human-writing

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: human-writing
description: 'Research-backed principles for writing prose that avoids AI tells. Apply when writing articles, blog posts, emails, marketing copy, social media, or any prose content. Covers vocabulary, structure, tone, rhythm, and craft techniques that make writing feel authentically human. Not for code, commit messages, or technical documentation.'
---

**User request**: $ARGUMENTS

Apply these research-backed writing principles to the current task. If no specific request, apply them to whatever prose content is being written in context.

## The Core Insight

**The fundamental problem is statistical uniformity.** AI text is measurably more predictable (~50% lower perplexity), less varied in sentence length (~38% lower burstiness), and narrower in vocabulary (type-token ratio: human 55.3 vs AI 45.5). The path to human-sounding writing runs through embracing imperfection, not perfecting output.

**The single most reliable tell is uniformity.** Human writing is messy, varied, and surprising. AI writing is smooth, consistent, and predictable.

## The 10-20-70 Rule

Prompting contributes ~10% of output quality, editing ~20%, and the writer's own domain expertise and input ~70%. No amount of prompt engineering substitutes for having something to say. Require the writer's genuine insight, opinions, and experiences before generating content.

## Hierarchy of Impact

From highest to lowest impact on making writing sound human:

| Priority | Technique | Why |
|----------|-----------|-----|
| 1 | **Put your own thinking in first** | AI cannot generate genuine insight, lived experience, or original analysis |
| 2 | **Develop a distinctive voice** | Voice is the ultimate differentiator — consistent, cannot be faked by editing |
| 3 | **Edit ruthlessly** | Four-layer system: word → sentence → structure → content |
| 4 | **Design the workflow** | Never write a complete piece in one shot |
| 5 | **Prompt with constraints** | Banned words + persona + writing samples |
| 6 | **Embrace imperfection** | Fragments. Tangents. Opinions. Rough edges make writing alive. |

## Vocabulary Kill-List

Avoid these words when *writing* — they are statistically flagged as AI-generated across peer-reviewed studies of millions of documents. (Reviewers reading existing prose should judge by density and clustering rather than single instances; see [ai-tells-and-fingerprints.md](references/ai-tells-and-fingerprints.md) and the writing-reviewer agent's frequency-aware threshold.)

**Nouns**: delve, tapestry, landscape, realm, testament, journey, insight, resilience, ecosystem, milestone, prowess, utilization

**Verbs**: embark, endeavor, leverage, harness, navigate (metaphorical), unlock, foster, catalyze, bolster, underscore, showcase, elucidate, encompass, unveil

**Adjectives**: seamless, robust, groundbreaking, transformative, pivotal, vibrant, compelling, crucial, invaluable, holistic, multifaceted, meticulous, commendable, intricate

**Adverbs**: seamlessly, meticulously, notably, profoundly, predominantly, subsequently, thereby, ultimately, moreover, furthermore

**Phrases**: "ever-evolving landscape," "in today's fast-paced world," "as we navigate the complexities," "It isn't just X, it's Y," "it's important to note," "it's worth noting that," "without further ado," "in conclusion," "at the heart of"

**Puffery / promotional drift**: "breathtaking," "stunning," "must-see," "must-visit," "iconic," "world-class," "rich cultural tapestry," "hidden gem"

**False intensifiers**: "genuinely," "truly," "actually" (when used to simulate conviction)

**Era-tracked vocabulary**: AI vocabulary shifts over time — "delve" peaked 2023–early 2024 then declined, while "align with" / "fostering" / "showcasing" rose with later models. For era-specific lists (GPT-4 era vs GPT-4o era) and the snapshot date, see [ai-tells-and-fingerprints.md § Era-tracked vocabulary](references/ai-tells-and-fingerprints.md).

## Four-Layer Editing System

Apply in order