Writing Anti-AI

Remove AI-generated writing patterns from text to make it sound natural and human-written.

Overview

This skill identifies and eliminates predictable AI writing patterns from prose, based on Wikipedia: Signs of AI writing, maintained by WikiProject AI Cleanup.

Core insight: LLMs use statistical algorithms to predict what should come next. The result tends toward the most statistically likely outcome that applies to the widest variety of cases—creating detectable patterns.

When to Use This Skill

Trigger phrases:

• "Humanize this text"
• "Remove AI writing patterns"
• "Make this sound more natural"
• "This sounds robotic/AI-generated"
• "Fix the AI patterns"

Use cases:

• Editing AI-generated content to sound human
• Reviewing text for AI patterns before publication
• Polishing academic or professional writing
• Removing "slop" from prose

Core Rules

0. Hard Bans for Academic Paper Text (LaTeX)

These three rules are absolute — no exceptions:

• No em dashes: Never use ---, --, or — in any form. Replace with a comma, period, or rewrite the sentence.
• No emphasis markup: Never use \emph{}, \textbf{}, or \textit{} in new text. State the point directly without typographic emphasis.
• No semicolons: Never use ; to join clauses. Split into two sentences with a period instead.

1. Cut Filler Phrases

Remove throat-clearing openers and emphasis crutches.

Examples:

• "In order to achieve this goal" → "To achieve this"
• "Due to the fact that" → "Because"
• "It is important to note that" → (delete)

2. Break Formulaic Structures

Avoid binary contrasts, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups.

Patterns to avoid:

• Negative parallelisms: "It's not just X, it's Y"
• Rule of three: "A, B, and C" (prefer two or four items)
• Em-dash reveals: "X—Y" (just use commas — or better, rewrite)

3. Vary Rhythm

Mix sentence lengths. End paragraphs differently.

Check:

• Three consecutive sentences same length? Break one.
• Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it.

4. Trust Readers

State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding.

Bad: "It could potentially be argued that the policy might have some effect." Good: "The policy may affect outcomes."

5. Cut Quotables

If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it.

Bad: "This represents a major step in the right direction." Good: "The company plans to open two more locations."

Common AI Patterns

Content Patterns

Language Patterns

For comprehensive pattern lists, see:

• references/patterns-english.md - Complete English pattern reference
• references/patterns-chinese.md - Complete Chinese pattern reference

Personality and Soul

Avoiding AI patterns is only half the job. Sterile, voiceless writing is just as obvious.

Signs of soulless writing:

• Every sentence is the same length and structure
• No opinions, just neutral reporting
• No acknowledgment of uncertainty or mixed feelings
• No first-person perspective when appropriate
• No humor, no edge, no personality

How to add voice:

Have opinions. Don't just report facts—react to them.

"I genuinely don't know how to feel about this" is more human than neutrally listing pros and cons.

Vary your rhythm. Short punchy sentences. Then longer ones that take their time.

Acknowledge complexity. Real humans have mixed feelings.

"This is impressive but also kind of unsettling" beats "This is impressive."

Use "I" when it fits. First person isn't unprofessional—it's honest.

"I keep coming back to..." signals a real person thinking.

Workflow

1. Identify patterns - Scan for AI patterns listed above
2. Rewrite sections - Replace AI-isms with natural alternatives
3. Preserve meaning - Keep core message intact
4. Maintain voice - Match intended tone (formal, casual, technical)
5. Add soul - Inject personality and opinions

Quick Scoring

Rate the text 1-10 on each dimension (max 50):

Standard:

• 45-50: Excellent, AI patterns removed
• 35-44: Good, room for improvement
• Below 35: Needs revision

Examples

See examples/ for before/after transformations:

• examples/english.md - English text examples

Quick Reference

Common Fixes:

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/patterns-english.md - Complete English pattern reference
• references/phrases-to-cut.md - Filler phrases to remove
• references/wikipedia-source.md - Original Wikipedia source material

Example Files

• examples/english.md - English before/after examples

Best Practices

✅ DO:

• Combine pattern detection with soul injection
• Use progressive disclosure (core rules here, details in references/)
• Vary sentence structure and rhythm
• Add specific details instead of vague claims
• Use simple constructions (is/are/have) where appropriate

❌ DON'T:

• Just remove patterns without adding voice
• Leave stereotypic structures intact
• Over-correct and lose the original meaning
• Ignore language-specific patterns
• Make all sentences the same length

License

MIT

Attribution

Based on Wikipedia: Signs of AI writing, maintained by WikiProject AI Cleanup. Merges content from humanizer, humanizer-zh, and stop-slop skills.