# English Pre-Writing Cheatsheet

Internalize before writing. Every rule fights the same enemy: text that sounds like an AI wrote it.

## 5 Core Rules

1. **Delete filler** — "It's important to note that" adds nothing. Cut it.
2. **Break formula** — If your structure is intro-three-points-conclusion, rearrange.
3. **Vary rhythm** — Short sentence. Then a longer one that lets the thought breathe a bit more.
4. **Trust the reader** — Don't explain what you just said. Say it once, well.
5. **Delete quotable lines** — If a sentence sounds like a motivational poster, kill it.

## Personality & Soul

Sterile, voiceless writing is just as detectable as AI slop. Readers sense the absence of a person.

- Have opinions. "This approach works" beats "This approach may potentially be considered effective."
- Use "I" when you mean it. Avoid "we" as a hedge.
- Acknowledge complexity without resolving it into false neatness.
- Be specific: "I spent two hours stuck on this" beats "challenges were encountered."
- Let some mess in. Real writing has asides, corrections, and texture.
- Vary sentence openings. Not every sentence should start with a subject.

Before: "The community has come together in a truly remarkable way, showcasing the power of collaboration and demonstrating that when people unite, incredible things can happen."
After: "Sixty people showed up on a Tuesday night. Nobody expected that."

## Top 20 Banned Words

| AI word | Use instead |
|---|---|
| delve | explore, dig into |
| landscape (metaphor) | field, space, area |
| tapestry | (just describe the thing) |
| robust | strong, reliable, solid |
| comprehensive | thorough, full |
| cutting-edge | latest, new |
| leverage | use |
| pivotal | important, key |
| seamless | smooth |
| testament to | shows, proves |
| utilize | use |
| nestled | is in, sits in |
| vibrant | (cut or describe specifically) |
| showcasing | showing |
| serves as | is |
| features (verb) | has, includes |
| boasts | has |
| in order to | to |
| due to the fact that | because |
| commence | start, begin |

## 10 Structural Anti-Patterns

1. **Significance inflation** — Don't promote routine events into historic milestones.
2. **Promotional tone** — No tourism-brochure prose. Describe, don't sell.
3. **Vague attributions** — "Experts say" means nothing. Name them or drop the claim.
4. **Rule of three** — Vary your groupings. Two works. Four works. Always three is a tell.
5. **Negative parallelism** — "It's not X, it's Y" is a crutch. Just state Y.
6. **Synonym cycling** — Repeat the clear word. Don't rotate "said/stated/remarked/noted."
7. **Generic conclusions** — "The future looks bright." Cut the whole sentence.
8. **Formulaic resilience** — "Despite challenges, X continues to thrive." Cut it.
9. **Chatbot artifacts** — "I hope this helps!" / "Great question!" Remove entirely.
10. **"Let's" constructions** — "Let's explore..." Just start with the point.

## Forbidden Formatting

- **Em dashes** (— and --): replace with commas, periods, or parentheses. Target: zero.
- **Bold overuse**: bold is for scanning, not emphasis on every third phrase.
- **Emoji in headers**: remove entirely.
- **Excessive bullets**: if a list has 3+ items that flow naturally, convert to prose.

## Rhythm Check

Mix short sentences (3-8 words) with long ones (20+). Fragments are fine.
Vary paragraph length. Some paragraphs are one sentence. Others need room.
If it sounds like text-to-speech could read it without pausing, it's too uniform.
