# AI disclosure in a university assignment: how to document it when the course permits

> **The short answer**: An AI disclosure in a university assignment names the tool, its version and the date, says what you asked and what you kept, and sits in a note, the method section or an appendix. Your instructor decides whether AI is allowed. APA and MLA both ask you to credit the tool, and neither treats it as an author.[^1][^2]

**Key takeaways**

- Ask your instructor first and keep the answer in writing.
- Log the tool, version, date, prompt and what you used in one file.
- Do not list the tool as an author. APA and MLA each have their own pattern.
- Write the statement in short sentences: what the tool did, what you did.

![Document AI help in your assignment](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment-cover-en.webp)

A business student used an AI tool to order the ideas in a report and handed it in without a word about it. A week later the instructor asked about an oddly worded introduction, and the student had nothing to show. The scene is illustrative, yet it makes the point: disclosure is written while you work, not after someone asks. This guide is for students whose course allows AI and who want a record that holds up.

> **tiswa's take**: We think a plain log started in week one protects a student more than a polished statement written on the last night. The log is the evidence and the statement is its summary. This is an editorial view, and your instructor and university have the final say.

## Do you need to document AI use in an assignment?

If the course allows the tool, ask how the instructor wants it documented. Some want a line in a footnote and others want the chat attached as an appendix. If the syllabus says nothing, write and ask before you use it, then keep the reply. MLA advises citing a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote or incorporate what it produced, and acknowledging functional uses such as editing or translating in a note or in your text.[^1] If your course bans the tool, none of this applies and the ban holds. For the wider picture of university rules, read our guide to [AI rules at university](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/ai-academic-integrity-rules/).

## What should you record while you work?

Open one file for the course and log five things at each use. The table is an example template, not a requirement.

| Field | What to write | Example (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Tool and version | Name and the most specific version shown | A chat assistant, version as the interface displays it |
| Date | The day you used it | The day of your chat |
| Prompt | The text you sent | Summarise three paragraphs from my source |
| What you used | The part that entered your work and how you changed it | Kept the heading order, rewrote every paragraph |
| What you rejected | What you left out and why | Dropped a reference I could not find |

![Four-step disclosure statement](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment-inline-2-en.webp)


This log replaces a memory you will not trust in a month. MLA warns that a tool may cite sources wrongly or not at all, so check every source it names, and if you rely on one without opening it, treat it as a secondary source.[^1]

## What is the APA citation for ChatGPT and how does MLA differ?

Neither style lets the tool be an author. MLA says not to list it as one, and asks you to describe the generated content, name the tool as the container, give the most specific version, the publisher, the date it generated the content, and the tool’s URL.[^1] APA treats the output as the product of an algorithm, not a personal communication, so it goes in the reference list with the company as author and a bracketed description such as large language model. APA also suggests putting long responses in an appendix that the paper points to, and describing in the method section how you used the tool.[^2] The details of each pattern are in our guides to [APA citation](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/apa-citation/) and [MLA citation](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/mla-citation/). Guidance changes between editions, so check the style’s own page and what your instructor demands.

## How do you write the disclosure statement?

1. **Name the tool**: Give its name, version and the date you used it.
2. **State the task**: Say whether you used it for ideas, summaries, language checking or translation.
3. **Separate its work from yours**: Say what you took, what you wrote and what you verified.
4. **Attach the evidence**: Put key prompts in an appendix if your instructor asks.

![Usage log template (AI disclosure in a university assignment)](https://tiswa.app/assets/blog/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment/ai-disclosure-statement-assignment-inline-1-en.webp)


A sample you can adapt, written as an example: "I used a chat assistant to suggest an order for my headings and to check the grammar of the last paragraph. I wrote the paragraphs myself, checked every reference against its source, and attached my prompts as Appendix A." It is short, it neither apologises nor boasts, and each clause describes an act you can prove. If your log does not back a sentence, do not write it.

## What if you are accused of plagiarism after using AI with permission?

Bring your log and the instructor’s reply to the first meeting, plus the drafts that show how the work developed. Read our guide to [AI detection at university](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/ai-detection-university/) to understand what detectors can and cannot show, and our guide to [avoiding plagiarism](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/avoid-plagiarism/) for what universities treat as plagiarism. Talk calmly with the instructor before filing any formal complaint, since many disputes end once the log is on the table. And never deny using a tool you did use, because denial turns a citation question into an honesty question.

If you use AI to study rather than to write, the workflow in our guide to [using AI for studying](https://tiswa.app/en/blog/chatgpt-student-study-workflow/) keeps the learning with you. The difference between the two uses also changes what you need to disclose.

## How do you keep tool costs down?

Paid tools and devices eat into a budget. The [student deals](https://tiswa.app/en/deals/) page lists offers for students with a university card, so look there before you subscribe.

Before you subscribe to a paid tool or buy a device for study, browse student discounts in one place and keep your student card ready. [Browse student deals](https://tiswa.app/en/join/)

## Questions

### How do you document AI use in a university assignment?

Log the tool, version, date, prompt and what you used, then write a short statement as your instructor asks, with prompts in an appendix if required.

### What is the APA citation for ChatGPT?

No. MLA says not to list the tool as an author, and APA places the company as author with a bracketed description. Follow the style your course uses.

### Does AI detection flag work you disclosed?

Detectors are unreliable evidence on their own, so a disclosed log matters more than any detector score. If you used AI only for proofreading, MLA still advises acknowledging functional uses such as editing in a note or in your text.

### Where does an AI disclosure statement go?

In a note, the method section or an appendix, depending on the course instructions. APA suggests describing the use in the method section and placing long responses in an appendix.

### What if the syllabus says nothing about AI?

Write to the instructor and ask before you use the tool, then keep the reply. Silence in a syllabus is not permission.


## Sources

[^1]: MLA Style Center: How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?, https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/
[^2]: APA Style: How to cite ChatGPT, https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt
[^3]: Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia, https://moe.gov.sa/ar/Pages/default.aspx