Graduate students’ use of ChatGPT for academic text revision: Behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement

Abstract

Amidst the growing hype surrounding ChatGPT and its use for writing purposes, numerous studies have emerged, but there has been limited emphasis on investigating how individual students utilize it for text revision. Against this backdrop, the present study examined how six Iranian graduate ESL students from STEM fields engaged with ChatGPT when revising their academic research proposals. The study employed a tripartite multidimensional framework encompassing behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of engagement. Behavioral engagement was analyzed by studying students’ texts and their screencasts using ChatGPT for text revision. Cognitive and affective engagement were evaluated through students’ comments during stimulated recall of the screencasts, along with semi-structured interviews and follow-up surveys. The findings show that participants used ChatGPT behaviorally for lower-order concerns, relying on a training prompt. While they generally noticed and comprehended the feedback, they expressed doubts regarding its accuracy whenever necessary, implying a reasonably high level of cognitive engagement. Affective engagement revealed high satisfaction, with participants' favoring ChatGPT for paraphrasing to enhance professionalism in writing. The research offers insights for educators on how to effectively integrate ChatGPT into L2 writing classrooms.