# Rewrite Principles: How to Write Like a Human

Positive guidance for producing prose that reads as human-authored. Every rule includes concrete before/after examples.

---

## 1. The Core Philosophy

Every word chosen with precision, intention, and meaning.

AI writes to fill space. Humans write to communicate. The difference is not in cleverness or vocabulary -- it is in ruthless economy. Every word must earn its place. If a sentence works without a word, the word is needless.

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This does not mean all sentences must be short. It means every word must work.

---

## 2. Sentence Rhythm

### The Provost Principle

> "This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with the energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals -- sounds that say listen to this, it is important."
>
> -- Gary Provost, *100 Ways to Improve Your Writing*

### Statistical Targets

- **Nonfiction:** Standard deviation of ~6 words per sentence (range roughly 8-26 words)
- **Fiction:** Standard deviation of ~9-11 words per sentence (range roughly 3-35 words)
- **AI default (what to avoid):** Standard deviation of ~2-3 words (nearly every sentence lands at 15-20 words)

**Minimum threshold:** If the SD of sentence lengths in a paragraph is below 5, rewrite.

### The 1-1-3 Rhythm

After two short sentences (under 8 words), deploy one long one (25-35 words). Then break the pattern. Never let the pattern itself become predictable.

### Distribution Targets Per Paragraph

| Sentence length | Target percentage |
|---|---|
| 1-5 words | 10-15% of sentences |
| 6-14 words | 30-40% of sentences |
| 15-22 words | 30-35% of sentences |
| 23+ words | 15-20% of sentences |

### Specific Techniques for Rhythm

1. **Fragment for emphasis.** Professional writers use fragments deliberately. Not accidentally. Deliberately.
2. **Use a compound-complex sentence after two short ones.** Short. Short. Then a sentence that carries the reader forward through a subordinate clause, picks up a parenthetical observation, and lands on the main point with momentum.
3. **Interrupt yourself with an em dash** -- it creates the spontaneity of thought that AI lacks.
4. **Deploy the colon for punchlines:** The result was clear: failure.
5. **Ask a question mid-paragraph.** Why? Because AI almost never does.
6. **Use a list within a sentence** when you have three or more items, rather than spreading each across its own balanced clause.

### Before (AI pattern):
> The research team discovered several important findings during the study. They analyzed the data using advanced statistical methods carefully. The results showed significant improvement across all measured categories. The implications of these findings are substantial for the field.

All four sentences: 9, 9, 9, 10 words. SD = 0.5. Deadening uniformity.

### After (human pattern):
> The team found something. Not a modest result buried in noise -- a clean signal across every category they measured. They had used standard statistical methods, nothing exotic, which made the consistency all the more striking. It mattered.

Sentence lengths: 4, 15, 16, 2. SD = 7.3. Alive.

### The "Read It Aloud" Test

If every sentence takes roughly the same breath, rewrite. Human speech naturally alternates between quick bursts and sustained runs.

---

## 3. Word Choice

### The Anglo-Saxon Preference

When choosing between a Latin/French-derived word and an Anglo-Saxon one, the Anglo-Saxon word is almost always stronger.

| Latin/French | Anglo-Saxon |
|---|---|
| commence | start |
| terminate | end |
| assist | help |
| purchase | buy |
| sufficient | enough |
| inquire | ask |
| reside | live |
| perspire | sweat |
| deceased | dead |
| fabricate | build, make |
| utilize | use |
| demonstrate | show |
| endeavour | try |
| encounter | find, hit, face |
| necessitate | need |
| facilitate | help |
| elucidate | explain |
| ascertain | find out |

This is not absolute. "Investigate" beats "look into" for a formal report. But the bias should lean Anglo-Saxon unless formality is specifically required by the input register.

### The "Would I Say This Aloud?" Test

Ask: "Would I say this word out loud to a colleague?" If no, replace it.

| Inflated (AI) | Precise (Human) |
|---|---|
| "utilize" | "use" |
| "endeavor" | "try" |
| "commence" | "start" or "begin" |
| "subsequently" | "then" or "later" or "after" |
| "approximately" | "about" or "roughly" |
| "demonstrate" | "show" |
| "encounter" | "find" or "hit" or "face" |
| "necessitate" | "need" or "require" |
| "facilitate" | "help" |
| "elucidate" | "explain" or "clarify" |
| "ascertain" | "find out" or "learn" |
| "constitutes" | "is" or "makes up" |
| "pertaining to" | "about" |
| "in the context of" | "in" or "for" |
| "a wide range of" | "many" or name the actual items |
| "plays a crucial role" | name the actual role |
| "serves as a testament to" | "proves" or "shows" |

### De-nominalization

AI loves nominalization -- turning verbs into abstract nouns. This buries the action and removes the actor.

