Wayan Sugianti. (2026). The Use of Gemini AI in Improving Students’ Writing
Descriptive Texts in Grade 11 Students at SMAN 6 Palopo. Thesis. English
Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Cokroaminoto Palopo University. (Supervised by Rahmawati Upa’ and Andi
Mangnguntungi S).
This study examines the integration of Gemini AI as a digital writing partner in
improving students' writing descriptive text and explores their perceptions of its
implementation. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was applied in
this study to eleventh-grade students at SMAN 6 Palopo. In the quantitative phase,
data were collected through a quasi-experiment using writing tests (pre-test and
post-test), Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used. This non-parametric analysis
revealed a highly significant increase from pre-test to post-test scores (Z = -2.850b,
p = .004), with 12 students showing score improvements and zero students
declining. This proves that Gemini AI acts as an effective digital partner, as well as
a Likert-scale perception questionnaire to measure students' responses to Gemini
AI feedback, and qualitative data were obtained through interviews. In the
qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted to deepen the data
from the questionnaire results. Qualitative findings indicated very positive student
perceptions regarding the usability, linguistic functions, and affective benefits of
Gemini AI. Students highly appreciated the real-time corrections, bold marking,
and clear grammar explanations, which successfully reduced writing anxiety and
increased confidence. However, the high concentration of moderate responses also
highlighted challenges related to the risk of student dependency and passive copy
pasting. Based on the explanation above, the researcher concludes that
quantitatively, Gemini AI integration significantly improves SMAN 6 Palopo
students’ descriptive writing. Qualitatively, successfully boosts confidence and
reduces writing anxiety, but also poses an over-reliance risk (copy-pasting), thus
requiring structured teacher supervision.