Translation and editing tools

Digital tools capable of language translation and editorial assistance have been available for decades. These include Google Translate, Microsoft Office proofing tools, and more recently applications like Grammarly. Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT now offer similar services and it is expected that other common applications will offer translation and editing functions in the future.

While student use of an application such as ChatGPT to generate assessment material without acknowledgement is considered misconduct, it is less clear whether the use of this or other digital tools for the purposes of translation and editorial assistance is acceptable.

Current state of technology

A number of translation and editing tools are now freely available which allow students to input text and ask for:

• A basic spelling and grammar check
• Suggestions to improve general readability
• The text to be paraphrased or neatly summarised
• The text to be edited to change the style or tone (eg ‘make it more academic’)
• The text to be translated into another language.

The quality of these tools has improved with technology such as neural machine translation and they are now capable of producing English at a university-standard level. Generative AI has propelled many of these developments, and is now integrated into applications such as Grammarly and Microsoft Office. Functionalities of this next-wave of digital writing tools, or functionalities of current translation and editing tools used in combination with generative AI tools, include:

• Predictive text
• Natural language commands for text generation
• Natural language commands for media creation (text to image, music, data visualisation, infographic, audio, video, animation, slide presentation)
• Dialogic feedback on writing process and text (spelling, grammar, syntax, style, content).

Academic integrity

Translation and editing tools could be used by students in a range of ways in the preparation of material for assessment. The way in which students use these tools, rather than which tools are used or whether they are used, is critical when deciding whether academic integrity has been compromised.

Use of translation and editing tools, particularly when used in combination with, or embedded in, applications with generative AI capabilities, may pose risks for academic integrity in multiple ways. These include, but are not limited to, a student’s use of translation and editing tools that:

• Extends to the point where the student is no longer expressing their own ideas
• Extends to the point where the student is no longer demonstrating their own understanding of the subject matter
• Provides an unfair advantage to the student in the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, particularly as they relate to clear expression and the communication of ideas
• Represents other types of misconduct, such as plagiarism from non-English sources.

Similar principles as those used for editors may be applied when considering the limits of use for digital tools. These include focusing editors on consistency and completeness and preventing changes to meaning. The University has articulated the limits of editorial assistance in the Graduate Research Training Policy (MPF1321), clause 4.77, which aligns to Standards D and E of The Australian Standards for Editing Practice.

Communicating acceptable use to students

A single set of instructions to all students is unlikely to reasonably reflect the range of possible acceptable and unacceptable uses of these tools. For that reason, it is recommended that:

• Staff be explicit with students about the acceptable use of translation and editing tools in their subjects and programs, and particularly as they relate to students’ preparation of materials for assessment. This should include directions on the acceptable use of translation and editing tools, with specific advice on what types of uses would constitute academic misconduct
• Staff provide advice to students in the first week of classes for each subject about the use of generative AI generally and the use of translation and editing tools specifically, and repeat this advice in advance of major assessment periods
• Students are reminded that any use of generative AI must be declared, and that this may now extend to applications such as Grammarly and Microsoft Office.

Student information on these tools is available including instructions on how to appropriately declare their use and reference any material produced that is included in submitted work. This information is also being worked into global student communications that are sent at key points in the academic calendar and the academic integrity education modules students are directed to complete at the start of their degrees.

Use scenarios and possible responses

The following are scenarios where the use of translation or editorial assistance are considered from an academic integrity perspective. Please refer to this information for academic integrity and generative AI in general.