Have you ever observed sure phrases and phrases popping up all over the place recently?
Phrases resembling “delve into” and “navigate the panorama” appear to characteristic in every little thing from social media posts to information articles and educational publications. They might sound fancy, however their overuse could make a textual content really feel monotonous and repetitive.
This pattern could also be linked to the rising use of generative synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments resembling ChatGPT and different massive language fashions (LLMs). These instruments are designed to make writing simpler by providing strategies primarily based on patterns within the textual content they had been educated on.
Nonetheless, these patterns can result in the overuse of sure stylistic phrases and phrases, leading to works that don’t carefully resemble real human writing.
The rise of stylistic language
Generative AI instruments are educated on huge quantities of textual content from varied sources. As such, they have a tendency to favour the commonest phrases and phrases of their outputs.
Since ChatGPT’s launch, using phrases resembling “delves”, “showcasing”, “underscores”, “pivotal”, “realm” and “meticulous” has surged in educational writing.
And though a lot of the analysis has seemed particularly at educational writing, the stylistic language pattern has appeared in varied different types of writing, together with pupil essays and college functions. As one editor instructed Forbes, “tapestry” is a very frequent offending time period in circumstances the place AI was used to put in writing a draft:
I now not consider there’s a approach to innocently use the phrase ‘tapestry’ in an essay; if the phrase ‘tapestry’ seems, it was generated by ChatGPT.
Examples of overused stylistic phrases and their simplified alternate options, from a ChatGPT question made on September 11. ChatGPT/screenshot
Why it’s an issue
The overuse of sure phrases and phrases results in writing shedding its private contact. It turns into more durable to tell apart between particular person voices and views and every little thing takes on a robotic undertone.
Additionally, phrases resembling “revolutionise” or “intriguing” – whereas they may seem to be they’re supplying you with a extra polished product – can truly make writing more durable to know.
Fashionable and/or flowery language doesn’t talk concepts as successfully as clear and simple language. Past this, one examine discovered easy and exact phrases not solely improve comprehension, but in addition make the author seem extra clever.
Lastly, the overuse of stylistic phrases could make writing boring. Writing must be partaking and diversified; counting on a number of buzzwords will result in readers tuning out.
There’s presently no analysis that can provide us a precise record of the commonest stylistic phrases utilized by ChatGPT; this may require an exhaustive evaluation of each output ever generated. That stated, right here’s what ChatGPT itself introduced when requested the query.
Attainable options
So how can we repair this? Listed here are some concepts:
1. Pay attention to repetition
For those who’re utilizing a instrument resembling ChatGPT, take note of how usually sure phrases or phrases come up. For those who discover the identical phrases showing many times, attempt switching them out for easier and/or extra unique language. As a substitute of claiming “delve into” you could possibly simply say “discover”, or “take a look at it carefully”.
2. Ask for clear language
A lot of what you get out of ChatGPT will come right down to the particular immediate you give it. For those who don’t need complicated language, attempt asking it to “write clearly, with out utilizing complicated phrases”.
3. Edit your work
ChatGPT generally is a useful place to begin for writing many various kinds of textual content, however enhancing its outputs stays essential. By reviewing and altering sure phrases and phrases, you may nonetheless add your individual voice to the output.
Being artistic with synonyms is a technique to do that. You can use a thesaurus, or assume extra rigorously about what you’re making an attempt to speak in your textual content – and the way you would possibly do that in a brand new manner.
4. Customise AI settings
Many AI instruments resembling ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Claude let you regulate the writing fashion by settings or tailor-made prompts. For instance, you may prioritise readability and ease, or create an exclusion record to keep away from sure phrases.
The customized instruction settings in ChatGPT will be helpful in tailoring outputs to fulfill your wants. ChatGPT/screenshot
By being extra conscious of how we use generative AI and making an effort to put in writing with readability and originality, we are able to keep away from falling into the AI fashion entice.
In the long run, writing must be about expressing your concepts in your individual manner. Whereas ChatGPT can assist, it’s as much as every of us to verify we’re saying what we actually wish to – and never what an AI instrument tells us to. 
- Ritesh Chugh, Affiliate Professor – Data and Communications Know-how, CQUniversity Australia
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