Writing in the Age of AI: It’s Time to Show Your Work
When calculators arrived, math teachers said: “Show your work.” Now that AI can write essay for students, here is a 'show your work' approach to writing instruction.
When calculators entered classrooms, many feared the end of math education. But math didn’t die—it evolved and improved. Teachers didn’t stop giving equations. They started asking students to show their work. The process became the proof of understanding.
Today, writing faces its calculator moment. With AI tools like ChatGPT, students can generate an essay in seconds. Entire assignments can be completed without a single original thought. For many teachers and parents, it feels like the foundation of learning is slipping away.
But the problem isn’t the tool. It’s the way we assess writing.
If we keep treating writing as a finished product—a five-paragraph essay turned in and graded—we’ll keep losing ground. But if we treat writing as a thinking process, something that unfolds and can be made visible, then AI isn’t the end of writing. It’s the wake-up call.
That’s where Pressto comes in.
Pressto is a writing platform built for the AI era. It doesn’t just collect final drafts. It structures the student’s writing process, guiding them block by block. Students reflect, explain, cite, and build—piece by piece. The output isn’t just a polished paragraph. It’s a map of how they got there.
Teachers see the thinking. Students learn how to structure ideas, not just string sentences together. And families gain a way to support writing that goes beyond grammar checks and vague feedback.
In a world where AI can generate the answer, Pressto helps students show their work—and in doing so, learn how to think.
