UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Education
⋄
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT 05
Academic Proficiency in English for Student Teachers — 2026
⋄
Module Code: EST1501
Module Name: Academic Proficiency in English for Student
Teachers
Assessment No.: 05
Total Marks: 70
Unique Number: 664364
Opening Date: 1 October 2026
Due Date: 30 October 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
Academic Proficiency in English for Student Teachers at the University of South Africa.
, UNISA | EST1501 Academic Proficiency in English: Assessment 05
Question 1: Draft Essay
1.1 Keeping the image and poem in mind, write a draft essay on the following topic: The use of
Artificial Intelligence for Higher Education Students.
The draft below follows the required six-paragraph structure: an introduction, four body paragraphs
(benefits, challenges, ethical considerations, and whether AI use is supported) and a conclusion. Edit-
ing and revision are shown in the text: struck-through words were deleted, and words in blue were
added during revision.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence for Higher Education Students
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is when computers do things that people dorefers to computer sys-
tems that are designed to learn, reason and use language in ways that are usually associated
with human intelligence (Russell and Norvig, 2021). The image abovethat accompanies this
topic shows a glowing chip marked “AI” with lines coming out of itat the centre of a web of
circuit paths, which suggests a single source of power that reaches into everything around it.
The poem says the same thingmakes a similar point when it calls AI “a tool of wonder, bright
and strange” (Anon., n.d.). Students use AI a lot now.Higher education students now meet this
tool daily, and the question is no longer whether they will use it but how well they will use it.
In my essay I will talk about the good things, the bad things and the ethics.The essay first con-
siders the benefits of AI for higher education students, then the challenges they face, and then
the ethical questions that arise. It closes by stating whether the use of AI by these students
deserves support, before drawing the ideas together in a conclusion.
Paragraph 2: Benefits of AI for higher education students
One benefit of AI is that it helps students.The first benefit of AI is personalised and immediate
support. A student who doesnt understandis unsure how a concept works can ask an AI tool
for an explanation at any timehour and ask againrequest another one in simpler words until it
makes sense. Kasneci et al. (2023) explain that large language models can adapt to the needs
of each studentpreferences, abilities and needs of individual learners, which a lecturer with
hundreds of students cannot always do. This is good for South Africa.This matters in South
Africa, and especially in open distance learning at Unisa, where contact with lecturers is lim-
ited and many students study in a second or third language. A student teacher who is unsure
Page 1 of 7
College of Education
⋄
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT 05
Academic Proficiency in English for Student Teachers — 2026
⋄
Module Code: EST1501
Module Name: Academic Proficiency in English for Student
Teachers
Assessment No.: 05
Total Marks: 70
Unique Number: 664364
Opening Date: 1 October 2026
Due Date: 30 October 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
Academic Proficiency in English for Student Teachers at the University of South Africa.
, UNISA | EST1501 Academic Proficiency in English: Assessment 05
Question 1: Draft Essay
1.1 Keeping the image and poem in mind, write a draft essay on the following topic: The use of
Artificial Intelligence for Higher Education Students.
The draft below follows the required six-paragraph structure: an introduction, four body paragraphs
(benefits, challenges, ethical considerations, and whether AI use is supported) and a conclusion. Edit-
ing and revision are shown in the text: struck-through words were deleted, and words in blue were
added during revision.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence for Higher Education Students
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is when computers do things that people dorefers to computer sys-
tems that are designed to learn, reason and use language in ways that are usually associated
with human intelligence (Russell and Norvig, 2021). The image abovethat accompanies this
topic shows a glowing chip marked “AI” with lines coming out of itat the centre of a web of
circuit paths, which suggests a single source of power that reaches into everything around it.
The poem says the same thingmakes a similar point when it calls AI “a tool of wonder, bright
and strange” (Anon., n.d.). Students use AI a lot now.Higher education students now meet this
tool daily, and the question is no longer whether they will use it but how well they will use it.
In my essay I will talk about the good things, the bad things and the ethics.The essay first con-
siders the benefits of AI for higher education students, then the challenges they face, and then
the ethical questions that arise. It closes by stating whether the use of AI by these students
deserves support, before drawing the ideas together in a conclusion.
Paragraph 2: Benefits of AI for higher education students
One benefit of AI is that it helps students.The first benefit of AI is personalised and immediate
support. A student who doesnt understandis unsure how a concept works can ask an AI tool
for an explanation at any timehour and ask againrequest another one in simpler words until it
makes sense. Kasneci et al. (2023) explain that large language models can adapt to the needs
of each studentpreferences, abilities and needs of individual learners, which a lecturer with
hundreds of students cannot always do. This is good for South Africa.This matters in South
Africa, and especially in open distance learning at Unisa, where contact with lecturers is lim-
ited and many students study in a second or third language. A student teacher who is unsure
Page 1 of 7
