 studies that are used in this study.
Moreover, advanced search functions were also used in the Scopus database, with the same
query as the WOS database, except for a slight difference from WOS. For example, there was no
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‘Topic’ function, but ‘Topic’ in WOS was similar to the ‘Title, Abstract, and Keyword’ function
in SCOPUS. However, ‘keyword’ in this review was not included in the query string to bring
more validity to the results (Bar-Ilan, 2018). Similar to Web of Science (WOS) database, similar
parameters were also used in Scopus database. The language was limited to English and the
document types were limited to articles and proceeding papers. Finally, the articles collected were
from the period of the year 2013 until the year 2023. The search from SCOPUS yielded 71 results,
with the last search conducted on 22 December 2023.
The approach for the paper selection process is shown in Figure One.
Figure 1. The Procedure Involved in The Systematic Review Process
In order to conduct the systematic review process, a set of inclusion and exclusion
The criteria that were used for the systematic review in this study were presented in Table
One. Following the criteria applications, 79 articles were found to be relevant to the study’s
purpose.

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Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Exclusion
• Research must include empirical study. • Articles do not address the actual
• Must involve AI as primary or additional application of AI in writing.
component in learning language. • Symposium, editorial writings,
• The articles present results of the meeting abstracts, book, book
application of AI for academic writing and chapters, master thesis, PhD thesis,
the instruments used in evaluation of AI biographical items are excluded.
involved, • Articles that mention the term
• Types of documents included journal ‘artificial intelligence’, but are about
articles, and conference proceedings, other topics.
written in English. • Abstract only paper
• The target language can be either in English • Design-based research
or other languages. • The study does not present the results
clearly and the instruments used in the
evaluation of AI.
Research Procedures
All 79 articles were downloaded, examined and read thoroughly to determine the
inclusion eligibility in the final review. The inclusion and exclusion criteria presented in Table
One were applied during the stage. Also, the articles were selected during the study’s discussion
on AI usage in the teaching of essay writing.
Nonetheless, the articles mentioning AI elaborated on writing, with no discussion on the
effects of using AI, design-based studies, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and abstract-
only papers were excluded. The relevant information was organized and presented in the form of
a table using Microsoft Excel. In addition, the data collected from the articles were determined
using the qualitative content analysis method, which allowed for more systematic and objective
categorizations of qualitative data (Akçayır & Akçayır, 2017).
All the articles were analysed, synthesized, and presented in relevant diagrams based on
the outlined research questions. Some of the information was derived from the articles with
word searches to find keywords, such as paper distribution according to time, learner types, and
research designs.
Categories
The year of the journal publications ranged from 2013 to 2023 in this review. The 10-
year span was adequate to observe the research trends using AI, specifically in the direction of
academic writing concerning AI technology. Types of learners were divided into 4 main groups:
preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, college or tertiary students, in-
service teachers and senior citizens. The AI tools used were divided into tools for idea
generation that include Wordtune, ChatGPT, Google Bard and tools that provide corrective
feedback such as Grammarly and Turnitin. Learning theories that support the use of AI in
writing are also discussed in this study. The findings of the study are summarized in the
following section.

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Results
Research Question 1: Types of Learners Commonly Selected for The Research
Figure 2. Types of Learners Commonly Selected for The Research
Figure 2 shows that from the 32 samples involved in this study, 23 samples or 71.9%, of
the respondents were from high school, two samples or 6.25% of the respondents were from
secondary school while another three samples 9.38 % from kindergarten. One sample or 3.12%
of the respondents were elderly people and lastly, three samples or 9.37% of the respondents
were in-service teachers. This shows that AI has been used extensively in higher education
institutions for essay writing but not in other education institutions. Thus, there is a need to carry
out studies regarding the use of AI in other educational institutions as well.
Research Question 2. Types of AI Tools Used in Writing
Figure 3. Types of AI Tools Used in Writing
Figure Three shows the AI tools that have been used for writing based on the studies
conducted. Basically, the AI tools used for writing can divided into four main categories: AI
based platforms, tools for writing, tools for evaluation or correction and tools for grading. The
main tools involved in AI for writing are AI tools for writing. These tools help users in idea
generation. Some of them can also provide feedback or evaluation for users' writing. There are
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many types of AI tools for writing. However, the main AI tool for writing is ChatGPT. It was
mentioned in 20 articles, followed by Google Bard three times and Perplexity two times. Other
AI tools for writing mentioned in the studies include BLOOM, ChatSonic, Cloude, Whisper,
Jasper Chat, AJET Digital, Dream Writer, Jenni, Kuai Bi Xiao Xi, Inspire, Xiao Ming, A Tong
and A Le.
The second most studied AI tools for writing are automated written corrective Feedback
tools with Grammarly as the most frequently studied tool. Grammarly occurred in four of the
studies conducted. Other automated written corrective feedback tools included in the study are
Worldvice AI Proofreader, Perfect It, and Prowriting Aid. The third most studied AI tools are
automated scoring tools or Automated Essay Scoring (AES). It occurred 4 times in the studies
conducted. In addition, automated grading tools or automated evaluation tools have occurred
twice in the studies conducted. Besides, AI Translator Baidu, was also involved in one of the
studies conducted. Finally, AI-based platforms such as Sudo Writer, Jasper, Shortly AI, and
Idealthon were also involved in the studies conducted.
This shows that there is a variety of AI tools that can help in the process of essay writing
such as idea generation, evaluation of essays, or essay grading. Furthermore, AI can also be
integrated into platforms to assist students in learning writing. However, most of the studies so
far have been centred on the use of ChatGPT. Thus, there is a need to carry out research in
examining the use of other types of artificial intelligence tools as well (Jen &Salam, 2024).
Research Question 3: Theories or Concepts Mentioned in The Studies

