EESTI ÜLIÕPILASTE ARVAMUS AKADEEMILISE TEKSTI OLEVIKUST JA TULEVIKUST
ESTONIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXT

Summary/Abstract: The increasing availability and quality of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in recent years bring the future of academic writing into question. The future writing practices will be shaped by the young people currently studying at universities, making it necessary to understand their views and attitudes regarding the present and future of academic writing. We conducted semi-structured paired interviews with 32 students from different public universities and levels of higher education. We asked how and why they use chatbots; why they write academic texts themselves; and how they envision the future of academic writing. The analysis of the interviews shows that chatbots have already become heavily involved in academic life. They are used at various stages of academic writing – during preparation, writing, and editing – as well as for translation and other tasks since students often lack time, motivation, or the necessary knowledge to write independently. The use of chatbots is either encouraged or required by the environment, such as homework instructions. At the same time, students still write (some) texts themselves because they enjoy the act of writing, value the chance for personal expression, recognize the importance of writing in learning, and/or experience a sense of achievement through writing. Their personal beliefs or fear of consequences prevent them from relying solely on chatbots. Students have different visions of how academic writing will change in the future. The most significant change is believed to be an increased use of AI. This may lead to changes – both improvement and decline – in the quality of the texts, in their level of complexity, in the way and place they are created, and in their purpose. That being said, several students believe that academic writing and its practices will not change significantly in the future.

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