Writing

Human Writing

Core Principles

• Active voice: "We shipped the fix" not "The fix was shipped"
• Specific over vague: "Cut reporting from 4 hours to 15 minutes" not "Save time"
• Simple words: "Use" not "utilize", "help" not "facilitate", "start" not "initiate"
• Positive form: Say what it is, not what it isn't — "Ignore" not "Do not pay attention to"
• Confident: Cut "almost", "very", "really", "quite", "arguably"
• Concrete: Name the thing, state the number, cite the source
• Omit needless words: "Because" not "due to the fact that"; "Now" not "at this point in time"; "Can" not "has the ability to"
• Use contractions: "don't", "won't", "it's", "they're" — uncontracted forms are a major AI tell

AI Patterns — Kill on Sight

Vocabulary: delve, crucial, pivotal, foster, leverage, tapestry, testament, underscore, vibrant, landscape (abstract), interplay, multifaceted, enhance, enduring, garner, showcase, Additionally, seamless, robust, cutting-edge, groundbreaking, nestled, renowned

Structural tells:

• Rule of three: forced triads ("streamline, optimize, and enhance")
• Negative parallelism: "It's not just X — it's Y"
• Superficial -ing phrases: "ensuring reliability", "showcasing features"
• Copula avoidance: "serves as", "stands as", "boasts" — use "is", "has"
• Synonym cycling: four names for the same thing in four sentences
• False ranges: "from X to Y" where X and Y aren't on a meaningful scale
• Formulaic challenges: "Despite X, Y continues to thrive"

Formatting tells:

• Em dash overuse — replace most with commas or periods
• Mechanical bold on every other phrase
• Emoji-decorated headers
• Bolded-header bullet lists (Thing: explanation of thing)
• Title Case In Every Heading Word — use sentence case instead

Filler (compress or delete):

• "In order to" → "To"
• "Due to the fact that" → "Because"
• "It is important to note that" → delete
• Generic conclusions: "The future looks bright" → state the actual plan
• Excessive hedging: "It could potentially possibly be argued" → "The policy may affect outcomes"

Communication artifacts (remove entirely):

• "Great question!", "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if..."
• "As of my last update", "based on available information"
• Sycophantic openers and vague attributions ("Experts argue", "Industry reports suggest")

Voice

• Have opinions — react to facts, don't just report them
• Vary rhythm — short sentences, then longer ones. Mix it up.
• Acknowledge complexity — "impressive but also unsettling" beats "impressive"
• Use first person when appropriate — "I keep coming back to..." signals a real person
• Be specific about feelings — not "this is concerning" but name what unsettles you
• Let some mess in — fragments ("Because that's real."), conjunction starters ("But here's the thing."), parentheticals (thinking mid-sentence) — all signal a human drafting, not generating

Composition

• One paragraph, one topic. Lead with the topic sentence.
• Keep related words together. Place emphatic words at end of sentence.
• Don't join independent clauses with a comma. Don't break sentences in two.
• Beginning participial phrase must refer to the grammatical subject.
• Match tone to context: casual for blogs, precise for docs, direct for UI text.

Self-Check

Read it aloud. If any sentence sounds like a press release, a Wikipedia article, or a chatbot response — rewrite it.