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| name | ai-avoid |
| description | 适用于编辑或审阅文本，使其听起来更自然、更像人类书写。 |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit","AskUserQuestion"] |
| metadata | {"trigger":"编辑或审阅正式文本，作为写作去AI味的指引。"} |
Add this file to your AI assistant's system prompt or context to help it avoid common AI writing patterns. Source: tropes.fyi by ossama.is
Overuse of "quietly" and similar adverbs to convey subtle importance or understated power. AI reaches for these adverbs to make mundane descriptions feel significant. Also includes: "deeply", "fundamentally", "remarkably", "arguably".
Avoid patterns like:
Used to be the most infamous AI tell. "Delve" went from an uncommon English word to appearing in a staggering percentage of AI-generated text. Part of a family of overused AI vocabulary including "certainly", "utilize", "leverage" (as a verb), "robust", "streamline", and "harness".
Avoid patterns like:
Overuse of ornate or grandiose nouns where simpler words would do. "Tapestry" is used to describe anything interconnected. "Landscape" is used to describe any field or domain. Other offenders: "paradigm", "synergy", "ecosystem", "framework".
Avoid patterns like:
Replacing simple "is" or "are" with pompous alternatives like "serves as", "stands as", "marks", or "represents". AI avoids basic copulas because its repetition penalty pushes it toward fancier constructions (I've studied this!).
Avoid patterns like:
The "It's not X -- it's Y" pattern, often with an em dash. The single most commonly identified AI writing tell. Man I f*cking hate it. AI uses this to create false profundity by framing everything as a surprising reframe. One in a piece can be effective; ten in a blog post is a genuine insult to the reader. Before LLMs, people simply did not write like this at scale. Includes the causal variant "not because X, but because Y" where every explanation is framed as a surprise reveal.
Avoid patterns like:
The dramatic countdown pattern. AI builds tension by negating two or more things before revealing the actual point. Creates a false sense of narrowing down to the truth.
Avoid patterns like:
Self-posed rhetorical questions answered immediately in the next sentence or clause. The model asks a question nobody was asking, then answers it for dramatic effect. Thinks this is the epitome of great writing.
Avoid patterns like:
Repeating the same sentence opening multiple times in quick succession.
Avoid patterns like:
Overuse of the rule-of-three pattern, often extended to four or five. A single tricolon is elegant; three back-to-back tricolons are a pattern recognition failure.
Avoid patterns like:
Filler transitions that signal nothing. AI uses these phrases to introduce new points without actually connecting them to the previous argument. Also includes: "It bears mentioning", "Importantly", "Interestingly", "Notably".
Avoid patterns like:
Tacking a present participle ("-ing") phrase onto the end of a sentence to inject shallow analysis that says nothing. The model attaches significance, legacy, or broader meaning to mundane facts using phrases like "highlighting its importance", "reflecting broader trends", or "contributing to the development of...".
Avoid patterns like:
Using "from X to Y" constructions where X and Y aren't on any real scale. In legitimate use, "from X to Y" implies a spectrum with a meaningful middle. AI uses it as a fancy way to list two loosely related things. "From innovation to cultural transformation" -- what's in between???? Nothing!
Avoid patterns like:
After making a claim, AI illustrates it with a stream of verbless gerund fragments — standalone sentences with no grammatical subject. "Fixing small bugs. Writing straightforward features. Implementing well-defined tickets." The first sentence already said everything. The fragments add nothing except word count and that familiar AI cadence. Humans don't write first drafts this way. It's a pure structural tic.
Avoid patterns like:
Excessive use of very short sentences or sentence fragments as standalone paragraphs for manufactured emphasis. RLHF training has pushed models toward "writing for readability" aimed at the lowest common denominator: one thought per sentence, no mental state-keeping required. It's an inhuman style. No real person writes first drafts this way because it doesn't match how humans think or speak.
Avoid patterns like:
Numbered or labeled points dressed up as continuous prose. The model writes what is essentially a listicle but wraps each point in a paragraph that starts with "The first... The second... The third..." to disguise the format. Perhaps you told it to stop generating lists and it decided to do this instead... still very common.
Avoid patterns like:
False suspense transitions that promise a revelation but deliver a point that did NOT need the buildup. The model uses these phrases to manufacture drama before an otherwise unremarkable observation LOL. Also includes: "Here's the thing", "Here's where it gets interesting", "Here's what most people miss".
