Assessing Chat GPT's influence on English Academic writing Educational Prospects and Limitations

This study examines the effect of AI-based language tool ChatGPT on English academic writing. The research investigates the advantages and challenges of its application in educational contexts, specifically the ability to improve writing skills, help to overcome difficulties faced by language learners and combat academic integrity and critical thinking issues. The research is quantitative in nature and data is collected through survey from 250 students in different Pakistani universities. To ensure the representativeness of the sample, a random sampling approach is used. The data is processed on SPSS-28, frequency and percentage are reported for demographic information, while chatGPT benefits and barriers and educational implications have been measure on 5-point Likert scale. The findings suggest that ChatGPT is a generally successful tool to enhance academic writing with respect to grammatics, organization, and vocabulary. Furthermore, the tool was reported to boost students’ confidence and to help in saving time in writing and editing academic text. But the research also raises fears over the overuse of AI tools, which could lead to a degradation of students’ cognitive abilities, and the risks of this being violated with academic integrity, e.g. plagiarism or not being supported in proper citation. This study adds to our understanding of the ongoing narrative about the use of AI tools in educational settings within the field of English academic writing. It provides practical advice for educators and policy makers on finding a trade-off between the advantages of AI supported learning and maintaining academic integrity and enabling learner autonomy. The results highlight the need for responsible AI use policies, and training for students and educators.