When my English teacher told my class that our first essay of the year would be written entirely in class, the room erupted with complaints and questions. When I sat down in my bright, white-lit English classroom to write the essay at 8:45 a.m., forming ideas was difficult. Other students’ typing and whispering and the rustling of books made it very hard for me to stay focused.
In the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, all English assessments will take place during class in hopes of limiting students’ AI use. This new policy allows students to work on their essays or other writing assessments only at school and during times their teacher approves. The new English department policy puts more stress on students and makes it harder for students to show their true writing ability.
When I write, it takes me a lot of time to create a thesis and find good evidence to support it. In my essay on The Great Gatsby, it took me a long time to find evidence to back up my thesis—this was never a problem at home, as I had ample time to search in the book.
“I think [the policy is] a good thing,” English teacher Jade Hage said. Hage explained that another core factor, other than curbing AI usage, in creating the new policy was limiting students’ stress while writing essays. “We [the English teachers] have been seeing that students are really anxious, and students are taking a long time, much more than is intended by the assignment.” I feel a lot more stressed writing in-class essays than I do working on essays. Having multiple days of being able to form an idea is much less stressful than having to work during a 70-minute writing period because I can put as much time into the assignment as I think I need.
When students want to work on their essays outside class, they have to finish their writing in the new writing zone or in the proctoring room. The writing zone is an English classroom that changes each period and is open to students who want to work on essays out of class. Both of these spaces take away from one of the only helpful things to come of the new policy: getting to ask your teachers questions while writing. When I had to finish my essay in the writing zone, my teacher was not there, and thus, when I wanted to ask her a question, I couldn’t.
Teachers can also give multiple class periods for their students to work on their writing assignments. Even though having multiple class periods to write does give me more time to think, having to take prolonged breaks from writing between class periods and free periods makes it easier to forget my ideas and harder to write fluidly.
Working at my desk at home is much more productive than working in the crowded, uncomfortable English classrooms. My study space at home has fewer distractions than my classroom and the writing zone because I am alone.
When I am trapped in a 70-minute period of straight writing and thinking, I tend to lose motivation and veer off track. Taking breaks during long periods of work improves attention-span, motivation and productivity—doing so is necessary to do your best work. When I can only work on my essays during class, I don’t want to take breaks from writing, as it would take away from my already shortened writing time.
Students’ AI use is important, and it should be limited, but in-class assessments are not the solution. The English department should allow students to work at home. Teachers can look at students’ writing process in a document’s history, or they can use software that checks for AI usage and plagiarism. There are other ways to curb AI use that do not make writing more difficult for students.