fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Survey reveals students' mixed feelings about writing with artificial intelligence

Phys · · 713 words · By Anke Sauter
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Survey reveals students' mixed feelings about writing with artificial intelligence

A survey conducted by Goethe University's Schreibzentrum among 4,048 participants examines students' ambivalent attitudes toward using AI in academic writing. While many students find AI helpful for efficiency, they express concerns about skill loss and critical thinking, leading the study to recommend that universities establish clear guidelines and AI literacy initiatives.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Survey reveals students' mixed feelings about writing with artificial intelligence Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Most students use AI—but their attitudes toward it are ambivalent.

Why it matters

On the one hand, they see it as helpful for working more efficiently, broadening their knowledge, and overcoming writing difficulties.

Common ground

On the other, they worry about becoming overly dependent on it and losing important skills, while also recognizing the value of writing without AI support.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

A survey conducted by Goethe University's Schreibzentrum among 4,048 participants examines students' ambivalent attitudes toward using AI in academic writing. While many students find AI helpful for efficiency, they express concerns about skill loss and critical thinking, leading the study to recommend that universities establish clear guidelines and AI literacy initiatives.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-survey-reveals-students-artificial-intelligence.ht…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 9
help Insufficient Evidence 1
schedule Pending 1
info
Claim 1: “Another 18% manage to use AI responsibly, for example as a "sparring partner" for exchanging ideas”
SINGLE SOURCE
Although listed as 'No evidence found' in the evidence section, the evidence for Claim 7 explicitly contains the text: 'Another 18 percent manage to use AI responsibly, for example as a “sparring partner” for exchanging ideas'. This confirms the claim via the same single source as the other survey findings.
info
Claim 2: “Of respondents, 10% reject AI use entirely.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. No other independent source corroborates this specific finding.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ten percent of respondents reject AI use entirely. Another 18 percent manage to use AI responsibly, for example as a “sparring partner” for exchanging ideas – including critical engagement with the AI…
https://idw-online.de/de/news871065
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — High performers use AI to drive growth, innovation, and cost: Eighty percent of respondents say their companies set efficiency as an objective of their AI initiatives, but the companies seeing the mos…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/think-deeply-14-almost-all-su…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Deloitte survey of 4,150 UK adults found that just over half of the population had heard of generative AI, with around one in 10 respondents – the equivalent of approximately four million people –…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/14/more-than…
help
Claim 3: “72% are tempted, particularly while reading, to let AI take over entire tasks in a "ghost" role”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this specific claim.
schedule
Claim 4: “Nora Hoffmann et al, "Manchmal muss ich mich aktiv zum selbst denken motivieren." Bericht zur Studierendenbefragung 2025 zum akademischen Schreiben mit KI (2026). DOI: 10.21248/gups.97289”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 5: “92.2% said they felt responsible for the texts they submitted”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. No other independent source corroborates this specific finding.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Slightly more than half of respondents said they felt they accomplished less independently when using AI, while 45.5 percent worried about losing their ability to think critically. At the same time, 9…
https://idw-online.de/de/news871065
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Our results show that over half of Verasight respondents (52%) report feeling that Verasight pays them more fairly than other survey panels that they are a member of, compared to about a third of resp…
https://www.verasight.io/post/do-your-survey-respondents-fee…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Table 1 displays information on survey sampling, recruitment, and response rates. About 11% of the text survey invitations bounced, and similarly call staff recorded about 11% of phone numbers on the …
https://www.surveypractice.org/article/85141-demographic-and…
info
Claim 6: “According to the survey, 89% of students use AI tools such as ChatGPT or DeepL in their academic writing”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this specific claim is irrelevant (Wikipedia entry for the number 89), but the context of the other claims suggests this data comes from the 'Studying in the Age of AI' article. No other independent source corroborates this specific percentage.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In rugby union football, an "89" or eight-nine move is a phase following a scrum, in which the number 8 catches the ball and transfers it to number 9 (scrum half).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/89_(number)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Psalm 89 - A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+89&versio…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 7, 2025 · We trace this trend from the "seven ate nine" joke through @ymsquekz's viral repetition video, KFC's posts, and the explosive moment when the Grinch at Universal Studios rejected 67 for …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vxt3wi5C1w
info
Claim 7: “45.5% worried about losing their ability to think critically.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. No other independent source corroborates this specific finding.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Slightly more than half of respondents said they felt they accomplished less independently when using AI, while 45.5 percent worried about losing their ability to think critically. At the same time, 9…
https://idw-online.de/de/news871065
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 1000 American respondents.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466132…
info
Claim 8: “78% described writing as an important way to develop ideas and learn.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are generic and do not mention the specific survey or the 78% figure.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — It's a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers. This empowers people to learn from each other and to better understand the world.
https://www.quora.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Get your free Author 2.0 Blueprint at: http://www.TheCreativePenn.com/blueprintElle Casey is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author of ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MepPAOkWUME
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Usage of linking words is important in IELTS writing. They help create clear connections between ideas in your writing. They improve the flow of your essay by showing relationships between paragraphs …
https://writing9.com/text/6a0364a6312e6c0011a3e7f3-first-imp…
info
Claim 9: “These are among the findings of a recent survey conducted by Goethe University's Schreibzentrum with 4,048 participants.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the provided web search results for this specific claim are irrelevant (biographies of Goethe), the results for subsequent claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7) all originate from a single article titled 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. This indicates the survey exists, but only one source is providing the specific details of the survey's methodology and participant count.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[a] (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 22, 2026 · Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, and critic who was considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. He is especiall…
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goe…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — History of the Goethe-Institut Explore the history of the Goethe-Institut and discover surprising, curious, and fascinating moments from more than 75 years of international cultural and language work.
https://www.goethe.de/en/index.html
info
Claim 10: “Slightly more than half of respondents said they felt they accomplished less independently when using AI”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. No other independent source corroborates this specific finding.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Slightly more than half of respondents said they felt they accomplished less independently when using AI, while 45.5 percent worried about losing their ability to think critically.
https://idw-online.de/de/news871065
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Almost all survey respondents say their organizations are using AI, and many have begun to use AI agents. But most are still in the early stages of scaling AI and capturing enterprise-level value.
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insig…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Join us for a comprehensive survey of techniques designed to unlock the full potential of Language Model Models (LLMs).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahnGLM-RC1Y
info
Claim 11: “AI is used less frequently for analyzing research texts or drafting and revising substantive content: only about one-third of respondents reported using it for these purposes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Studying in the Age of AI: Survey reveals students’ mixed feelings...'. No other independent source corroborates this specific finding.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — AI is used less frequently for analyzing research texts or drafting and revising substantive content: only around one-third of respondents reported using it for these purposes. “The majority of studen…
https://idw-online.de/de/news871065
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An AI detector (also called an AI checker or AI content detector) analyzes text to evaluate how likely it was generated by AI. It searches for patterns common to AI-generated text and determines how l…
https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — High performers use AI to drive growth, innovation, and cost: Eighty percent of respondents say their companies set efficiency as an objective of their AI initiatives, but the companies seeing the mos…
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insig…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.