Write it Yourself
You are sitting at your desk, looking at a blank screen, and thinking about where to start. You know what you want to say, but even if English is your first language, speaking it is easier than writing it. Here is some encouragement. Write an outline and then use the dictation function of your computer to provide the first written draft of your story.
Write the first draft yourself. Write it in English to the best of your ability. It doesn't have to be perfect. Focus on your ideas and don't worry about grammar or word choice. If you don't know an English word, write or say it in your spoken language and look it up later. Writing the first draft by yourself ensures that it will accurately communicate what you want to say about the study you just completed.
Where is your AI helper in all this? After all, it has already helped you to plan your study and interpret your research. AI is not a writing replacement. It is a writing assistant, Use it to improve your written English in a way that preserves your scientific meaning. AI is a tool for "language polishing," not "thinking." Your ideas, your logic, and your data are what matter. Do not ask the AI to write sentences for you as that can lead to inaccurate science and potential plagiarism issues. Instead, write your own sentences first and then use AI to improve them.
Here are some tips on using AI to edit your writing:
Work in sections (Abstract, Introduction, etc.) or paragraph by paragraph. After learning how to use your favorite editing application, ask it to correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It will have various settings to edit your text using an academic style, to reduce wordiness and repetition, and to make the writing more concise, which will improve your sentence structure and improve clarity and readability. Reducing wordiness and repetition, and making your writing more concise are key steps in improving your use of language. Some tools will check for consistent use of abbreviations and hyphenated words Carefully review the changes and ask yourself: "Did it change my intended meaning?" Then move to the next paragraph. When you are done, a final proofreading will catch minor errors that were not found earlier.
When you are done with that, compare the AI's version to your original. This is where you take back ownership of your manuscript. Is the science still correct? Does the manuscript still convey your intended meaning? Does it still pass the “domino test” (See the blog titled “Use an Editing Service?). Be sure to check for changes to numbers, units, and technical terms.
Remember that reading is easier than writing, so as you conduct your scientific review, check the language. The AI helper has compared your English usage with that in the documents that it was “trained” with, which can lead to grammatically correct sentences that are not appropriate for a scientific publication, like replacing “hypertension” with “high blood pressure.” Check for consistency. For example, use of both “participant” and “subject” when one term could be used throughout. Check connecting words like "however," "although," and "therefore." The AI editor might swap one for another, or deleted it, which changed the logic of your text.
After you have edited all the paragraphs, ask a co-author to read the entire manuscript aloud (or use a text-to-speech tool on your computer). Reading aloud helps catch errors that you didn’t see. You will hear if a sentence is too long, if a word is missing, or if the flow from one paragraph to the next is not smooth. This is the step where you take back ownership of the text from the AI.
By following this method, you use AI to overcome language barriers without losing your scientific voice. The final manuscript will be fluent, accurate, and truly your own work.