Perceptions of Students on the Use of AI Tools (Grammarly & ChatGPT) in Academic Writing at an Omani Private College

Abstract

The release of AI writing tools such as Grammarly and ChatGPT has affected the traditional methods of writing in which students do most of the work. These tools have made the writing process for students much easier than ever. However, there are gaps that students could exploit in these tools without putting any effort. This might make it easy for their academic studies, but it will affect them in their future career due to their dependency on AI and not building any skills. This research aims to investigate the Omani private college students' perceptions regarding the use of Grammarly and ChatGPT in academic writing. A mixed-method approach was used to collect data from 500 students through questionnaires and interviews. The findings reveal that students find Grammarly and ChatGPT extremely helpful for writing. However, some students have expressed concern that it affects their actual development as students regarding their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Future studies should investigate the effect that Grammarly and ChatGPT have on students' writing skills and critical thinking in Omani private institutions. Based on the findings, institutes should develop a balanced approach to improve students’ writing skills by restricting the overreliance on AI tools.