Table 2. Theories or Concepts Mentioned in The Studies
Learning Theories/Concepts Total
Constructivism 2
Social cognitive theory 4
TAM model 2
21st-century learning skills 2
Ai literacy framework 2
In total, there were 12 learning theories or concepts mentioned with the use of Artificial
Intelligence in writing. The learning theories that are mentioned more than once in this study
include constructivism, social cognitive theory, TAM model, 21st-century learning skills and AI
literacy framework. On the other hand, learning theories that are only mentioned once in this
study include Theory of Planned Behaviour Model, Self-Determination Theory, Item-Response
Theory, CALL, complex thinking, connectivism and Social Constructive Theory. All these
learning theories guide and support the use of AI in teaching essay writing to students.
Conclusion
This paper presented a systematic review regarding the utilisation of Artificial
Intelligence in the field of essay writing within the span of 10 years starting from the year 2013
to 2023. A total of 79 papers were collected and evaluated for this purpose. The findings of the
study show that most of the studies so far centre on higher learning institution students. There is
still lack of studies with other types of learners such as young children and secondary school
students. Studies done by Chiu et al. (2023), Dai et al. (2023), Pradana et al. (2023), Rudolph et

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ISSN: 2229-9327
al. (2023) and Su and Yang (2023) have highlighted the benefits of AI tools for writing. Among
the benefits of AI tools for writing include generation of ideas, provision of feedback, and
evaluation of students’ scripts. This study highlighted the apparent gaps in AI tools for essay
writing such as there is still lack of studies among other types of learners apart from higher
educational institution students. Thus, there is a need to carry out more studies on other age
group of students. Apart from that, there is a need to carry out research with other AI tools. This
is because studies on other AI tools for essay writing apart from ChatGPT are still lacking. As
asserted by Alharbi (2023) and Jen and Salam (2024), future research should concentrate on
using different AI tools to evaluate students’ writing performance.
Funding
This research is not funded.
Acknowledgments
Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Authenticity
This manuscript is an original work
Artificial Intelligence Statement
AI and AI-assisted technologies were not used.
About the Authors

Shirley Ling Jen has a Master of Education in TESL and currently pursuing her PhD for TESL
in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor. She has won several Gold Awards in international
innovation competitions throughout the years. Her innovation projects have been published in
journals, proceedings and local educational platforms.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4363-5690
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahim Salam has held several positions from the Head of Digital
Language Lab, IT Manager, Facility Manager to Deputy Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.
He was also the Head of Research Group for Technology in Language Learning.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8023-1014
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Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on ChatGPT, April 2024 Pp.

Using Artificial Intelligence for Essay Writing

Shirley Ling Jen

Abdul Rahim Salam

Received:01/29/2024 Accepted: 04/02/2024 Published: 04/24/2024

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, systematic literature review, technology in education, essay

Figure 1. The Procedure Involved in The Systematic Review Process

Arab World English Journal 93

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Arab World English Journal 94

Figure 2. Types of Learners Commonly Selected for The Research

Research Question 2. Types of AI Tools Used in Writing

Figure 3. Types of AI Tools Used in Writing

Research Question 3: Theories or Concepts Mentioned in The Studies

Arab World English Journal 96

About the Authors

Arab World English Journal 99

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