AI Writing Detection
AI Writing Detection
Section titled “AI Writing Detection”Words, phrases, and punctuation patterns commonly associated with AI-generated text. Avoid these to ensure writing sounds natural and human.
Sources: Grammarly (2025), Microsoft 365 Life Hacks (2025), GPTHuman (2025), Walter Writes (2025), Textero (2025), Plagiarism Today (2025), Rolling Stone (2025), MDPI Blog (2025)
Contents
Section titled “Contents”- Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell
- Overused Verbs
- Overused Adjectives
- Overused Transitions and Connectors
- Phrases That Signal AI Writing (Opening Phrases, Transitional Phrases, Concluding Phrases, Structural Patterns)
- Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers
- Academic-Specific AI Tells
- How to Self-Check
Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell
Section titled “Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell”The em dash (—) has become one of the most reliable markers of AI-generated content.
Em dashes are longer than hyphens (-) and are used for emphasis, interruptions, or parenthetical information. While they have legitimate uses in writing, AI models drastically overuse them.
Why Em Dashes Signal AI Writing
Section titled “Why Em Dashes Signal AI Writing”- AI models were trained on edited books, academic papers, and style guides where em dashes appear frequently
- AI uses em dashes as a shortcut for sentence variety instead of commas, colons, or parentheses
- Most human writers rarely use em dashes because they don’t exist as a standard keyboard key
- The overuse is so consistent that it has become the unofficial signature of ChatGPT writing
What To Do Instead
Section titled “What To Do Instead”| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| The results—which were surprising—showed… | The results, which were surprising, showed… |
| This approach—unlike traditional methods—allows… | This approach, unlike traditional methods, allows… |
| The study found—as expected—that… | The study found, as expected, that… |
| Communication skills—both written and verbal—are essential | Communication skills (both written and verbal) are essential |
Guidelines
Section titled “Guidelines”- Use commas for most parenthetical information
- Use colons to introduce explanations or lists
- Use parentheses for supplementary information
- Reserve em dashes for rare, deliberate emphasis only
- If you find yourself using more than one em dash per page, revise
Overused Verbs
Section titled “Overused Verbs”| Avoid | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| delve (into) | explore, examine, investigate, look at |
| leverage | use, apply, draw on |
| optimise | improve, refine, enhance |
| utilise | use |
| facilitate | help, enable, support |
| foster | encourage, support, develop, nurture |
| bolster | strengthen, support, reinforce |
| underscore | emphasise, highlight, stress |
| unveil | reveal, show, introduce, present |
| navigate | manage, handle, work through |
| streamline | simplify, make more efficient |
| enhance | improve, strengthen |
| endeavour | try, attempt, effort |
| ascertain | find out, determine, establish |
| elucidate | explain, clarify, make clear |
Overused Adjectives
Section titled “Overused Adjectives”| Avoid | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| robust | strong, reliable, thorough, solid |
| comprehensive | complete, thorough, full, detailed |
| pivotal | key, critical, central, important |
| crucial | important, key, essential, critical |
| vital | important, essential, necessary |
| transformative | significant, important, major |
| cutting-edge | new, advanced, recent, modern |
| groundbreaking | new, original, significant |
| innovative | new, original, creative |
| seamless | smooth, easy, effortless |
| intricate | complex, detailed, complicated |
| nuanced | subtle, complex, detailed |
| multifaceted | complex, varied, diverse |
| holistic | complete, whole, comprehensive |
Overused Transitions and Connectors
Section titled “Overused Transitions and Connectors”| Avoid | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| furthermore | also, in addition, and |
| moreover | also, and, besides |
| notwithstanding | despite, even so, still |
| that being said | however, but, still |
| at its core | essentially, fundamentally, basically |
| to put it simply | in short, simply put |
| it is worth noting that | note that, importantly |
| in the realm of | in, within, regarding |
| in the landscape of | in, within |
| in today’s [anything] | currently, now, today |
Phrases That Signal AI Writing
Section titled “Phrases That Signal AI Writing”Opening Phrases to Avoid
Section titled “Opening Phrases to Avoid”- “In today’s fast-paced world…”
- “In today’s digital age…”
- “In an era of…”
- “In the ever-evolving landscape of…”
- “In the realm of…”
- “It’s important to note that…”
- “Let’s delve into…”
- “Imagine a world where…”
Transitional Phrases to Avoid
Section titled “Transitional Phrases to Avoid”- “That being said…”
- “With that in mind…”
- “It’s worth mentioning that…”
- “At its core…”
- “To put it simply…”
- “In essence…”
- “This begs the question…”
Concluding Phrases to Avoid
Section titled “Concluding Phrases to Avoid”- “In conclusion…”
- “To sum up…”
- “By [doing X], you can [achieve Y]…”
- “In the final analysis…”
- “All things considered…”
- “At the end of the day…”
Structural Patterns to Avoid
Section titled “Structural Patterns to Avoid”- “Whether you’re a [X], [Y], or [Z]…” (listing three examples after “whether”)
- “It’s not just [X], it’s also [Y]…”
- “Think of [X] as [elaborate metaphor]…”
- Starting sentences with “By” followed by a gerund: “By understanding X, you can Y…”
Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers
Section titled “Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers”These words often add nothing to meaning. Remove them or find specific alternatives:
- absolutely
- actually
- basically
- certainly
- clearly
- definitely
- essentially
- extremely
- fundamentally
- incredibly
- interestingly
- naturally
- obviously
- quite
- really
- significantly
- simply
- surely
- truly
- ultimately
- undoubtedly
- very
Academic-Specific AI Tells
Section titled “Academic-Specific AI Tells”| Avoid | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| shed light on | clarify, explain, reveal |
| pave the way for | enable, allow, make possible |
| a myriad of | many, numerous, various |
| a plethora of | many, numerous, several |
| paramount | very important, essential, critical |
| pertaining to | about, regarding, concerning |
| prior to | before |
| subsequent to | after |
| in light of | because of, given, considering |
| with respect to | about, regarding, for |
| in terms of | regarding, for, about |
| the fact that | that (or rewrite sentence) |
How to Self-Check
Section titled “How to Self-Check”- Read your text aloud. If phrases sound unnatural in speech, revise them
- Ask: “Would I say this in a conversation with a colleague?”
- Check for repetitive sentence structures
- Look for clusters of the words listed above
- Ensure varied sentence lengths (not all similar length)
- Verify each intensifier adds genuine meaning