# AI Writing

> Use when asked to check, flag, or discuss whether text reads as AI-generated or human-written — analyzing an essay, email, post, or document for AI writing tells. Reference only; does not instruct rewriting or "humanizing" text.

- Skill: `nli33/ai-writing` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add nli33/ai-writing`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/nli33/ai-writing/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: nli33 (https://skillmd.com/u/nli33)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/nli33/ai-writing

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# AI vs Human Writing Patterns

## Overview

A reference list of surface patterns correlated with AI-generated vs human-written text. Use it to *identify* patterns present in a piece of text. No pattern alone proves authorship — density and combination matter more than any single instance. This skill does not say whether AI-sounding or human-sounding text is better; that judgment belongs to whoever is using the skill.

## AI-leaning patterns

**Negative parallelism** — "not just X but Y," "it's not X, it's Y," "Y rather than X," "Y instead of X," "no X, no Y, just Z."

**Rule of three** — near-every list, description, or takeaway comes in exactly three parts (three adjectives, three benefits, three clauses).

**Em dash overuse** — em dashes (spaced, ` — `) standing in for commas, colons, or parentheses, often for false emphasis or "punchy" sales-style cadence.

**Buzzword/AI vocabulary** — delve, tapestry, landscape, realm, embark, pivotal, crucial, intricate, meticulous, multifaceted, comprehensive, robust, leverage, underscore, showcase, testament, boasts, stands as, serves as, "it's important to note," furthermore. (Word list drifts by model generation — density of these terms is the signal, not any one word.)

**"By [gerund] X, Y" constructions** — opening a sentence, especially a conclusion, with "By doing X, we can achieve Y."

**False hot-take framing** — "But here's the truth:", "Here's the thing:", "The reality is..." — a manufactured contrarian turn with no real stakes, common in LinkedIn/corporate copy.

**Manufactured friendliness** — upbeat, eager-to-please tone; exclamation points and affirmations ("Great question!", "I'd be happy to help!") applied uniformly regardless of content.

**Uniform sentence rhythm** — sentences cluster around similar length and structure; few short fragments or run-ons breaking the pattern.

**Hedging modals** — frequent "might," "could," "may" softening claims without a clear reason.

**Assertive close, low doubt markers** — confident, tidy conclusions with little expressed uncertainty or self-correction, even on contestable claims.

**Elevated formality/structure** — consistent topic-sentence-then-support paragraphing, frequent transition words (furthermore, moreover, additionally), heavy subheadings/bullets even in casual contexts.

**High content-word density, low function-word variety** — fewer articles/prepositions/conjunctions relative to content words than typical human prose.

## Human-leaning patterns

**Variable sentence length** — mix of short fragments, long run-ons, and everything between.

**Irregular structure** — asides, tangents, self-interruptions, afterthoughts, unresolved threads.

**Idiosyncratic vocabulary** — slang, in-jokes, domain-specific shorthand, inconsistent register within one piece.

**Visible emotion, including negative** — frustration, sarcasm, disgust, boredom — flatter/rarer in AI text, which skews positive.

**Personal/concrete references** — specific names, dates, inside context, first-person anecdote rather than generic examples.

**Imperfections** — typos, informal punctuation, sentence fragments, inconsistent capitalization, self-correction mid-thought.

**Understatement or flat close** — endings that trail off or land plainly rather than a tidy summary bow.

## Using this list

When asked to check text: scan for which patterns appear, note density (a single em dash or "crucial" proves nothing; five AI-leaning patterns clustered in one paragraph is a signal), and report findings neutrally. Do not rewrite or "fix" the text unless separately asked.