# Humanizing Text > Rewrites robotic or AI-sounding text to feel natural while preserving meaning and voice. Use when humanizing or reviewing generated, over-polished, repetitive, or impersonal prose. Covers 24 wording patterns and 14 construction patterns. - Skill: `lox/humanizing-text` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add lox/humanizing-text` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/lox/humanizing-text/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: lox (https://skillmd.com/u/lox) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/lox/humanizing-text --- # Humanizing Text Make writing sound human without changing its meaning. Generic writing can fail at two layers: wording (patterns 1-24 below) and construction, i.e. how the piece is built (patterns 25-38). Use these as review prompts, not a checklist the text must obey. ## Task 1. **Calibrate to the author** - If source samples exist, identify their recurring choices before editing: what they include, how they order it, where they address the reader, how they handle uncertainty, and where they stop. 2. **Review construction first** - For multi-paragraph text, read `reference/construction-patterns.md` and check patterns 25-38. Make only grounded structural edits before polishing wording; do not restructure a piece to satisfy the checklist. 3. **Identify surface patterns** - Scan for patterns 1-24 below. 4. **Edit surgically** - Preserve unaffected spans and exact material such as quotations, code, commands, links, identifiers, and data. Prefer local edits over regeneration. 5. **Preserve meaning and fingerprint** - Keep the message, format, and the author's characteristic choices intact, including useful irregularities. 6. **Restore voice** - Surface real personality or experience that the draft flattened. Never invent it. These patterns are editorial heuristics for making writing better, not a detector. Never use them to claim a text was AI-written. ## Preserve the Author's Fingerprint There is no single structure that makes prose human. When author samples exist: - compare outlines, not just sentences - preserve the author's selection, order, specificity, directness, and ending shape - treat the author's corrections as stronger evidence than generic rules When the target is Lachlan's voice, use `speak-like-lachlan` as the author guide. Author-specific guidance and same-mode examples override generic patterns in this skill. Do not add direct reader address, time jumps, references, anecdotes, jokes, or ambivalence merely to make the text look human. If a fix needs a fact, opinion, or memory that is not present, ask; use a placeholder only when the user wants a draft with gaps marked. ## Restore Voice Removing generic patterns is only half the job. Recover what the author actually thinks and notices: - own opinions and uncertainty when the source supports them - vary rhythm instead of making every sentence the same shape - use first person when the author's judgment matters - preserve genuine asides, abrupt endings, and uneven emphasis; do not manufacture mess - ground feelings in available detail: "The page went off at 3am, again. It was frustrating" beats invented cinematic imagery --- ## The 24 Surface Patterns ### Content Patterns **1. Undue emphasis on significance/legacy** Watch for: stands/serves as, testament, pivotal moment, crucial role, underscores importance, reflects broader, symbolizing, marking/shaping, evolving landscape - Before: "marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of regional statistics" - After: "was established in 1989 to collect regional statistics" **2. Undue emphasis on notability** Watch for: independent coverage, media outlets, active social media presence - Before: "cited in NYT, BBC, Financial Times" - After: "In a 2024 NYT interview, she argued..." **3. Superficial -ing analyses** Watch for: highlighting, emphasizing, reflecting, symbolizing, showcasing, fostering - Before: "symbolizing Texas bluebonnets, reflecting the community's connection" - After: "The architect said these colors reference local bluebonnets" **4. Promotional language** Watch for: boasts, vibrant, rich, profound, nestled, groundbreaking, renowned, breathtaking, stunning - Before: "Nestled within the breathtaking region..." - After: "is a town in the Gonder region, known for its weekly market" **5. Vague attributions** Watch for: Experts believe, Some critics argue, Industry reports, Observers have cited - Before: "Experts believe it plays a crucial role" - After: "according to a 2019 survey by the Chinese Academy of Sciences" **6. Formulaic challenges sections** Watch for: Despite challenges... continues to