SSCA Student Portal

The Use of AI in Writing

Since some SSCA instructors allow certain uses of AI and since generative AI is a source like any other, it must be cited accordingly. Therefore, the SSCA writing center is sharing the formatting rules published by APA, MLA, and Turabian for how to cite and reference such content. This document should not be interpreted as even tacit approval or permission for students to use AI in SSCA class assignments other than as specifically set forth in written assignment instructions.

	Citation	Reference/Works Cited/Bibliography
APA	Include a description of the prompt along with standard citation (OpenAI, 2023). The example below is given on the webpage linked above: When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).	OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model.] https://openai.com/
MLA	MLA does not allow AI to be named as an author of content. Rather, include a description of the search query in the works cited entry and use an abbreviated version of that in your citation (without the coloring, which is only included below for ready identification of the citation itself). The example is taken from MLA’s webpage on citing AI: While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.	“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Turabian	Turabian requires students to include the search query and name ChatGPT in the author field. The example below is taken from the Chicago Manual of Style (upon which the Turabian manual is based) webpage on citing AI: ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.	Not included in the bibliography since it is not retrievable.