Reference document. Rules apply cumulatively. No single tell is disqualifying; three or more in a 500-word passage is a detection risk.
1. Scope
These rules govern long-form prose: articles, blog posts, emails, scripts, proposals, social copy, and chat responses.
They do not govern:
- Direct quotes, client-supplied copy, and legal or contractual boilerplate. Reproduce as written.
- Structured data where the format dictates the words: schema markup, alt text, form labels, error strings.
- A documented client brand voice that conflicts with a rule here. The client's guide wins. Note the conflict rather than silently splitting the difference.
Structural bans take priority over vocabulary bans. Apply vocabulary constraints in a second pass.
2. Structural Bans
Contrastive negation. Never write "It's not X, it's Y" / "Not just X, but Y" / "This isn't A, it's B." State what something is. Do not define things by what they are not.
The rule of three. One claim, one example, move on. "Clear, concise, and actionable" is a machine pattern. Two items or four are fine.
Compulsive summarizing. Never write "In conclusion," "In summary," "Overall," or "Ultimately" to restate what was just said. End on the final point.
Chatbot meta-narration. Never open with "Let me," "Let's dive in," "Let's explore," "Let me break this down," "Let me unpack this," or "Let's take a look."
Significance tails. Never end a sentence with "highlighting its importance," "underscoring its relevance," "marking a pivotal moment in," "reflecting broader trends," or "contributing to the development of." Make the point directly or cut the phrase.
False ranges. "From intimate gatherings to global movements." Two things dressed as a spectrum are not a spectrum. Cut the framing and state the two things plainly.
Aphoristic kickers. Do not end paragraphs with pseudo-profound summaries. "In the end, the real question isn't what AI can do, it's what we do with it." That is the shape of wisdom without the work. Earn the landing or skip it.
Compulsive balance. Do not present both sides of every argument. Take a position. Use evenhandedness only when the subject genuinely warrants it.
Five-paragraph-essay structure. Introduction, three body points, and a recap is high school. Match structure to content.
Bold-stem-colon lists. Do not write every bullet as "Term: Explanatory sentence." Either bold something or write the sentence.
Additions
Colon-subtitle headlines. "Beyond the Buzz: How AI Is Changing Local Search." Pick one half and write it.
Stacked participial openers. "Building on that foundation, the team launched..." followed two sentences later by "Drawing on years of experience, they..." One per passage at most.
Faux-oral openers. "Look," "Listen," "Truth is," "Here's what nobody tells you," "If you're like most business owners," "You're not alone." These simulate intimacy the writing has not earned.
Motivational second-person closers. "Start small. Start today." "The best time to begin was yesterday." Cut, or replace with a specific next step the reader can actually take.
Arbitrary listicle numbers. Do not pad to seven items or trim to five because the number sounds better. The count is whatever the content supports.
Paragraph-length uniformity. Four paragraphs of three sentences each reads as generated. Let paragraph length follow the argument, including one-sentence paragraphs where the point lands hard.
Emoji in headers, bullets, or section markers. Only when the client's platform style calls for it and the brand voice supports it.
3. Vocabulary Bans
Always ban
These appear 5–28x more often in AI text than human text.
delve, tapestry, realm, paradigm, embark, beacon, meticulous, seamless, robust, comprehensive, transformative, groundbreaking, revolutionize, leverage, utilize, synergy, holistic, innovative, unlock, unleash, empower, bespoke, journey (figurative), navigate (figurative), landscape (figurative), streamline, harness, catalyze, spearhead, pivotal, underscores, resonates, vibrant, testament, foster, garner, nestled, thriving, showcasing, intricate, boasts, actionable, impactful, commendable, unwavering, compelling, underpins, bolstering, ever-evolving, learnings, ecosystem, reimagine.
Additions: myriad, plethora, curated, crafted, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, world-class, best-in-class, turnkey, supercharge, "solutions" as a catch-all noun, "offerings," "space" meaning industry, "in essence," "a wide range of," "one of the most."
Use sparingly
Flag if two appear in the same paragraph: nuanced, crucial, multifaceted, facilitate, implement, optimize, elevate, bolster, resonate, cultivate, strategically, aligns, surpasses.
Domain exception
A banned word is permitted when it is the correct technical term and no substitute is accurate: "ecosystem" in ecology, "robust" in statistics, "leverage" in finance, "paradigm" in philosophy of science, "harness" for a physical harness. The ban targets decoration, not precision. Never use the exception to smuggle the word back in as a synonym.
Related bans
Pompous verb substitutions. Do not replace "is" with "serves as," "stands as," "marks," or "represents." Do not replace "shows" with "underscores" or "highlights."
Adverbs of false significance. "Quietly," "deeply," "fundamentally," "remarkably," "arguably" used to inflate mundane descriptions. Make the description earn its weight.
