One day, TikToker @kaybrynnh went to class, expecting a normal day, until she saw her essay up on the board for everyone to see.
The professor asked the room whose essay it was, so she raised her hand to claim it. He told her to come see him after class.
He then explained to her that there were em dashes throughout her paper, which meant to him that she had used AI to write her essay because only AI uses em dashes.
She was in disbelief, having assumed her college professor knew some of his students could write with em dashes. To her, they were simply a part of her personal writing style.
Em dashes are a standard punctuation tool taught in English classes for years. They are used to create emphasis, indicate an abrupt break in thought, or replace commas, colons, or parentheses.
Her professor told her that she would be receiving a zero on her paper because he strongly believed that she had used AI to write it.
She asked him if he had run her paper through an AI detection system.
He claimed that he didn’t need to since the presence of em dashes was all the proof he needed. She tried to defend herself, showing him all the research, sources, and citations she had pulled from to craft her essay, but none of it mattered because he still didn’t believe her.
Now, she doesn’t know what else to do and will end up failing the class over an accusation she insists is false.
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In the comments section, many TikTok users echoed her frustration, especially students, who feel that strong writing can now often be treated with suspicion.
Some admitted to altering their writing in order to avoid scrutiny. Others urged her to bring up the issue with the dean.
“AI has ruined my writing style because I’m so scared to use em dashes now because they only associate it with AI rather than actual people who understand literature,” commented one user.
“The fact that we were taught em dashes and the Oxford comma for years, and now are having it thrown back at us. We’re not using AI; we’re educated,” stated another.
“I literally stopped using em dashes and only use commas, even if it’s not correct grammar, I’m not risking it,” declared a third.
In an era where AI writing tools are becoming increasingly common, there are fears of being punished for originality and strong grammar.
Instead of taking pride in their work, students must make sure to be careful with the kind of punctuation they use on their pages. It just goes to show that something as simple as an em dash can spark such controversy.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