**The fix:** Find the hidden verb inside the noun. Make it the main verb. Name the actor.

| Nominalized (AI) | De-nominalized (Human) |
|---|---|
| "The implementation of the system was completed" | "We implemented the system" |
| "An investigation was conducted" | "We investigated" |
| "There was an increase in participation" | "More people joined" |
| "The evaluation of the results revealed..." | "When we evaluated the results, we found..." |
| "The decision was made to proceed" | "We decided to proceed" |
| "Consideration should be given to..." | "Consider..." |
| "The establishment of a committee" | "We formed a committee" |
| "A reduction in costs was achieved" | "We cut costs" |
| "There is a need for improvement" | "This needs to improve" |
| "The application of pressure resulted in..." | "Pressing it caused..." |

**Detection rule:** Noun suffixes hiding a verb: **-tion, -ment, -ance, -ence, -ity, -ness, -ism**. If the sentence also contains "was," "were," "is," "are," or "there is/are," you have a nominalization to fix.

---

## 4. Paragraph Craft

### 12 Alternative Opening Structures

AI paragraphs overwhelmingly open with "The [noun]...", "This [noun]...", "It is...", or "[Topic] is..." Never open more than 2 of every 5 consecutive paragraphs with "The [noun]."

1. **Open with a verb (imperative or gerund):**
   "Consider what happens when..." / "Running those numbers again revealed..."

2. **Open with a prepositional phrase:**
   "Behind the data, a pattern emerged." / "After three failed attempts, the team pivoted."

3. **Open with a dependent clause:**
   "When the results came back, nobody celebrated." / "Because the budget was gone, we improvised."

4. **Open with a quotation or dialogue:**
   "'That can't be right,' she said, scrolling through the spreadsheet."

5. **Open with a number or statistic:**
   "Forty-three percent of respondents quit within the first week."

6. **Open with a contrast or concession:**
   "True, the prototype failed. But it failed in the right direction."

7. **Open with a question:**
   "What happens when you double the dose?"

8. **Open with an adverb or adverbial phrase:**
   "Quietly, the industry shifted." / "For three decades, nobody questioned the assumption."

9. **Open with a participial phrase:**
   "Stripped of its jargon, the argument was simple." / "Having exhausted every alternative, they returned to the original design."

10. **Open with a time reference:**
    "By Thursday, the project was dead." / "Three years later, the paper was retracted."

11. **Open with an analogy or image:**
    "Like sediment building in a river, the errors accumulated."

12. **Open with a short declarative or fragment:**
    "Wrong." / "Not quite." / "A dead end."

### Paragraph Length Variation

Let content dictate length. One-sentence paragraphs for sharp points. Ten-sentence paragraphs for complex arguments. Never let all paragraphs cluster at 3-5 sentences.

### No Transitions Needed

The best transition technique is no transition at all. Professional writers often simply start the next idea. The paragraph break itself is the transition. AI over-signals connections that the reader would have made on their own.

---

## 5. Strunk & White Essentials

From *The Elements of Style* -- the rules that most directly counter AI patterns.

### "Omit Needless Words"

> "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences."

This does NOT mean all sentences must be short. It means every word must earn its place.

| Inflated (AI Default) | Direct (Human) |
|---|---|
| "in order to" | "to" |
| "due to the fact that" | "because" |
| "at this point in time" | "now" |
| "it is important to note that" | (delete entirely, then state the thing) |
| "a number of" | "several" or "many" or the actual number |
| "in the event that" | "if" |
| "has the ability to" | "can" |
| "make a decision" | "decide" |
| "conduct an investigation" | "investigate" |
| "give consideration to" | "consider" |
| "is indicative of" | "indicates" or "shows" |
| "for the purpose of" | "to" or "for" |

### "Use the Active Voice"

Name the actor. Make them do the thing. Passive voice hides the doer and saps energy.

| Passive (AI Default) | Active (Human) |
|---|---|
| "The experiment was conducted by the team" | "The team ran the experiment" |
| "It was determined that the results were significant" | "The results were significant" (or: "We found significant results") |
| "Mistakes were made" | "We made mistakes" |

### "Put Statements in Positive Form"

State what is, not what isn't. Affirmative statements are stronger and more direct.

| Negative (AI Default) | Positive (Human) |
|---|---|
| "He was not very often on time" | "He usually came late" |
| "did not remember" | "forgot" |
| "did not pay attention to" | "ignored" |
| "not important" | "trivial" |
| "did not have much confidence in" | "distrusted" |

### "Use Definite, Specific, Concrete Language"

Vague language is the hallmark of AI prose. Specificity is the hallmark of human expertise.

| Vague (AI) | Specific (Human) |
|---|---|
| "A period of unfavorable weather set in" | "It rained every day for a week" |
| "He showed satisfaction" | "He grinned" |
| "Many factors played a role" | "Three factors drove the outcome: cost, timing, and public opposition" |

---

## 6. Zinsser Essentials

From *On Writing Well* -- the principles that most directly counter AI verbosity.

