A tool for intervention and scaffolding. Easily exploited.

How I Use It

Quillbot is an AI-based application that can take any inputted text and rephrase it in several different ways. For educators, the functions of "Fluency" and "Academic" modes are most important. However, "Academic" along with every other mode aside from "Standard" and "Fluency" are behind paywalls. For the sake of this review, I tested both free modes within the context of historical writing on King Henry the Eighth for a secondary social studies class.

This application, obviously, is best utilized for students struggling with writing. It cannot be leveraged (with risk of false information) in lieu of content knowledge unlike ChatGPT, but the implications this app has outside of direct, supervised intervention are quite alarming. Allow me to demonstrate...

I had fed the application the following paragraph on King Henry the Eighth with an attempt to write in the style of a student in need of editing with regard to style and slight grammatical/subject errors:

"It became difficult for King Henry the Eighth to have a son. Because of that, Henry created the Anglican church. So many wives were executed, like Anne Boleyn, because the king thought he needed a son to be accepted by the people. The Pope would not let Henry have his divorces, so the king got really mad and made his own church."

This text, if not written by me, would be sufficient for me to assess that the student at least understands the 'gist' of the content. However, stylistically and verbally it is not up to par with high school level prose. Here's what Quillbot delivered to me in seconds under the "Standard" mode:

"King Henry the Eighth found it increasingly difficult to conceive a son. Henry founded the Anglican church as a result. The monarch believed he needed a son to be accepted by the people, which is why so many wives—including Anne Boleyn—were put to death. Henry became so enraged that he founded his own church since the Pope would not allow him to get divorced. "

Impressive. Check-mate, Quill! The varying of subject-nouns like "the monarch" is very powerful and can be pointed out to the student in real-time feedback. Here's what "Fluency" mode, proposed:

"It became difficult for King Henry the Eighth to father a son. Because of this, Henry established the Anglican Church. Many spouses were executed, including Anne Boleyn, because the monarch believed he required a son to be acceptable by the people. The Pope refused to grant Henry's divorces, so the king became enraged and founded his own religion. "

This one is...fine. The opening sentence is grounds for concern, however, as the term "father a son" is used colloquially to indicate the act of parenting a male child, not conceiving one; this was not Henry's issue. The third sentence is also, ironically, less fluent than the third sentence in the "Standard" mode. Clearly, this application needs some tweaking, and luckily users can endlessly rephrase text under the same mode.

Here is where the issues arise: Are we, as educators, to believe students will actually proofread with scrutiny the rephrasing of Quill? Not to be cynical, but I do not believe this to be likely without direct supervision and guided, modeled practice with the student in small-group interventions. This application seems best suited for workshop class periods, where students can be given feedback on writing in real-time from the instructor, and if necessary, directed to the resource under the instructor's supervision. This way, issues like "father a son" can be pointed out to the student, and emphasis on stylings like varying one's nouns ("the monarch") can be emphasized so the student gradually internalizes these critiques over time.