Introduction

Has AI killed the essay? Do students actually need to learn how to write essays anymore? In a world of AI, how should we be reimagining reading and writing?

We know that over the last three years of the pandemic, the United States and many other countries saw unprecedented learning losses in students.

We also know these declines continue to happen at a pivotal moment in our technological history - a moment where anyone can enter a prompt with the words “create an essay on…” and instantly have a logically sound essay in seconds using AI.

As former teachers and fierce advocates for writing through their roles at Quill, Sherry Lewkowicz and Katie Moylan offer their perspectives on the role of writing, in addition to the work of Quill across schools.