LLM Prose Tells

16 hours ago

LLM-generated prose often uses em-dashes excessively, replacing other punctuation marks.
Common patterns include the 'not X—but Y' pivot, colon elaborations, and triple constructions with exactly three parallel items.
Sentence structures tend to be uniform, such as two-clause compound sentences or staccato bursts of short sentences.
Word choice often includes overused intensifiers and elevated register drift (e.g., 'utilize' instead of 'use').
Rhetorical patterns include balanced takes, throat-clearing openers, and hedge stacks to soften arguments.
Structural tells include symmetrical section lengths, rigid five-paragraph formats, and connector addiction in transitions.
Framing tells involve claiming broader implications without evidence and relying on clichéd metaphors.
A detailed copyediting checklist helps remove LLM-generated patterns by simplifying word choice, restructuring sentences, and varying paragraph lengths.
The document itself was written by an LLM and iteratively edited to reduce its own LLM-generated patterns.

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