By Jim Shimabukuro (assisted by ChatGPT and Perplexity)
Editor
Summary: The article presents ChatGPT’s response to Stephen Marche’s essay, “The College Essay Is Dead,” focusing on its implications for college composition courses. Marche contends that widespread AI tools like ChatGPT make traditional essays—especially formulaic, five-paragraph formats—obsolete, urging instructors to rethink the essay’s role in teaching critical thinking. The article outlines several shifts: embracing more dynamic and authentic writing forms, teaching AI literacy and ethical use of generative tools, and revising assessment methods to prioritize process and in-class work. It concludes that, rather than ending writing instruction, Marche’s essay prompts much-needed pedagogical innovation and adaptation in higher education. (Perplexity)
This morning (7 June 2025), I asked ChatGPT: What are the implications of Stephen Marche’s “The College Essay Is Dead” (Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2022) for college composition courses? Part of why I asked is I don’t have a subscription to The Atlantic and, thus, didn’t have access to the whole article. Another is curiosity about the quality of the free tier of ChatGPT results. Yet another, and perhaps the most important, is concern about the future of college composition courses. The following is the response I received in a matter of seconds. In the discussion section attached to this article, please share your thoughts. Is this report accurate? Logical? Insightful? Fresh/original? Comprehensive? Useful? Provocative? Professionally sound? And finally, is the college essay dying or dead?
ChatGPT:
Stephen Marche’s provocative essay “The College Essay Is Dead” has significant implications for college composition courses. His central claim—that AI tools like ChatGPT render traditional college essays obsolete—challenges longstanding pedagogical practices in composition and prompts a reevaluation of both the purpose and methods of teaching writing in higher education.
Here are several major implications:
1. Reconsideration of the Essay as a Pedagogical Tool
Marche argues that the traditional essay, especially the five-paragraph format, is formulaic and disconnected from real intellectual engagement. This challenges composition instructors to ask:
- Is the essay still the best medium for teaching critical thinking, argumentation, and clarity of expression?
- Should composition pedagogy move away from rigid structures toward more dynamic, authentic forms of communication?
Implication: Courses may need to broaden their scope to include multimedia, narrative, and dialogic writing—forms less easily replicated by AI and more reflective of actual discourse outside academia.
2. AI Literacy as a Core Competency
If AI can generate serviceable essays in seconds, then students need to learn how to critically engage with, evaluate, and ethically use such tools.
Implication: Composition courses may shift toward teaching AI literacy:
- Understanding how large language models generate content
- Using AI for drafting and brainstorming, not just outsourcing
- Recognizing the limitations and biases of AI-generated texts
3. Assessment and Academic Integrity
Marche’s essay intensifies concerns about plagiarism and authorship. If AI can write convincing essays, how do instructors ensure that submitted work reflects student ability?
Implication: There may be a move toward:
- In-class writing and oral assessments
- Process-based evaluation (e.g., drafts, peer reviews, reflections)
- Creative assignments that are harder for AI to complete authentically
4. Renewed Focus on Rhetorical Situation
Marche critiques the generic nature of many essays assigned in college. Compositionists have long emphasized the importance of writing for real audiences and purposes.
Implication: Courses may increasingly:
- Emphasize rhetorical awareness—audience, genre, context
- Include real-world writing tasks (e.g., op-eds, grant proposals, blogs)
- Encourage writing that responds to current, contextualized problems
5. Professional Identity and the Role of the Writing Instructor
Marche’s critique may be seen as undermining the legitimacy of writing instruction, but it can also galvanize instructors to reaffirm their roles as mentors, not just graders.
Implication: Composition instructors may:
- Reassert the importance of writing as a thinking and learning process
- Shift emphasis from product to practice
- Foster classroom communities that value collaborative meaning-making
Summary
Marche’s essay is a wake-up call rather than a death knell. It challenges composition instructors to rethink what they teach and why. Rather than signaling the end of writing instruction, it opens space for innovation—emphasizing critical thinking, rhetorical awareness, process, and the responsible integration of new technologies.
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