Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Apr 13 14 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
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. A yellow arrow points to th...
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. A red rectangle highlights ...
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. An image of an MS Word docu...
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.
Found this thread helpful?

1. Scroll to the top and hit the "Like" button on the first tweet.

2. Bookmark it so you can come back to it later.

3. Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular threads on how to supercharge your academic writing with AI-powered apps.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Apr 15
Thanks to ChatGPT, hundreds of AI apps are being released every week now.

But very few of them are meant for academic purposes.

Here are 15 AI-powered apps to supercharge your academic writing and reading — with free tutorials: twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
1. Jenni AI

A personal writing assistant that will make sure you never face the writer's block.
Read 23 tweets
Apr 14
Four academic misconceptions about artificial intelligence (AI):
1. AI-powered apps can do everything

Many academics assume AI apps can conceive a project, collect data, synthesize it, and publish original research — all one has to do is press a button.
This is more of a fantasy than an argument and shows that these academics don't have an informed understanding of what AI apps can and cannot do.

AI apps are tools and like any other tool they have their limitations.
Read 11 tweets
Apr 12
How to build an academic writing habit with ChatGPT in just one hour a day:
In his book "Atomic Habits," James Clear writes about habits that are so small we don’t even notice them.

But the power these habit have over us is immense.

He calls them atomic habits.

Although they are small, building atomic habits is very difficult.

Why?
If I go to the gym for a week, I'm still overweight at the end of it.

I don't see any change, and I give up.

That's because I expect habits to work in a linear manner. But that's not how they work.
Read 23 tweets
Apr 11
One of the most challenging aspects of academic writing: getting started on the first draft.

Audiopen is an AI-powered app that will make writing a first draft super-easy.

Here's how to use it:
Go to audiopen(dot)ai and sign up.
Press the mic button at the bottom of your screen and start talking about what you want to write.

After you are done talking, Audiopen will give you a coherent summary of your voice notes.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 10
Every PhD student has to choose a supervisor. But few know how to.

Joan Bolker, EdD, counseled PhD students for 30+ years at Harvard, MIT, and Brandeis.

Here is her advice on how to choose a supervisor:

(Reposting for folks who started following me recently)
Bolker says that ideally a PhD supervisor should be:

• a coach
• a mentor
• an editor
• a career counselor
• an expert in your field

Since we don't live in an ideal world, it's hard to find a supervisor with all these qualities.

So, you'd need to be strategic.
Reputation:

Bolker says you should start by checking out the reputation of your potential supervisor.

You can find relevant information about them through their former/current students.

Most importantly, find out what percentage of their students *finish* their degrees.
Read 15 tweets
Apr 9
Databases like Google Scholar have limited functionality. They let you use *only* keywords to search articles.

But what if you want to look up articles based on a whole paragraph, or your notes?

Sourcely is an AI-powered app that helps you do that.

Here's how to use it:
Go to sourcely(dot)net and sign up for an account.
Paste a short paragraph (of 300 characters) and Sourcely will show you relevant article and books.

This is useful. But if you want to take your search to the next level, try Sourcely Pro (currently priced at £4.99 per month).
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(