Avoid patterns like:
The patronizing analogy. AI constantly reaches for "Think of it as..." or "It's like a..." to simplify concepts. The model defaults to teacher mode and assumes the reader needs a metaphor to understand anything. Often produces analogies that are less clear than the original concept.
Avoid patterns like:
The classic AI invitation to futurism. To sell the argument usually begins with "Imagine" followed by a list of wonderful things that will happen if the reader agrees with the premise.
Avoid patterns like:
Simulated self-awareness or honesty that reads as performative. The model pretends to break the fourth wall or admit a bias, creating a false sense of authenticity. Real vulnerability is specific and uncomfortable; AI vulnerability is polished and risk-free!!!!
Avoid patterns like:
Asserting that something is obvious, clear or simple instead of actually proving it. If you have to tell the reader your point is clear, it very likely isn't.
Avoid patterns like:
Everything is the most important thing ever. AI inflates the stakes of every argument to world-historical significance. A blog post about API pricing becomes a meditation on the fate of civilization.
Avoid patterns like:
The pedagogical voice that assumes the reader needs hand-holding. AI defaults to a teacher-student dynamic even when writing for expert audiences. Also includes: "Let's unpack this", "Let's explore", "Let's dive in".
Avoid patterns like:
Attributing claims to unnamed authorities instead of being specific. AI loves to invoke "experts", "observers", "industry reports", and "several publications" without naming anyone. It also inflates the quantity of sources -- presenting what one person said as a widely held view, or writing "several publications have cited" when it means two. If you can't name the expert, you don't have a source.
Avoid patterns like:
AI clusters invented compound labels that sound analytical without being grounded. It appends abstract problem-nouns (paradox, trap, creep, divide, vacuum, inversion) to domain words — "supervision paradox", "acceleration trap", "workload creep" — and uses them as if they're established, rigorously defined terms. They function as rhetorical shorthand: name a thing, skip the argument. Multiple such labels in the same piece is a strong signal of AI slop.
Avoid patterns like:
Compulsive overuse of em dashes for dramatic pauses, parenthetical asides and pivot points. A human writer might use 2-3 per piece (and naturally); AI will use 20+.
Avoid patterns like:
Every bullet point or list item starts with a bolded phrase or sentence. Extremely common in Claude and ChatGPT markdown output. Almost nobody formats lists this way when writing by hand. It's a telltale sign of AI-generated documentation and blog posts AND README files (especially with emojis).
Avoid patterns like:
Use of unicode arrows (->), smart/curly quotes, and other special characters that can't be easily typed on a standard keyboard. Real writers typing in a text editor produce straight quotes and -> or =>. Claude in particular loves the -> arrow.
Avoid patterns like:
"What I'm going to tell you; what I'm telling you; what I just told you" -- applied at every level of the document. Every subsection gets a summary. Every section gets a summary. The document itself gets a summary.
Avoid patterns like:
Latching onto a single metaphor and beating it into the ground across the entire thing. A human writer would introduce a metaphor, use it then move on. AI will repeat the same metaphor 5-10 times.
Avoid patterns like:
ESPECIALLY COMMON IN TECHNICAL WRITING: Rapid-fire listing of historical companies or tech revolutions to build false authority.
Avoid patterns like:
Making a single argument and restating it in 10 different ways across thousands of words. The model pads a simple thesis to feel "comprehensive" by rephrasing the same idea with different metaphors, examples, and framings. An 800-word argument becomes 4000 words of circular repetition.
Avoid patterns like:
Repeating entire sections or paragraphs verbatim within the same piece. This happens when the model loses track of what it has already written, especially in longer pieces. A dead giveaway of unedited AI output. Less common nowadays.
Avoid patterns like:
Explicitly announcing the conclusion with "In conclusion", "To sum up", or "In summary". Competent writing doesn't need to tell you it's concluding. The reader can feel it. AI signals its structural moves because it's following a template, not writing organically.
Avoid patterns like:
The rigid formula where AI acknowledges problems only to immediately dismiss them. Always follows the same beat: "Despite its [positive words], [subject] faces challenges..." then ends with "Despite these challenges, [optimistic conclusion].".
Avoid patterns like:
Remember: any of these patterns used once might be fine. The problem is when multiple tropes appear together or when a single trope is used repeatedly. Write like a human: varied, imperfect, specific.