Is AI essay feedback cheating? NESA, school policies and how to acknowledge AI use

It's the question every student (and every parent, and every teacher) is asking: is it cheating to get AI feedback on my essay?The honest answer has two halves. Feedback on a draft you wrote has never been cheating — it's how writing has always improved. And unapproved AI use in assessable work is malpractice, full stop. The whole game is knowing which side of that line you're on.

What the rules actually say in NSW

NESA's position is clear: AI use in formal RoSA and HSC assessment must abide by the existing academic integrity rules. All work you present must be your own, or be acknowledged appropriately. Submitting AI-generated work as your own is malpractice — it can mean zero for the task and an entry in NESA's malpractice register. Every HSC student signs up to this through "All My Own Work".

Two details matter. First, the word unapproved: schools and school sectors set their own policies on what AI use is allowed, so the same activity can be fine at one school and a breach at another — which is why "check your school's policy" isn't a disclaimer, it's the actual rule. Second, acknowledgement: the framework NESA applies is the same one that has always governed tutors, parents and study guides — undeclared help that crosses into authorship is the problem.

The line is authorship

Think about what teachers have always done with a practice essay: read it against the criteria, mark it, tell you what's working and what to fix — and hand it back for youto improve. Nobody calls that cheating; it's called teaching. Now compare two ways of using AI:

• Feedback:the AI reads what you wrote and tells you where it's weak against the criteria. Every word of the essay, before and after, is yours.
• Generation: the AI writes, rewrites or paraphrases sentences for you. The words are no longer yours — and no acknowledgement makes submitting them as yours okay.

This is exactly why Markis built without a "fix it for me" button. He marks your draft against your rubric like a teacher's first pass — score per criterion, quoted evidence, what to work on — and then the improving is yours to do. Feedback, never authorship.

How to acknowledge AI feedback

Where your school or university asks you to declare AI use (many now do, and most universities allow AI feedback on drafts in non-secured assessments provided it's acknowledged), honesty is simple. Something like:

"I used Mark That Paper (an AI marking tool) to receive feedback on a draft of this work against the assessment criteria. All of the writing, and all revisions, are my own."

One sentence. It costs you nothing, it's true, and it converts a grey area into a documented, defensible study practice.

A rule of thumb that never fails

Before using any tool, ask: "if my teacher watched me do this, would I be comfortable?"Getting your draft marked and improving it yourself passes that test the way asking a tutor "where am I losing marks?" passes it. Having anything write your sentences doesn't. If you're still unsure, ask your teacher — showing them the tool and how you're using it is itself a mark of integrity.