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Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

Apr 13, 2023 • 14 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

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ChatGPT's latest version GPT-4 is a great teaching and writing assistant.

If used properly, it can save you a lot of time and labor.

But most folks don't know much about it.

Here's how to use GPT-4 as a teaching/writing assistant:

Open a voice recording app on your phone.

Set the timer for 25 min.

Start talking about your lecture or writing project as soon as the timer goes off.

Don't worry about organization or structure. Keep talking.

Stop when the timer stops.

Do another stint of 25 min if you feel up to it.

Start when the timer goes off. Stop when the timer stops.

Now open a blank document in MS Word and click on the "Dictate" button in the top-right corner.

Then play the recording on your phone.

MS Word will transcribe your voice recording.

Take a break while MS Word transcribes.

Reward yourself. You have done well.

You can also use a transcription app like Otter(dot)ai.
(Please note Otter requires a paid subscription.)

This way you won't have to wait while MS Word transcribes the recording.

I prefer MS Word because there are no timestamps or any other meta-data in the transcript.

You will get a document like this with a large block of text spread across several pages.

Below is a 19,000 words long transcript of a webinar I gave last week on how to become an efficient academic writer with AI apps.

No structure, no organization, no punctuation.

Next open GPT-4 and run the following prompt:

"If I give you a transcription of a talk I gave, can you please remove redundant words and make it coherent and cohesive?"

This prompt is meant to help GPT-4 get ready.

Now copy a few hundred words from the unstructured transcript and run them through GPT-4 with the following prompt:

"Please remove redundant words and phrases from the following passage and make it cohesive and coherent."

GPT-4 will structure and organize the text for you.

Want to learn about more AI-powered apps that will make your academic writing faster and easier?

I have a complete tutorial of 170+ slides for you. More than 1,000 academics are using it.

You can get it here:
efficientacademicwriter.carrd.co

This is a page before running it through GPT-4 with no structure or organization.

This is after having run the same page through GPT-4.

It is nicely structured and organized in paragraphs with proper punctuation and everything. And it's quite close to my personal style.

Run the whole transcript (page by page) through GPT-4 and you will have a great first draft of your lecture/article.

Do a couple rounds of editing to polish it further.

@MushtaqBilalPhD

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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 29

ChatGPT generates fake references to papers that don't exist.

So, researchers at Stanford built Storm.

It's an AI-powered app that generates well-researched articles with references to published sources. And Storm is free to use.

Here's how to use it:

1. Go to storm[.]genie[.]stanford[.]edu and click on "Get Started."

Create a account and log in.

2. In the search box, enter the topic you want to generate an article on.

Under the search box, type in the purpose of your article and what you want to achieve with it.

Then click on the right arrow and Storm will start researching the topic.

Read 10 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 28

Free: Sci-Hub, a "pirate" website with access to 84M+ research papers.

Free: Zotero, a reference manager.

Free: Google NotebookLM, an AI-powered research assistant.

Download papers from Sci-Hub directly to Zotero and read them with the help of NotebookLM.

Here's how:

1. Download Zotero Sci-Hub plugin

Go to this link: github(dot)com/syt2/zotero-scipdf
Replace the word "dot" with an actual [.]

Scroll down and click on "latest release xpi file."

This will download an "xpi" file to your computer.

2. Download Zotero Attanger plugin

Go to this link: github(dot)com/MuiseDestiny/zotero-attanger/releases
Replace the word "dot" with an actual [.]

Click on "zotero-attanger.xpi"

This will download another "xpi" file to your computer.

Read 11 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 26

Ten smart ways of using ChatGPT for academic purposes (that do not involve any plagiarism):

1. Project Management and Scheduling:

Sample Prompt:

Project Title:
Project Type:
Expected Start Date:
Expected Finish Date:
Follow very carefully the steps given below:
1. Carefully consider the scope and type of the project (if it is a journal article, conference paper, dissertation, presentation).
2. Consider carefully the primary and secondary academic fields relevant to the project.
3. Act as if you are a leading expert in the primary and secondary fields relevant to the project. You can proficiently explain the project using adequate technical knowledge and language.
4. Act as if you are an award-winning teacher who can break down extremely complex ideas into easily understandable language.
5. Keeping in mind the scope, type, and the academic field of the project, break it down in tasks that can be scheduled weekly. Do this very carefully. This breakdown should optimize for speed without compromising on authenticity of the project.
6. Breakdown the weekly tasks into subtasks that can be completed within a normal workday of six to eight hours.
7. Every subtask should be accompanied by one to two pieces of clear and actionable advice to carry out the subtask. Remind me constantly to focus on progress and not perfection.
8. While giving the schedule of the project, you must consider the importance of both mental health and the ability to meet deadlines. Strive to have a work-life balance.

2. Brainstorming Ideas

Start by asking a couple of “warmup” questions. This way you will get better suggestions. You can ask questions like, “Do you know about X?” and “Do you know about Y?”

Then ask how we can be related X with Y. After that ask ChatGPT to help you brainstorm research questions on the relationship between X and Y.

While brainstorming ideas, always start with a basic idea and build on that gradually.

Read 13 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 25

Getting past peer review is a challenge every researcher faces.

Paper Wizard is an AI app that can help you get past peer review.

Featured in Nature, scientists are calling it "the best [tool] for spotting statistical and methodological issues."

Here's how to use it:

1. Go to and sign up for a free account.

Once you sign up, you will receive one free credit. This means you can get one paper reviewed for free. paper-wizard.com

2. Convert your manuscript into a PDF. Drag and drop the PDF in Paper Wizard, and click on "Submit for Review."

It will go through your paper thoroughly. This may take up to 10 minutes.

You don't need to hang around. You will receive an email once your review is ready.

Read 6 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 25

Genspark's Downlaod Agent is a great and reliable tool to outsource your academic labor.

Give it details like your topic, citation count, time period, publisher, etc. and it will download the relevant papers for you.

Here's how to outsource your labor to Genspark:

1. Go to genspark[.]ai and sign up for a free account.

2. Above the chat box, click on "Download for me."

Type in your topic and mention the time period (e.g. papers published from 2000 to 2025). You can also ask it to only download papers published in rigorous academic journals.

The Download Agent will do the needful.

Read 14 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Jun 24

Writing a paper involves a lot of reading, drafting, revising, and formatting citations.

Yomu is an AI app that can streamline your whole writing process (without cheating).

Here's how to use it:

1. Go to yomu(dot)ai and sign up for an account.

2. In the left taskbar, click on "Chat with Yomu."

Yomu offers a bunch of LLMs including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Select an LLM of your choice.

In the chat bar, type in your topic and ask it to give you an outline.