SlipItIn/.github/skills/human-ai/references/patterns-style.md

Style and Formatting Patterns

Patterns betraying AI-generated text through visual and structural form, not content. Detection tools use these markers as high-confidence signals.

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1. Em-Dash Cascade

Problem: AI uses 15-25 em-dashes per medium text. Humans use 2-3, and generally prefer commas, periods, or parentheses for most functions AI assigns to em-dashes.

Before (AI):

The project — which started in 2022 — brought impressive results — especially in the data area — and is now being expanded — even with limited budget — to other regions.

After (human):

The project started in 2022 and brought solid results in data. It's now expanding to other regions, even with a tight budget.

Detection signals:

• More than 2 em-dashes per paragraph
• Em-dash where comma resolves
• Chaining of parenthetical asides with em-dashes (— X — Y — Z)
• Text where >10% of punctuation marks are em-dashes

Correction techniques:

• Limit of 2 em-dashes per paragraph - convert extras to commas, periods, or parentheses
• Differentiate use: em-dash for strong contrast, parentheses for side comment, comma for light aside
• "Editor test" - if a human editor would have cut the em-dash, cut it

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2. Excessive Bold

Problem: AI applies bold to every keyword as if the text were a slide deck. Running text with bold on every important noun reads like a product catalog, not human writing.

Before (AI):

The platform offers native integration with leading CRMs, ensuring scalability and security for sales and marketing teams.

After (human):

The platform integrates with the major CRMs. Works well for sales and marketing teams that need to scale without losing access control.

Detection signals:

• Bold on more than 1-2 terms per paragraph
• Bold on common nouns (platform, team, result) without editorial reason
• Bold used as substitute for good sentence structure
• Text where >5% of words are bolded

Correction techniques:

• Limit of 1-2 bolds per section - never per paragraph
• Use bold only for intentional contrast: "The problem isn't the tool - it's the process"
• If bold is compensating for lack of clarity, restructure the sentence instead
• "Print test" - if text looks like it was formatted for a reader with ADHD, bold is excessive

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3. List-ification (Bullet Point Abuse)

Problem: AI converts prose into bullet points at every opportunity. Three sentences of flowing text become a bulleted list with "Key takeaways:" above it. Human writing uses lists sparingly - for actual enumerations, not for every paragraph.

Before (AI):

Here are the key benefits:

• Increased efficiency - Teams work 40% faster
• Improved collaboration - Cross-functional alignment
• Better outcomes - Measurable ROI improvements
• Scalability - Grows with your organization

After (human):

Teams work faster with it - about 40% based on our internal tracking. The real win is cross-functional alignment though: people who never talked to each other before are now in the same workflow.

Detection signals:

• Bulleted lists that could be flowing prose
• "Key takeaways:" / "Key points:" / "Here's what you need to know:" above lists
• Parallel structure in every bullet (same length, same construction)
• Lists with 5+ items where 3 would suffice

Correction techniques:

• If items are truly discrete enumerable things (steps, features, names), keep as list
• If items are connected thoughts, convert to prose paragraphs
• Break bullet symmetry: vary length, mix sentence fragments with full sentences
• "Would I say this aloud as a list?" test - if you'd narrate it, it's prose

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4. Header Proliferation

Problem: AI creates a ## header for every 2-3 paragraphs in any text longer than 400 words. Human prose flows continuously - headers appear when genuinely changing topic, not every 150 words.

Before (AI):

Introduction

The problem is clear.

Background

Here's context.

Current Situation

Things have changed.

Analysis

Let's examine this.

Conclusion

In summary...

After (human):

The problem is clear - and it's been getting worse since 2023. [continues flowing for 800 words with maybe one section break where the topic genuinely shifts]

Detection signals:

• Headers every 100-200 words in what should be continuous prose
• Generic headers: "Introduction", "Background", "Analysis", "Conclusion"
• Headers that just restate what the next paragraph says
• Document with 8+ headers for 1000 words

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5. Emoji Inflation

Problem: AI (especially ChatGPT) injects emoji into every bullet point, section header, or list item. Human writers use emoji occasionally and contextually, not systematically.

Before (AI):

🚀 Key Features ✅ Automated deployment 💡 Smart suggestions 🔒 Enterprise security ⚡ Lightning-fast performance

After (human):

The main features: automated deployment, smart suggestions, enterprise-grade security, and good performance. (It handles 10k requests/second on our benchmark.)

Detection signals:

• Emoji on every list item
• Emoji in headers
• More than 2 emoji per 500 words in professional text
• Systematic emoji (same emoji category repeated: all checkmarks, all rockets)

Correction techniques:

• Professional context: remove all emoji unless the format genuinely calls for them (social posts, chat)
• Social context: keep 1-2 per post, used for emphasis or tone, not decoration
• Never use emoji as bullet point markers in serious writing