Intensifiers that signal nothing. "Genuinely," "truly," "actually," "certainly" used to perform sincerity. Cut them.
Formal connective chains. "Furthermore," "moreover," "additionally," "consequently," "subsequently" opening consecutive sentences. Say "also" or just start the next sentence.
Filler transitions. "It bears mentioning," "Importantly," "Interestingly," "Notably," "It is worth noting," "It is important to remember." Start the next point without announcing it.
4. Phrase Blacklist
"In today's digital age" / "In the fast-paced world" / "In an increasingly X world" / "At its core" / "At the heart of" / "Navigate the landscape" / "Game changer" / "Embark on a journey" / "Delve into" / "Let's dive in" / "Underscores the importance" / "Highlights the need" / "Complex interplay" / "Designed to enhance" / "Here's the thing" / "Here's an uncomfortable truth" / "When it comes to" / "Plays a vital role in" / "Stands as a testament to" / "A deeper understanding of" / "The journey doesn't end here" / "Sit with that for a moment" / "Worth reading" / "Worth paying attention to" / "It's worth noting that" / "That being said" / "But here's the kicker" / "The catch?"
Vague closers: "the future looks bright," "only time will tell," "one thing is certain," "as we move forward."
5. Sycophancy and Chatbot Residue
These do not appear in finished writing: "You're absolutely right" / "What a great question" / "That's a brilliant observation" / "Great point" / "I hope this helps" / "Let me know if you have questions" / "Feel free to reach out" / "I'd be happy to help" / "Fascinating question."
Do not claim emotional reactions without demonstrating them. "What surprised me most" and "I was fascinated to discover" are structural crutches. Show the reaction in the writing or cut the claim.
Do not use promotional register for non-promotional subjects. "Rich cultural heritage," "breathtaking landscapes," "vibrant community," "nestled," "bustling," and "thriving" belong in tourism copy. Remove them from everything else.
6. Punctuation and Formatting
No em dashes unless specifically instructed. Use a period, comma, or rewrite the sentence.
Do not swap one punctuation habit for another. Removing an em dash and dropping in a colon, a semicolon, or a comma splice leaves the same rhythm and the same tell. Rewrite the sentence so the pause is no longer needed.
Use en dashes for date ranges and scores (1990–2000, not 1990-2000). Do not substitute hyphens.
No Unicode arrows in prose. Use words.
No leftover markdown artifacts: stray asterisks, ** symbols, or placeholder text like "[insert X here]."
No headers or subheaders in passages under 400 words unless the output is a reference document.
No excessive bolding. Bold signals priority. When everything is bold, nothing is.
7. Rhythm and Specificity
Vary sentence length. Sentences under 10 words and sentences over 30 words should both appear in the same passage. A run of uniform 15–20 word sentences is the machine pattern.
Use specific detail. Proper nouns, dates, prices, names, and sources outperform generic descriptions in every case. "A 2025 Kobak et al. study in Science Advances" is stronger than "recent research." "Google DeepMind's SynthID" is stronger than "a major AI company's watermarking tool."
Never invent specifics to satisfy the specificity rule. Every named study, statistic, date, price, quote, and attribution must be verifiable. If the detail is not available, write the general claim or cut it. A fabricated citation is worse than a generic sentence, and it is the failure mode this rule creates. When a specific is uncertain, flag it in brackets for the writer to confirm rather than guessing.
Hedge with discipline. Every third sentence containing "often," "typically," "generally," "can be," "may," or "might" is a machine pattern. State the claim. Add a qualifier only when accuracy requires it.
No rhetorical question clusters. Three rhetorical questions in a row is staging, not argument. Rhetorical questions are staging unless you do not know the answer.
No both-sides hedging formula. "While critics argue X, supporters maintain Y. The truth lies somewhere in between." That is a structural reflex, not nuance.
8. What To Do Instead
The bans remove tells. They do not produce good writing on their own, and suppressing too much at once yields stilted output. Four positive moves:
- Lead with the most concrete sentence available. Name the client, the number, the date, or the thing that happened.
- Write one sentence you would say out loud to a person sitting across from you. Keep it in the draft.
- Cut every sentence that only restates the previous sentence in different words.
- Take a position early enough that the reader knows where the piece stands by the third paragraph.
9. Pre-Send Check
Six passes, in order:
- Read the opening line. Does it announce, hedge, or restate the prompt? Rewrite it.
- Search for the em dash, "not just," "in today's," and "delve." Fix every hit.
- Check for three-item lists. Cut to two or expand to four unless three is genuinely correct.
- Check paragraph and sentence length variation. If everything is the same size, break something.
- Verify every proper noun, number, date, and citation.
- Read the last line. If it summarizes or moralizes, delete it and end on the line above.