How to Detect AI Writing

Writing with AI

9 min read

How to Detect AI Writing

Find out practical techniques to recognize AI-generated content in essays and research papers.

Written by

Kateryna B.

Published on

Jul 30, 2025

Table of contents

Detecting AI Content Matters in Academic Writing. Why?
Simple Steps on How to Detect AI in Writing
Final Thoughts

Table of contents

Detecting AI Content Matters in Academic Writing. Why?
Simple Steps on How to Detect AI in Writing
Final Thoughts

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As 72% of marketers now use AI writing tools (Siege Media, 2024), students often unknowingly mimic AI-like tone and structure. In all of the chase of automation and productivity, it’s important to know how to make sure your work still reflects your voice and originality. That’s why learning methods for detecting AI-generated writing make sense.

In this article, you’ll discover how to spot repetitive phrases, unnatural sentence structure, vague facts, and more. Plus, explore how StudyPro can help you evaluate and humanize your writing for better academic integrity and truly original results.

Detecting AI Content Matters in Academic Writing. Why?

At the end of the day, AI won't get the mark or grade, but the student will. So, identifying how to detect AI-generated text in academic writing is a big deal, especially if you aim to maintain academic integrity. Firstly, to identify AI generated content and remove it is a step to ensure the originality of the work. Secondly, promoting human written text and fact-checking will demonstrate the student's own understanding and critical thinking skills.

Lastly, relying too heavily on AI can result in plagiarized content or unintentional duplication, which is why it won't hurt to learn how to avoid plagiarism in academic writing.

Simple Steps on How to Detect AI in Writing

Obviously, it's in your best interest, whether you are a student, a teacher, or a researcher, to understand how do AI detectors work. Especially if you’re concerned about maintaining originality in your writing process in academic work. There are multiple ways to detect AI content writing, specific characteristics, such as checking sentence structure, keeping an eye on repetitions, and checking the tone of the writing. Let's show you the noticeable patterns to pay attention to.

Patterns of Repetition in AI-Generated Writing

One of the foolproof ways to detect AI writing is to look for repetitions. AI writing tools tend to produce repetitive phrases because they often overlook redundancy. Eventually, this is how to tell if AI writes something. Since most tools lack accurate contextual understanding, they may restate the same point differently or reuse identical phrases within a few sentences. Recognizing this helps writers and educators better evaluate the pros and cons of AI in academic or creative writing.

Example of AI-Generated Repetition

Sentence Structure Patterns in AI Writing

AI detection tools are designed to look for unnatural sentence patterns. So, how to identify content generated by AI? Noticing too long sentences combined with a dash (—) using the same linking words and connections (moreover, however, also, due to), this is how to detect AI writing.

When reviewing your work, ask:

Do these sentences carry real meaning?
Does the tone feel human?
Are transitions overused?

Identifying these signs helps ensure your writing is authentic and engaging.

Example of AI-generated text:

‘In conclusion, AI tools can be helpful. Moreover, they help students write better. In addition, AI tools improve grammar. However, there are also some problems. In conclusion, students should use them carefully.’

Example of human-written text:

‘While AI tools can certainly improve grammar and structure, they don’t always reflect a student’s voice. Using them wisely means knowing when to revise the content to make it truly your own.’

Common Word Choices Typical of AI Writing

One of the clear signs of AI writing is the overuse of overly formal or generic vocabulary that lacks a natural flow. Students may unknowingly include words that AI tools often repeat, making their work sound mechanical or impersonal. The solution is very easy, one should read their work aloud and revise words that feel overly formal.

Example of AI-like fragment:

'Furthermore, this paper will delve into strategies that enhance productivity and ensure optimal outcomes.'

Humanized version:

'This paper explores useful strategies that can actually help students work more efficiently and get better results.'

Most Common AI Words

Boost
Crucial
Delve
Elevate
Enhance
Ensure
Especially
Futhermore
Key
Powerful
Productivity
Robust
Thus

Errors in Facts and Quotations

The widespread availability of generative AI has made it drastically easier to produce text, automating research and writing that could take hours or even days. However, large language models, or LLMs, tend to hallucinate. The cases of AI hallucinations are more and more common. Hence, it’s important to double-check all facts, names of organizations, and quotes used, especially the quotes. When AI struggles to find the answer, instead of saying - there is no answer, AI generates false positives answers. Here is an example of errors in facts and quotations.

How AI Produces Errors

In the given example, the AI was convinced that Jack London is responsible for the phrase about the moon. However, in reality, Mark Twain (1835–1910) wrote in his satirical travel guide ‘A Tramp Abroad’, published in 1880: ‘Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.’

Detecting the Tone of Writing in AI-Generated Texts

When wondering how is AI detected in essays, remember that certain things like sense of art, beauty, and humor are the attributes that rely solely on people and their creativity, conscience. No AI writing tool can write a poem or sonnet like Shakespeare did. Artificial intelligence can copy and update, but not create.

Overall, AI text lacks a unique style or tone; it sounds dry and robotic. It doesn't use enough descriptive adjectives.

