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Spotting AI-Generated Text
The New Tells Beyond Em-Dashes
Your writing has a fingerprint, and right now, it might look suspiciously synthetic. We used to spot AI by the overuse of the em-dash, but the landscape has shifted. An expert copywriter recently broke down the sentence structures that now signal “ChatGPT wrote this” more loudly than punctuation ever did.
This isn’t about grammar errors anymore. It’s about rhetorical patterns that sound smart but stay vague. You see them in cold outreach, business proposals, and everywhere on LinkedIn.
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The Mechanics of the “Smart” Sounding Nothing
The problem isn’t incorrect grammar; it’s a predictable, robotic logic template. The original poster identifies five patterns that have become the new giveaway.
False Contrast: “That’s not [X]. That’s [Y].” It mimics insight by forcing a binary that often lacks nuance.
Movie Trailer Voice: “In a world where [scary change], [virtue] becomes [advantage].” It inflates ordinary points into drama.
Lazy vs. Disciplined trope: “Most people [lazy thing]. The few who win [disciplined thing].” It flatters readers, but feels canned.
Obvious Truth bomb: “Here’s the truth: [obvious statement].” It sells a basic fact as a revelation.
Fear of Missing Out tactic: “If you’re not doing [X], you’re already behind.” It pressures instead of persuading.
The argument is simple: these patterns can read as sophisticated to an algorithm, but humans feel the emptiness. We sense the lack of specifics, and it creates an uncanny valley effect.
Destroy the Metronome Rhythm
AI often writes like a metronome. Sentence length and structure “average out,” producing a steady march of medium-length lines. That predictability makes readers glaze over.
Break the rhythm on purpose. Mix sentence lengths aggressively. Use short sentences for impact, then follow with longer ones when you need nuance and breath.
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Cut the “Throat Clearing” and Padding
AI loves meta-commentary: announcing what it’s about to do before doing it. Phrases like “Let’s walk through…” and “In this section, we will explore…” slow everything down. They add no value.
Delete them and lead with the point. Then cut padding like “Highlighting the importance of…” unless it adds information, sharpens the argument, or triggers emotion. Directness reads like confidence.
Inject Opinion and Humanity
AI defaults to safe, neutral, hedged language. That sounds polite, but it’s dull. Humans connect with a stance.
Be specific and decisive. Replace “This may potentially offer benefits” with something like: “This works for small teams. Big companies will struggle with it.” Use “I” and “you” so it sounds like a person talking to a person.
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