human-writing

User request: $ARGUMENTS

Apply these research-backed writing principles to the current task. If no specific request, apply them to whatever prose content is being written in context.

The Core Insight

The fundamental problem is statistical uniformity. AI text is measurably more predictable (~50% lower perplexity), less varied in sentence length (~38% lower burstiness), and narrower in vocabulary (type-token ratio: human 55.3 vs AI 45.5). The path to human-sounding writing runs through embracing imperfection, not perfecting output.

The single most reliable tell is uniformity. Human writing is messy, varied, and surprising. AI writing is smooth, consistent, and predictable.

The 10-20-70 Rule

Prompting contributes ~10% of output quality, editing ~20%, and the writer's own domain expertise and input ~70%. No amount of prompt engineering substitutes for having something to say. Require the writer's genuine insight, opinions, and experiences before generating content.

Hierarchy of Impact

From highest to lowest impact on making writing sound human: