Text-response assignments on No Sugar are exactly the kind of task students may be tempted to hand to a chatbot. The play is widely discussed online, and generic essays about its themes are easy to generate. Teachers need a realistic plan that protects the learning without turning the classroom into a surveillance exercise.

Start with a clear, written policy that explains what is allowed. Some teachers permit AI for brainstorming but not drafting, while others prohibit it for graded work altogether. Whatever the rule is, explain the reason, because students are more likely to follow a policy they understand.

Design assignments that are hard to outsource. Tasks that require reference to class discussions, specific scenes chosen by the student, or in-class drafting leave less room for generic output. Process evidence, such as outlines and annotated drafts, also makes authorship easier to verify.

Assignment Design That Encourages Original Work

Specificity is your best defense. Generic prompts produce generic essays, while prompts that require personal interpretation and close engagement with chosen scenes produce distinctive work. Add a brief reflection in which students explain how their thinking developed.

• Require references to specific scenes and moments discussed in class
• Collect outlines, notes, and early drafts alongside the final essay
• Include a short in-class writing sample to establish each student's voice
• Ask students to reflect on how their argument changed during drafting
• State clearly which uses of AI are permitted and which are not

Being Careful With Detection

AI detection software is unreliable and can produce false accusations, which damages trust and may be unfair to students, especially English learners. Treat any detector result as a weak signal at most. Conversations with students about their work are usually more informative.

If you suspect misuse, ask the student to talk through their argument and explain choices in the essay. A student who wrote the work can usually do so easily, while someone who did not will struggle. This approach is more fair and more educational than relying on a score.

Using AI Openly and Responsibly

Some teachers choose to bring AI into the process openly, for instance by letting students receive rubric-based feedback on a draft and then revise. This models responsible use and keeps the tool in a supporting role. Students still do the thinking and the writing.

Make expectations explicit, including whether students should disclose AI feedback. Transparency builds trust and helps students learn where the line between support and substitution lies.

Building a Culture of Honest Work

Policies matter, but culture matters more. When students see that you value their ideas and respond to them carefully, they have more reason to write them. Meaningful feedback is itself an integrity strategy.

Revisit the conversation periodically as tools change. A policy written once and never updated will quickly fall out of step with what students actually encounter.