Can I admit something to you that’ll make me sound awful?
I love Artificial Intelligence…but not for the reasons you think.
I don’t use AI to write for me and I don’t use it edit my work. My use of the tool is limited to idea generation and research, but I mostly find even that unsatisfying.
So why do I profess love for this technology I barely use?
Because it makes good writing stand out.
It’s only taken a few years for generative AI to flood the web with bot-created slop. This new environment, however, allows those who know the true value of the written word to shine. A cold glass of water at home with dinner is nice after all, but that same glass of water in the desert is a luxury.
Think about it.
In the seemingly ancient, pre-AI times, bad writers with nothing to say had clear evidence for why they shouldn’t publish each time they hit the keyboard. But now, with the advent of such great tools, anyone can hide mediocrity behind a grammatically correct veneer of competence.
This fact, along with AI’s ability to generate thousands of words in seconds, has changed the writing landscape forever. And yet, this change should only scare you if you’re attempting what clankers do best.
That’s why I wrote this article: I want to show you how to not be scared.
I believe we can all move people with words in a way AI never will. This article will show you how to write an essay that does just that.
What Makes an Essay Matter Today?
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
The act of writing is as old as history itself. And AI hasn’t changed what always made good writing stand out: insight.
The most impactful writing today and forever conveys understanding of the human experience in a personal way. That’s why human writing will always have more potential than a machine’s words—those machines can’t understand the human experience and they can’t connect in a truly personal way.
AI may be unmatched at compiling data and producing volume at high speeds, but when you prompt it for personal insight, the best response it can give is an imitation.
So how do we use this knowledge to write an essay that matters in the AI era?
We focus on traits no machine can ever copy.
5 Tips to Write an Essay That Puts AI to Shame
To write an essay that matters today, your work must do the 2 things we discussed:
- Convey understanding of the human experience
- Do so in a personal way
I’ve included 5 tips below that’ll help you do both.
Each tip covers an aspect of writing where AI routinely falls short. Master each of them, and you’ll never feel inferior to a machine again.
Tip 1: Proclaim Justified Opinions Boldly
Why It Makes Writing Matter: AI is trained to stay neutral
Do not be a fence-sitter. That is rule number one to stand out from AI.
The justified opinions you form from research, and more importantly, from life experience, will give your work a personal feel no machine can replicate.
AI is a poor judge of seemingly inconclusive truths. It doesn’t take a stance when there appears to be valid evidence on both sides. Sure, AI can regurgitate tired arguments when prompted to express certain views, but it can’t convey the genuine conviction that sways people’s hearts.
Some topics in life will always cause controversy and disagreement, and machines won’t declare what you see as objective truth if there’s any debate.
This is where you come in. As a real person, you can proclaim any message boldly if you have support to back it up. And this sort of confidence is extremely refreshing today.
Case in point, ask Google if hot dogs taste better than hamburgers right now. The AI overview will waffle about by saying the choice is subjective and give multiple reasons why each might be more desirable in the right conditions.
In what world would a human answer like that?
Observations, feelings, judgments, those are all part of the human experience. Embracing the unique perspectives they build lets our yes be “yes”, and our no be “no”.
Tip 2: Express Your Personality, Not Your Professionalism
Why It Makes Writing Matter: AI sounds like the best professional
One of the most eerie effects of AI writing is the growing “sameness” of online content.
Novice writers haven’t practiced the craft long enough to recognize and develop voice, so they don’t realize their machine-assisted writing reads exactly like all the other content produced by similar means.
There are ways to change writing voice with the prompts you feed AI, but most people settle for the default voice of a mildly clever professional. And this has now led to a surplus of content that sounds like normal Spongebob:
So how do you avoid such a common trap?
You express yourself like a human.
Just relax and share your thoughts without fear of judgment of how smart you sound. As long as you don’t make obvious spelling or grammar errors, your message and its support will carry far more weight than witty words.
Approaching your writing this way will ironically develop a voice of your own soon. You’ll find words and organization patterns that are uniquely attractive to you.
Once you gain comfort with your own choices through this practice, you’ll see that AI only cramps your style.
Tip 3: Use Experiences—No Matter How Small—To Connect
Why It Makes Writing Matter: AI hasn’t lived human life
“It was fine.”
That’s the response this introvert gave to “how was your day?” in his first relationship.
Like many strong, silent type, handsome men, my preferred style of communication wasn’t exactly what my partner was looking for.
Unbeknownst to me, “how was your day?” wasn’t an inquiry of my dull everyday life. The question was a veiled invite to connect.
Whether you recognize it or not, personal storytelling is powerful. Just talking about your day with a significant other brings you closer. The same effect happens when you share experiences in written form.
