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
- 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
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
- 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
| 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
- 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
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
- "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
- "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
- "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
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
| 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
- 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