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Add "Avoiding AI tells" chapter - #38

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Jun 22, 2026
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Add "Avoiding AI tells" chapter#38
d-morrison merged 1 commit into
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claude/adoring-thompson-se1sxv

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Closes #37.

What

Adds a new chapter, chapters/avoid-ai-tells.qmd, cataloging the patterns that mark prose as AI-generated so writers can remove them. The chapter is aimed mainly at AI writing assistants drafting scientific prose, and at humans editing AI-assisted drafts (per the issue).

It groups the tells into four sections:

  • Overused vocabulary — a table of frequent offenders (delve into, leverage, robust, pivotal, testament to, …) with plainer alternatives, cross-referencing the existing Word choice chapter.
  • Rhetorical reflexes — the not just X, but Y antithesis (with a ❌/✅ example), mechanical lists of three, signpost filler, hedging stacks, and hollow summaries.
  • Formatting habits — em-dash overuse, mechanically applied bold-leading bullets, emoji headers, uniform paragraph rhythm.
  • Tone — promotional language, reflexive both-sides framing, and vague universals (cross-referencing Citations and evidence).

Why

Issue #37 asks for a section on avoiding AI "tells". As the lab increasingly drafts with AI assistance, a shared catalog of these patterns gives both the assistants and their human editors a checklist to work against.

Notes

  • Linked in the navbar in _quarto-website.yml, positioned after Word choice (closest thematic fit).
  • Follows the existing chapter conventions: the four-format format: front matter, the _copilot-disclaimer.qmd include, :::{#tbl-…} / :::{#exm-…} callouts, and ❌/✅ example pairs as in Word choice and Conciseness.
  • The chapter tries to practice what it preaches: moderate em-dash use, no antithesis reflex in its own prose, and bold-leading bullets only for the genuinely term-defining lists (the legitimate use the chapter describes).
  • Verified locally: renders to HTML cleanly, the navbar entry appears, @tbl-ai-vocabulary resolves to "Table 1", and the cross-chapter links resolve to the right .html pages. No _site//_freeze/ artifacts committed.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_01SMifRtfsNmVvNrh5jMFz13


Generated by Claude Code

Closes #37.

Add a chapter cataloging the patterns that mark prose as AI-generated:
overused vocabulary, rhetorical reflexes (the "not just X, but Y"
antithesis, signpost filler, hedging stacks), formatting habits (em-dash
overuse, mechanical bold-leading bullets, emoji headers), and promotional
tone. It is aimed at AI writing assistants drafting scientific prose and
at humans editing AI-assisted drafts.

Link it in the navbar after "Word choice", and cross-reference the
existing Word choice and Citations and evidence chapters where the
advice overlaps.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Haiku 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01SMifRtfsNmVvNrh5jMFz13
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 22, 2026 01:19
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github-actions Bot removed the request for review from Copilot June 22, 2026 01:19
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claude Bot commented Jun 22, 2026

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Pull request overview

Adds a new Quarto chapter to the book that catalogs common “AI tells” in scientific prose (vocabulary, rhetorical patterns, formatting habits, and tone), and links it into the website navigation so readers can find it alongside related writing-guidance chapters.

Changes:

  • Added a new chapter chapters/avoid-ai-tells.qmd with a table (@tbl-ai-vocabulary) and an example callout (#exm-antithesis) following existing Quarto conventions.
  • Updated _quarto-website.yml to include the new chapter in the “Chapters” navbar menu (positioned after Word choice).

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File Description
chapters/avoid-ai-tells.qmd New chapter content with cross-references, table/example blocks, and consistent Quarto formatting/front matter.
_quarto-website.yml Adds the chapter to the navbar so it renders as a discoverable website page.

@d-morrison
d-morrison merged commit e540bfa into main Jun 22, 2026
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@d-morrison
d-morrison deleted the claude/adoring-thompson-se1sxv branch June 22, 2026 06:24
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PR Preview Action v1.8.1
Preview removed because the pull request was closed.
2026-06-22 06:28 UTC

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avoid AI "tells"

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