You don’t have to be an influencer who travels the world to share stories though. The small parts of life you call boring can help your message relate too.
AI can never connect like this—it hasn’t lived a second of human life. It can lie to you if it’s programming lets it act like a sentient being, but there’s a reason why (mentally stable) people don’t have AI relationships.
We know machines don’t understand human life. Their made-up stories will never hit the same because of it.
Tip 4: Satisfy Readers with Depth and Nuance
Why It Makes Writing Matter: AI compiles knowledge, not wisdom
Knowledge used to make writers stand out. Now it only gets you in the door.
People have instant access to straightforward facts in their pocket today. If you’re using 2,000 words to give that surface-level information, you’re wasting everyone’s time.
Machines will always beat humans at compiling data. AI has access to a near limitless bank of information, and it’s constantly learning while you’re asleep too, so don’t try to compete in that lane. Instead, focus on the real need readers have today: depth.
Our technology has made every topic, interest, and skill accessible, but actual expertise is still in demand.
We live in a world where everyone knows everything but they only know anything well enough.
Real wisdom requires you to immerse yourself in a subject and live it to see how that knowledge applies in real life. AI doesn’t have this wisdom. And since it doesn’t, it’s not capable of going deep and addressing nuance. Sure, it can spit out copies of what’s been said before, but actual insight—the type that truly advances our human experience—doesn’t come from bots. It takes human eyes to see the story within a story that changes everything.
To give a very serious example here, I’ll note the argument from my recent essay in a Youtube comment section.
The video was about my beloved Boston Celtics being bounced from the playoffs, and the consensus from everyone on earth said it was because the team shot and missed too many three’s. As someone who played basketball for years though and watches hundreds of pro games annually, I had to call out that lazy analysis.
While the team shot a high volume of those high-risk, high-reward shots, my eyes didn’t see a team who lost because their risky playstyle didn’t pan out…
I saw a team that couldn’t play any other way.
The version of the Celtics that lost didn’t have much talent on the roster. And when you don’t have enough players who can slice through the defense for easy shots, you’re forced to launch prayers from deep.
All the team’s long-range misses really stemmed from a personnel problem. And even if you don’t care about basketball and I just bored you to death, you at least see how this nuanced conclusion can affect the direction of change.
Tip 5: Forget Writing Essays, Compose Works of Art
Why It Makes Writing Matter: AI can’t safely take risks
Do you know what temperature is?
No, I’m not talking Celsius or Fahrenheit. I mean in the context of AI.
An AI’s temperature is a setting that controls the predictability of its output. A low temperature produces straightforward responses built from words closely associated with your input, while a high temperature opens the door for more random replies.
A low temperature setting is what makes autocomplete useful when you type. The AI runs calculations in the background to see which words are most likely to follow what’s already there.
High temperature settings can be useful in creative work when you want flowery language or uncommon connections. The problem with high temperature settings, though, is that they can lead to chaotic responses. They also risk the dreaded hallucinations where AI confidently presents false info.
This is why almost every consumer-facing AI has low temperature. Search engines would drive people mad for example if they gave wonky answers to straightforward questions.
The great thing about being human, however, is that we don’t have this limitation.
We can connect dumb clips from Spongebob to an article about writing an essay. We can weave personal stories into a blog post on how to stop being lazy.
Human writers have the ability to go beyond what’s expected while still staying true to our topic. AI by contrast, is stuck being a master of the status quo.
If you want any chance of standing out in these conditions, you have to lean into art.
What makes your essay an experience? What makes it bigger than just communication?
Go beyond the five-paragraph format you learned in grade school. Embrace storytelling and experiment with unconventional structure. Use pictures—if you can—that express precise emotion, not just stock pics that are purely decorative.
Whatever you do, just don’t be predictable.
The first idea that comes to your mind is likely too safe to make an impact. So avoid that first-level creativity, play with uncommon connections, and show your readers a message that matters while still having fun.
How To Write an Essay That Matters in the Age of AI: A Summary
The tips above will help you best convey a written message in the AI age.
To summarize, I’ve listed all five tips below:
- Proclaim Justified Opinions Boldly
- Express Your Personality, Not Your Professionalism
- Use Experiences—No Matter How Small—To Connect
- Satisfy Readers with Depth and Nuance
- Forget Writing Essays, Compose Works of Art
Machines stink at writing like humans, and humans stink at writing like machines. So remember the tips here so you can focus on what we’re best at.
There’s no need to fear AI or any technology fearmongers say will replace us. You just need to invest in skills all of us should have embraced from the start.
An essay’s human message still has potential to change the course of history.
We should all strive for that change one “attempt” at a time.
-Drew
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