I got flagged by an AI writing detector for a paper I wrote myself. What do I do?

[Disser]

I'm freaking out right now. My professor emailed me saying my essay was flagged by an AI writing detector and she wants to meet to discuss it. The thing is, I wrote this paper entirely myself. I spent weeks on it, went to office hours, did multiple drafts. I didn't use ChatGPT for anything except maybe brainstorming some initial ideas, and even then, I didn't copy anything. I'm an international student, and I've read that detectors are biased against non-native English writers . Is that what's happening here? How do I prove I wrote my own paper? I have Google Docs history with timestamps showing my writing process over several weeks. Will that be enough? I'm terrified of being accused of cheating when I did nothing wrong. Has anyone else been through this? How did you handle the meeting with your professor?

 

[LarryNolk]

This is terrifying but you have something many accused students don't: actual proof.

Here's your game plan:

Before the meeting:

• Open your Google Doc and click "File" → "Version history" → "See version history"
• Take screenshots showing the dates/times of your edits over the weeks
• Note any major revision moments (like when you added the thesis, when you rewrote the intro)

During the meeting:

• Stay calm and respectful. Your professor isn't the enemy — they're following protocol
• Show your evidence immediately. "I understand why you'd be concerned, but I have documentation of my writing process I'd like to share"
• Explain your brainstorming process, including that you used ChatGPT for initial idea generation but wrote everything yourself
• Mention the documented bias against non-native writers if relevant

The key is being prepared, not defensive.