thrive, Future Outlook - Before: "Despite these challenges, continues to thrive" - After: "Traffic congestion increased after 2015 when three IT parks opened" ### Language Patterns **7. Stock vocabulary clusters** Watch for repeated or unnecessary use of: Additionally, delve, crucial, enhance, fostering, interplay, intricate, landscape (abstract), pivotal, showcase, tapestry, testament, underscore, vibrant. A listed word is not, by itself, a reason to edit it. **8. Copula avoidance** Watch for: serves as, stands as, boasts, features, offers (instead of is/are/has) - Before: "Gallery 825 serves as the exhibition space" - After: "Gallery 825 is the exhibition space" **9. Negative parallelisms** Watch for: Not only...but..., It's not just X, it's Y - Before: "It's not just about the beat; it's part of the aggression" - After: "The heavy beat adds to the aggressive tone" **10. Rule of three overuse** - Before: "innovation, inspiration, and industry insights" - After: "The event includes talks and panels" **11. Synonym cycling** - Before: "The protagonist... The main character... The central figure... The hero..." - After: "The protagonist faces challenges but eventually triumphs" **12. False ranges** - Before: "from the Big Bang to the cosmic web, from star birth to dark matter" - After: "The book covers the Big Bang, star formation, and dark matter theories" ### Style Patterns **13. Dash overuse** Watch for repeated em dashes doing the work of commas, periods, colons, and parentheses. Preserve dashes when they fit the author's normal style and improve the sentence. **14. Boldface overuse** Remove mechanical bold emphasis on terms. **15. Inline-header vertical lists** - Before: "**Performance:** Enhanced through optimization" - After: Prose combining the points when the list exists only for mechanical symmetry. Preserve lists that genuinely improve scanning. **16. Title Case in headings** - Before: "Strategic Negotiations And Global Partnerships" - After: "Strategic negotiations and global partnerships" when sentence case matches the author or house style **17. Emojis** Remove decorative 🚀 💡 ✅ and similar flourishes when they are not characteristic of the author or format. Preserve intentional emoji use. **18. Typography drift** Do not change quote style merely to make text look more human. Preserve the typography expected by the author, format, or publishing system. ### Communication Patterns **19. Chatbot artifacts** Remove generic service-language such as "I hope this helps!", "Of course!", "Certainly!", or "Would you like..." when it is not a genuine part of the message. Do not ban ordinary closings the author actually uses. **20. Knowledge-cutoff disclaimers** Remove boilerplate such as "While specific details are limited..." or "based on available information..." when it contributes nothing. Preserve dates and caveats that genuinely bound the claim. **21. Sycophantic tone** Remove unearned praise such as "Great question!", "You're absolutely right!", or "That's an excellent point!" Preserve sincere acknowledgement when it serves the conversation. ### Filler and Hedging **22. Filler phrases** - "In order to" → "To" - "Due to the fact that" → "Because" - "At this point in time" → "Now" - "has the ability to" → "can" - "It is important to note that" → (delete) **23. Excessive hedging** - Before: "could potentially possibly be argued that it might have some effect" - After: "may affect outcomes" **24. Generic positive conclusions** - Before: "The future looks bright. Exciting times lie ahead." - After: "The company plans to open two more locations next year." --- ## The 14 Construction Patterns Construction is how the piece is built, not how it is worded. For definitions, evidence levels, and fixes, read `reference/construction-patterns.md`. It distinguishes research findings from nonfiction adaptations and broader editorial heuristics. Never inject synthetic humanity: fixes must surface something true. Ask when only the author knows; use an explicit placeholder only when the user wants a draft with gaps marked. If an AI detector is used, compare matched text boundaries, formats, and window-level results. Treat its output as one diagnostic signal, never the editing objective or evidence of authorship. Do not add artefacts to chase a score. --- ## Output 1. The rewritten text (or, for reviews: verdict, triggered patterns with evidence, and what's already working so edits don't remove it) 2. Brief summary of changes made (optional) ## Reference Surface patterns based on [Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing). Construction-pattern evidence and provenance are documented in `reference/construction-patterns.md`.