human-writing

name

human-writing

description

Write and edit prose that reads as human rather than AI-generated. Use when drafting or revising articles, essays, documentation, emails, blog posts, or any natural-language text where an obviously "AI" tone would undermine the work. Catches and fixes tells like puffery, weasel-word attribution, the "rule of three", not-just-X-but-Y parallelism, filler transitions ("moreover", "furthermore"), copula avoidance ("serves as" for "is"), and em-dash overuse.

Human Writing

Language models leave tells. Readers notice them, and the writing ends up feeling hollow or salesy. This skill catalogs the tells and shows how to write past them. The point is to write well, not to hide who did the writing — a careful human writer is the thing to imitate.

Derived from Wikipedia's Signs of AI writing (CC BY-SA 4.0). See reference.md for the full catalog, the complete flagged vocabulary list, and — importantly — the "ineffective indicators" that are not reliable tells, so you don't overcorrect clean prose into blandness.

How to use this skill

• When drafting: keep the rules below in mind, but do not let them make you stilted. Natural writing is the target, not a different set of rules to follow mechanically.
• When revising your own or another's draft: read it against the checklist at the end. Each tell you find is a place to cut or rewrite, not just reword.
• Rewrite, don't reword. Most tells are symptoms of empty content. Swapping a flagged word for a synonym leaves the emptiness. Ask what the sentence actually claims; if the answer is "nothing," delete it.

The core habits

1. State things plainly. Don't inflate significance.

Models pad claims with importance the facts don't earn. Cut the editorializing and let the fact stand.

• ❌ "The festival stands as a testament to the region's rich cultural heritage, marking a pivotal moment in its history."
• ✅ "The festival has been held every August since 1974."

Watch for: stands as, serves as a testament, marks a pivotal moment, plays a vital/significant role, highlights the enduring legacy, underscores the importance of, is a cornerstone of.

2. Cut promotional adjectives.

Encyclopedic and technical writing describes; it does not sell.

• ❌ "Nestled in the vibrant heart of the city, this groundbreaking initiative boasts a rich array of features."
• ✅ "The office is downtown. The program offers three services."

Watch for: vibrant, nestled, rich (heritage/tapestry/array), bustling, groundbreaking, renowned, cutting-edge, seamless, robust, world-class.

3. Attribute claims to real, named sources — or drop them.

Vague attribution implies authority that isn't there.

• ❌ "Industry observers suggest the approach could reshape the field, and experts note its growing influence."
• ✅ "In a 2023 review, Chen argued the approach reduces latency by half." (with a citation) — or just delete the sentence if you have no source.

Watch for: observers argue, experts say, studies suggest, it is widely regarded, many believe, industry reports indicate — with no actual name or citation attached.

4. Use "is" and "has". Don't dodge the plain verb.

Models avoid simple copulas, reaching for fancier verbs that add nothing.

• ❌ "The library serves as a hub for research and features an extensive collection." / "The city boasts a population of 40,000."
• ✅ "The library holds 2 million volumes." / "The city has 40,000 residents."

Watch for: serves as, functions as, stands as, features, boasts used where is or has would be plainer and truer.

5. Kill the parallelism gimmicks.

Two constructions dominate AI prose. Both are cheap ways to sound profound.

• Not just X, but Y — ❌ "It's not just a tool, but a philosophy." Usually the "Y" is vaguer than the "X". Rewrite as a direct claim, or cut it.
• X, rather than Y as filler — ❌ "This reflects growth rather than decline." Fine occasionally; a tell when every third sentence does it.

6. Break up the "rule of three".

Models compulsively group things in triples: three adjectives, three clauses, three examples. Real writers use the count the meaning calls for — often one or two.

• ❌ "a strategic, efficient, and sustainable solution"
• ✅ "a cheaper solution" (if that's the actual point)

7. Drop filler transitions and present-participle tack-ons.

• ❌ "Moreover, the results were significant. Furthermore, they align with prior work, highlighting the study's contribution and underscoring its relevance."
• ✅ "The results match earlier findings."

Watch for: sentence-initial Moreover, Furthermore, Additionally, In conclusion, and trailing -ing clauses (highlighting…, emphasizing…, reflecting…, showcasing…) that assert a connection the evidence doesn't show.

8. Avoid the "challenges and future prospects" formula.

• ❌ "Despite these strengths, the project faces challenges. Nevertheless, with continued investment, it is poised to play an increasingly important role."
• ✅ End when you've said the thing. You don't need a hopeful coda.

9. Punctuation and formatting.

• Em dashes: use them, but sparingly. Three per paragraph is a tell.
• Boldface: don't bold key terms mid-sentence for emphasis. Reserve bold for genuine structure (defined terms, table headers).
• Headings: use sentence case ("Early life"), not Title Case ("Early Life And Career").
• Quotes: match the surrounding document's convention (straight vs. curly).
• Lists: don't turn flowing prose into a bulleted "Term: description" list unless the content is genuinely a list.

Signs of human writing (what to aim for)

The Wikipedia article names only a few positive signs, but they point the way:

• A specific, explainable voice. A human writer can say why a sentence is shaped the way it is. Write sentences that carry a real decision, not a statistical average.
• Idiosyncratic syntax. Vary rhythm. Let some sentences run long and others land in three words. Uneven is human; uniform is machine.
• Concrete detail over smooth generality. A real number, name, date, or quoted phrase beats a fluent abstraction every time.
• Willingness to be plain, and occasionally blunt. Humans state things flatly, admit uncertainty, and stop when done. They don't wrap every point in a bow.

Revision checklist

Read the draft and mark each hit. Every mark is a candidate for cutting or rewriting — not reordering.

• Any sentence that inflates significance (stands as, pivotal, testament)?
• Promotional adjectives (vibrant, rich, groundbreaking, seamless)?
• Vague attribution (experts say, observers note) with no name/citation?
• "Serves as / features / boasts" where "is / has" would do?
• "Not just X but Y" or filler "X rather than Y"?
• Rule-of-three triples that could be one item?
• Filler transitions (Moreover, Furthermore, Additionally)?
• Trailing -ing clauses asserting unearned connections?
• A "despite challenges… poised to…" closing?
• More than one or two em dashes per paragraph?
• Mid-sentence boldface or Title Case headings?
• Any sentence that, on inspection, claims nothing? → delete it.