The Impact of AI on Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking in Academic Writing

This study aims to investigate the effects of AI-assisted writing on students’ academic performance, particularly writing quality, and to explore students’ experiences using AI writing tools. In addition, it seeks to determine which aspects of writing (argumentation, coherence, depth, or organization) are most influenced by AI assistance and whether AI supports or replaces students’ existing writing abilities. The study involved ۲۰ students from a private institution who completed two writing tasks, one without AI assistance and one using AI tools (ChatGPT and DeepSeek), and participated in semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data from the writing tasks were analyzed using statistical comparisons and correlational analysis to examine the effects of AI assistance on different dimensions of writing quality. Qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed thematically to explore students’ experiences and perceptions of AI use. The results indicated that AI assistance significantly enhanced argumentation and coherence, while depth and organization remained largely unaffected. Correlational analysis suggested that AI tools reinforced rather than replaced students’ existing writing skills. These findings support the targeted integration of AI writing tools in academic instruction, emphasizing guidance on dimensions of writing less responsive to AI assistance.