A prompt like Explain Locke's theory of property can be answered by a chatbot in seconds, and the result often reads well enough to pass at a glance. Teachers worried about this do not need to abandon writing assignments. They need to design tasks that draw on the student's own reading, class discussion, and reasoning. Well-designed Locke assignments make genuine engagement the easiest path.

One approach is to tie prompts to specific class materials. Ask students to respond to an argument made by a classmate in a seminar, or to analyze a passage you selected and discussed. AI tools can only guess at the details of a class conversation, and their guesses tend to be visibly generic. This makes it easier to see whether a student has engaged with the actual course.

Another approach is to require process evidence. Ask for a brief proposal, an annotated passage, an outline, and a reflection on how the draft changed. Each of these creates a record of the student's thinking that is hard to fabricate all at once. It also gives you more points at which to provide feedback and notice trouble.

Prompts That Demand Specifics

Prompts that require precise textual work are harder to fake. Instead of asking about Locke's view of consent in general, ask students to analyze the argument in section 119 about tacit consent and explain whether the road example supports his conclusion. Require a specific quotation and a specific counterexample from the student's own experience or reading. Specificity narrows the space in which generic text can hide.

• Tie the prompt to a specific passage or section number discussed in class
• Ask students to respond to a named classmate's or your own argument from a seminar
• Require process artifacts such as an outline, annotations, and a revision reflection
• Include a short in-class writing component that establishes the student's baseline voice
• Invite students to apply Locke to a local or personal case with concrete details

Setting Clear Expectations

Students need to know what is allowed. Some instructors permit AI for brainstorming or grammar checks but not for drafting, while others prohibit it entirely. Whatever your policy, state it in the syllabus and repeat it on each assignment, explaining the reason behind it. Ambiguity leads to honest mistakes and to disputes that are hard to resolve.

Explain the reasoning as well as the rule. Tell students that the point of writing about Locke is to practice building and defending arguments, and that outsourcing the thinking defeats that purpose. Students who understand the purpose are more likely to comply than those who only see a prohibition. Conversations about integrity work better than threats.

Grading With Your Eyes Open

Signs of generic text include vague claims, no engagement with class discussion, and quotations that do not match the cited section. Instead of accusing students, ask them to discuss the paper with you. A short conversation about their thesis and evidence quickly reveals whether they understand what they submitted. This approach is fair, and it focuses on understanding.

Be cautious about relying on detection software, which can produce false positives and unfair accusations. Focus your rubric on qualities that are hard to fake, like specificity, engagement with course material, and depth of reasoning. Feedback tools such as GraideMind evaluate essays against the criteria you set, which helps you spot vague or off-prompt work without claiming to identify authorship. Your own judgment remains central.

Using AI as a Teaching Topic

Some instructors turn the issue into a learning opportunity by having students critique a chatbot's answer about Locke. They identify errors, missing nuances, and unsupported claims, and then write a better version. This teaches critical reading and shows the limits of automated text. It also gives students a concrete reason to care about the quality of their own work.

Whatever strategy you adopt, revisit it each semester as tools change. What works now may need adjusting next year. Keeping assignments tied to real thinking and real class experience is a durable principle, and it makes for better teaching of Locke.