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HS CIC: Citing AI

When should you cite?

From the Modern Language Association of America (MLA),

Students should “cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.” (This MLA resource also provides specific guidance on citing a range of AI texts, including visuals, quotations from other texts, and secondary sources.)

The MLA also recommends that students should acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing their prose or translating words) in a note, the text or another suitable location. 

From the IBO,

“As with any quote or material from another source, it must be clear that AI-generated text, image or graph included in a piece of work, has been copied from such software. The software must be credited in the body of the text and appropriately referenced in the bibliography.” We also expect that, as with other sourced material, any quotations from AI technologies are evaluated and critiqued in order to show critical understanding."

From the American Psychological Association (APA),

States that for “literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction.”

Guidance on when to use AI

This is an incomplete list of potential appropriate uses of AI in your academic work.  As always, please follow your teachers' guidance first.

  • Analyze large sets of data
  • Create an initial list of sources to explore in more depth
  • Brainstorm a list of questions or topics to guide further research
  • Support the writing of code
  • Solicit critical feedback on a writing sample
  • Aid in the editing and revision process
  • Create data visualizations

Guidance is dependent on course, assignment, and teacher.

*Any material generated by AI and used in your work must be cited.*

Example

In-Text Citations

In-Text Examples:

Paraphrased:
While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

Quoted:
When asked to describe the symbolism of the green light, ChatGPT provided four possible meanings including, “the illusory nature of the American Dream.”

Citation: 

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Acknowledged:
Chat GPT 3.5 was used to generate a list of of symbols for this analysis.

OR

ChatGPT 4.0 was used to analyze the dataset in this report. 

OR

Barbie Selfie Generator was used to create the images on this page.

MLA Citations for AI Tools

How to find Location for ChatGPT:

Citation Examples

"Description of" prompt. AI Tool Name, Version, Company, Date content was generated, URL.

 

Selfie of Marion. Barbie Selfie Generator, 2023, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 3 Aug. 2023, https://www.barbieselfie.ai/.