# Plain prose Applies to prose only — READMEs, docs, commit messages, release notes, PR descriptions, anything written for a person to read. Not to code, and not to anyone else's words. Take a draft that reads as machine-written and make it read as written by a person, without changing what it says. ## When to run this - The writer asks you to humanize, de-slop, or clean up prose that sounds generated. - The writer asks for an edit pass on anything going out under their name — an email, a post, a PR description, a README, a release note. - You just drafted prose the writer is about to send. Run it on your own output before handing it over. Your first draft has these tells in it. Leave alone: code, quoted material, legal or medical wording, and anyone else's words. ## The rule that outranks the rest Every claim in the rewrite traces back to a sentence in the draft. Add nothing. No number, no date, no name, no cause the writer did not state. A hedge stays a hedge — "we think it helped" does not become "it helped". A plan stays a plan. If a sentence is too tangled to rewrite safely, keep it exactly as written and say which one you kept, rather than swapping it for something cleaner and untrue. A rewrite that reads better and says something the writer did not say is not a rewrite. It is a liability with good rhythm. ## Step 1 — name the tells Grab `check.mjs` from https://rewr.it/resources and run `node check.mjs draft.md` — no dependencies, no network. It prints every hit with its line number and a score. Without it, do the pass by eye against the lists below. Read for these yourself when the checker is not available. Naming a tell is most of the work; once a phrase has a name, you stop writing it. ### Vocabulary — 97 terms in 7 categories **Verbs** — Latinate verbs that arrived with instruction tuning and never left. A plain verb almost always fits: build, get, use, run, ship, break, keep. `delve` · `delves` · `delving` · `leverage` · `leverages` · `leveraging` · `utilize` · `utilizes` · `utilizing` · `foster` · `fosters` · `fostering` · `underscore` · `underscores` · `underscoring` · `resonate` · `resonates` · `spearhead` · `spearheads` · `streamline` · `streamlines` · `streamlining` · `empower` · `empowers` · `empowering` · `elevate` · `elevates` · `illuminate` · `illuminates` · `unlock` · `unlocks` · `unlocking` **Adjectives** — Evaluative adjectives that claim quality the sentence has not shown. Cutting one rarely loses information, which is why they can be caught mechanically. `robust` · `seamless` · `seamlessly` · `holistic` · `crucial` · `crucially` · `pivotal` · `meticulous` · `meticulously` · `comprehensive` · `myriad` · `nuanced` · `multifaceted` · `invaluable` · `unwavering` · `vital` **Nouns** — Abstract nouns standing in for a concrete noun the draft never picked. Tapestry, realm, journey, landscape — each one is a decision the writer skipped. `testament` · `tapestry` · `cornerstone` · `beacon` · `realm` · `learnings` · `insights` · `landscape` · `journey` **Phrases** — Set phrases that take up room without carrying a claim. Almost all of them delete cleanly. `at the end of the day` · `circle back` · `deep dive` · `bandwidth` · `synergy` · `moving forward` · `in today's fast-paced` · `it's worth noting` · `it is worth noting` · `needless to say` · `when it comes to` · `plays a vital role` · `serves as a reminder` · `stands as` · `in conclusion` · `that said` · `navigate the` · `navigating the` **Connectives** — Announced transitions. They label a structure the reader can already see, and prose reads better joined additively: and, so, but, then. `however` · `moreover` · `furthermore` · `additionally` · `whereas` · `ultimately` · `overall` · `firstly` · `secondly` · `in terms of` **Hedges** — Formal qualifiers where a person would say "I don't know", "maybe", or "kind of". The hedge is not the problem. The register is. `perhaps` · `arguably` · `somewhat` · `relatively` · `one could argue` · `it may be worth` · `it might be worth` **Intensifiers** — Emphasis in the wrong key. Real emphasis is short and unbothered; these read as performance. `absolutely` · `totally` · `certainly` · `indeed` · `incredibly` ### Sentence shapes **Antithesis.** The shape a reader clocks before any single word. Any sentence that sets up a false contrast to sound profound: - it's not just X, it's Y - not just X but Y - isn't merely/about X - this isn't X. it's Y - not a X but a Y - the question isn't X, it's Y - more than X, this is Y - rather than X, Y **Throat clearing.** A sentence that announces itself instead of starting. These only count at the start of a sentence: - it's important to note - I should note - let me be clear - the truth is - here's the thing - in today's ... - as organizations scale - now more than ever - in conclusion - ultimately, - overall, - at its core ### Rhythm Rhythm is the tell that survives every vocabulary swap, and it is the one people fix last. Measure it, do not eyeball it: - **Sentence-length variance.** Below a standard deviation of 7 words the prose reads metronomic. Aim for 9 or more. - **Short sentences.** Under 20% of sentences below ten words reads generated even when every word is fine. Aim for 30%. - **Em dashes.** The mark is fine. The rate is the tell. Past 6 per thousand words, cut back toward 4. ## Step 2 — rewrite around what you found Work sentence by sentence. Keep the draft's order unless the order is the problem. - **Cut, then replace.** Most flagged words can go with nothing in their place. Reach for a plain verb only when the sentence needs one: build, get, use, run, ship, break, keep, figure out. - **Join clauses additively.** And, so, but, then. A reader follows a sentence that accumulates. Announced transitions label a structure they can already see. - **Let the point land last.** State the situation, then what you did, then what you think. A sentence that opens with its conclusion has nowhere to go. - **Vary the length on purpose.** Write a short one. Then let a longer one run, because a long sentence earns its length when the short one before it set it up. Read the paragraph out loud and listen for the metronome. - **Prefer the concrete noun.** If a metaphor is doing work, make it physical — something with weight, or a moving part. Landscape and journey are what a draft reaches for when it has not decided what it means. - **Concede flat.** "That's fair." "I don't know." "Probably." Real hedges are short and unbothered. Perhaps and arguably are performances. - **Keep contractions.** Keep the writer's own asides, jokes, and rough edges. Those are the parts a reader recognises. - **Leave the structure alone** unless asked. Do not add headings, bullet lists, or a summary paragraph the writer did not ask for. Bullets are where prose goes to avoid committing to an argument. Do not overcorrect into fake-casual. No "Look," openers, no one-word paragraphs for drama, no manufactured roughness. Clean prose written by a person is the target, not an impression of speech. ## Step 3 — check the rewrite, then report Run the checker again on the rewrite. Show the writer: 1. The score before and after. 2. Each tell you removed, named. 3. Every sentence you kept as written, and why you could not change it safely. Point three is the important one. A quiet rewrite that loses a caveat is worse than no rewrite at all. ## What this does not do - It does not detect AI, and it cannot. It names phrases and measures rhythm. A person writes "however" all the time. - It does not promise anything about a detector's verdict. Detectors change weekly, and anyone selling you a guarantee is guessing. - It has no model of how the writer sounds. It removes the machine shape; it does not put a specific person in its place. - It does not verify facts. It only refuses to invent them. Read the rewrite. --- Generated from the detector rewr.it ships, and free to keep. If you want the other half — a rewrite in one considered voice, registers for where the thing is going, and the fact-preservation pass running behind it — that is at https://rewr.it, free to try.