### The Clutter Doctrine

> "Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds -- the writer is always slightly behind."

**Cluttered words and their replacements:**

| Clutter (AI) | Clean (Human) |
|---|---|
| "facilitate" | "help" or "ease" |
| "individual" (as noun) | "person" |
| "sufficient" | "enough" |
| "attempt" | "try" |
| "numerous" | "many" |
| "utilize" | "use" |
| "implement" | "do" or "start" or "build" |
| "leverage" | "use" |
| "prioritize" | "rank" or "focus on" |
| "optimize" | "improve" |
| "methodology" | "method" |
| "functionality" | "feature" or what it actually does |
| "comprehensive" | (usually delete; if needed, "full" or "complete") |

### Think Small

Decide what corner of the subject you want to cover and cover it well. AI tries to cover everything; humans choose an angle. A piece about "the history of coffee" should actually be about one farm in Ethiopia in 1952, or one chemist who identified caffeine, or how your grandmother made it. Smallness creates authority.

### Write to One Person

Not to "readers" or "an audience." To someone specific. Imagine a smart friend sitting across from you. Write to them.

### Zinsser's Core Rules

1. **Rewrite relentlessly.** First drafts carry dead weight. Cut 30-50% on revision.
2. **Write with active verbs, not passive.** Active verbs push prose forward; passive verbs let it sag.
3. **Remove adverbs already conveyed by the verb.** "She smiled happily" -- cut "happily." If the smile isn't happy, choose a different verb: "She smirked."
4. **Be yourself.** "There is no style store; style is organic to the person doing the writing."

---

## 7. Natural Transitions

### The Blacklist

These transitions are banned as paragraph or sentence openers (see banned_patterns.md for the full list):
Moreover, Furthermore, Additionally, It is worth noting that, It is important to note, Notably, Consequently, In conclusion, In summary, Indeed, Certainly, Undoubtedly.

### What Humans Actually Use

**For addition:**
- "And" (yes, starting a sentence with "and" is fine)
- "Also" (in the middle of a sentence, not as an opener)
- "There's more to it."
- "On top of that" (conversational register)
- Just continue. No transition needed. Place the new idea after the old one. The reader infers the connection.

**For contrast:**
- "But" (starting a sentence with "but" is natural)
- "Still,"
- "Yet"
- "That said,"
- "Even so,"
- "Then again,"
- "The problem is..."
- "Except it didn't work."

**For cause/effect:**
- "So" (the most natural causal connector in English)
- "That's why..."
- "The result:"
- "Which meant..."
- "This broke everything."

**For examples:**
- "Take [specific case]."
- "Here's what that looks like:"
- "Say you're..."
- "[Specific name] found this out the hard way."

**For emphasis:**
- "The point is..."
- "What matters here:"
- "This is the part people miss."
- Repetition of a key word from the previous paragraph.

### The Best Transition Technique

No transition at all. The paragraph break itself is the transition. AI over-signals connections that the reader would have made on their own.

### Before (AI):
> Furthermore, the research additionally revealed that participants who exercised regularly showed improvement. Moreover, these improvements were notably consistent across age groups. Consequently, the team concluded that exercise is indeed beneficial.

### After (human):
> The exercisers improved. Every age group, same pattern. The team had expected age to matter. It didn't.

---

## 8. The Register-Matching Rule

Match the formality level of the input. Do not impose a voice.

- If the input is casual, write casual output. Use contractions, slang, short sentences.
- If the input is academic, write academic output. Longer sentences are fine. Technical terms are fine. But still avoid the banned words.
- If the input is business professional, match that register. Clear, direct, confident. No buzzwords.
- If the input is creative/literary, allow more stylistic freedom. Fragments, imagery, subtext.

**The key rule:** The rewrite should sound like it was written by the same person who wrote the input -- just better. Never convert casual input to formal output or vice versa.

**Preserving what's already human:** If the original contains opinions, humor, personal anecdotes, tangents, mixed feelings, or uncertainty -- those are the most valuable parts. They're exactly what distinguishes human writing from model output. Protect them fiercely. Humanisation means stripping the machine layer to reveal the person underneath, not replacing one voice with another. If the writer says "I keep coming back to this" or "Here's what bugs me" -- that's gold. Keep it.

---

## 9. The 10 Commandments of Anti-AI Prose

1. **Vary sentence length ruthlessly.** Target SD of 6+ words. Mix 3-word punches with 30-word runs.
2. **Kill nominalizations.** Find the verb hiding in the noun. Use it.
3. **Choose the short word.** "Use" not "utilize." "Help" not "facilitate." Anglo-Saxon over Latin.
4. **Delete transitions.** If the reader can follow without "moreover," cut "moreover."
5. **Open paragraphs differently every time.** Track your first words. Force variety.
6. **Omit needless words.** Then omit more. If a sentence works without a word, the word is needless.
7. **Use active voice by default.** Name the actor. Make them do the thing.
8. **Put the strongest word at the end of the sentence.** The last position carries the most weight.
9. **Break a rule on purpose.** Fragment. Start with "And." End with a preposition. One deliberate break per page signals a human hand.
10. **Never use a word from the blacklist.** Not once. They are burned. Find another way to say it.

---

## 10. The Copyeditor's 9-Step Pass

Run this checklist on every rewrite before delivering output.

### Step 1: Read Aloud
Mark every sentence where your voice falls into a monotone. Rewrite those.

### Step 2: Circle First Words
Circle the first word of every sentence. If more than 30% start with "The," "This," "It," or a proper noun -- rewrite openers.

### Step 3: Highlight All Transitions
Delete half of them. The remaining connections should be implicit.

### Step 4: Find Every Sentence Over 20 Words
Can it be split? Should it be?

### Step 5: Find Every Sentence Under 8 Words
Does it punch? Or is it just short for no reason?

### Step 6: Search for Blacklisted Words
Replace every one. No exceptions. See banned_patterns.md for the complete list.

### Step 7: Count Paragraphs
If they're all the same length, combine some and split others.

### Step 8: Find the Writer's Opinion
If there is no opinion anywhere in the piece -- add one. Humans have opinions. AI hedges.

### Step 9: The "First Google Result" Test
Ask: "What would a reader learn from this that they couldn't get from the first Google result?" If nothing -- the piece needs a specific angle, detail, or experience.

---

## Appendix A: The Stop-Slop Evaluation Framework

Score 1-10 on each dimension. Below 35/50 total = revise the piece.

| Dimension | What It Measures | Scoring Guide |
|---|---|---|
| **Directness** | Does it reach the point without throat-clearing? | 10 = first sentence is the point. 1 = three paragraphs of setup before the point. |
| **Rhythm** | Does sentence/paragraph length vary naturally? | 10 = SD > 7, wide range. 1 = every sentence 15-20 words. |
| **Trust** | Does it respect reader intelligence (no over-explaining)? | 10 = no meta-commentary, no restated conclusions. 1 = every point explained twice. |
| **Authenticity** | Does it sound like a specific human wrote it? | 10 = distinct voice, opinions, specifics. 1 = could be any AI model. |
| **Density** | Is every word necessary? | 10 = couldn't cut a single word. 1 = 50% could be deleted without information loss. |

---

## Appendix B: Sentence-Level Quick Fixes

| AI Pattern | Human Fix |
|---|---|
| Every sentence 15-20 words | Mix 3-word fragments with 30-word complex sentences |
| Passive voice default | Name the actor. Use active voice. |
| No contractions | Use "we've," "don't," "it's," "can't" |
| No sentence-initial conjunctions | Start sentences with "And," "But," "So" |
| No fragments | Use fragments for emphasis. "Absolutely not." "Gone." |
| Elaborate verbs ("serves as," "facilitates") | Simple verbs: "is," "has," "shows," "helps" |
| Vague ("many studies," "significant improvement") | Specific: "Three studies in 2024." "A 25% increase." |
| No sensory detail | Add what it smelled like, sounded like, felt like |

---

## Appendix C: Voice-Level Quick Fixes

| AI Pattern | Human Fix |
|---|---|
| No personal experience | Add specific anecdotes only you would know |
| No genuine uncertainty | "I'm not sure about this" is human; "It's important to note" is AI |
| No mixed feelings | "I loved the interface but the onboarding was confusing" |
| No humor or wit | Even dry, understated humor signals a human hand |
| No tangents | Brief asides that connect to real experience |
| No opinions | State preferences. Disagree with common wisdom. Commit to positions. |
| Emotionally flat despite emotional vocabulary | Use concrete sensory details rather than abstract emotional words |
| No metacognitive reflection | "I changed my mind about this," "I used to think X but now..." |

---

*These principles are comprehensive enough to humanise any text. Apply them in order: word choice first (banned_patterns.md), then structural fixes (structural_tells.md), then these positive rewrite principles. The goal is prose that could only have been written by a specific person, not by a statistical model.*