Overuse of Lists and Tables in Text

No doubt, the lists, tables, and bullet points are very practical, but you can describe all your thoughts and ideas using them. Many AI text generators rely heavily on lists to present ideas quickly. This can make the work look mechanical and less engaging. Not every good essay needs a list on every topic; mixing in smooth paragraphs helps keep your writing natural and interesting. Balancing lists with flowing text shows your unique voice and critical thinking skills.

Too Generic Explanations

Human generated content is usually based on deep research and includes lots of details. On the contrary, AI-generated texts often sound fancy but have zero facts or clear information. Behind complex, unnatural words, the content may not provide real value. To learn how to detect AI writing in student papers, students should ask:

Does the text answer 'who,' 'what,' 'when,' 'where,' and 'why'?
Are there specific names, dates, or places mentioned in the text?
The text has a clear reason, explanation, or argument in it.

For instance, AI might say, 'Plants grow better in suitable conditions,' which is too general. A human writer would specify, 'Cucumbers grow best at 70°F with six hours of sunlight,' offering useful, detailed information. Always look for depth beyond surface-level wording.

Inaccurate or Outdated Facts in AI Writing

When students work with content generators, once again, it makes sense to check if something was written by AI, mainly when the writing includes facts or dates. Why? Because AI tools often rely on outdated databases and can provide incorrect information, like false release dates or events that never happened. To avoid this, always verify sources.

Ask:

Is this the latest data?
Is the news still relevant?
Has the fact been confirmed?

You can find the confirmation in multiple sources, and it’s a smart idea to check social media for verification.

For example, asking OpenAI when the SpaceX program will start the colonization project, you will receive this information.

'Elon Musk has expressed ambitious goals for colonizing space—particularly Mars—through his company SpaceX. According to Musk’s most recent public statements:

First crewed mission to Mars: Tentatively planned for the 2030s, possibly as early as 2030, depending on the success of uncrewed missions and rocket development.

Long-term colonization: Musk envisions building a self-sustaining city on Mars by 2050, with regular Starship flights ferrying people and cargo.'

However, checking Elon Musk’s media and SpaceX website, we simply can’t find any information to confirm this.

Lack of Author’s Voice in the Text

Another cool trick you can use to detect AI writing is noticing the absence of the author’s voice or personal perspective. When students are asked to share their impressions or experiences, AI-generated content tends to sound vague and impersonal because AI lacks lived experience. Instead of insight or emotion, the text offers general statements without explicit opinions or specific details. This makes it easy to recognize non-human authorship. See yourself.

Example: ‘Traveling teaches valuable life lessons and helps people grow emotionally and intellectually.’ A human would likely add, ‘During my trip to Italy, I overcame my fear of flying.’

Using AI Detector Tools Correctly

Many tools today can help students, teachers, or researchers detect AI generated academic writing with ease. These AI-based platforms and tools analyze sentence structure, tone, vocabulary, and even factual consistency to spot unnatural or automated patterns.

One popular AI detector is the StudyPro AI Detector, which compares a student’s writing to known AI-generated patterns and highlights suspicious segments. These tools are invaluable when checking whether authenticity matters in essays, reports, or research papers.

Final Thoughts

Understanding how to detect AI writing style is vital for maintaining originality in academic work. We walked you through the common signs of AI-generated content: repetitive phrases, unnatural sentence structures, generic vocabulary, vague or outdated facts, and lack of author voice.

Students are encouraged to verify sources and assess sentence tone. With AI becoming widespread in academic settings, learning to recognize and refine such content ensures students produce authentic, well-informed, and personally crafted work that reflects real knowledge and skill.

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Frequently asked questions

Of course. There is a number of tools available to detect AI generated text and AI generated content. They analyze patterns such as sentence structure, repetition, lack of emotional depth, odd sentences, specific words, and overuse of generic phrases. Platforms like GPTZero, Turnitin’s AI detection, and StudyPro AI Detector are popular amongst students and teachers.

To understand how to detect AI in student writing, teachers can look for signs like overly formal tone, repetitive structure, generic sentences, and ideas. Quite often, AI-generated text may also miss emotional nuance or critical thinking. Teachers can combine their knowledge and experience with the software tools to evaluate the authenticity of a student’s work and uphold academic integrity.

If students or teachers want to save time, there is an option for automatic AI content detection. Teachers and students can use specialized StudyPro detection tool. This tool will compare the human written content text against known AI-generated samples using algorithms. Automatic detection supports academic integrity by flagging questionable content for further review, making identifying and addressing unoriginal or overly automated writing easier.

Sources:

Mauran, C. (2025, May 27). 120 court cases have been caught with AI hallucinations, according to new database. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/over-120-court-cases-caught-ai-hallucinations-new-database
vollmond.info. (2023, January 29). The Moon and Mark Twain. fullmoon.info. https://www.fullmoon.info/en/blog/mark-twain-moon.html#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20famous%20quote,he%20never%20shows%20to%20anybody.
Siege Media. (2024, January 3). AI writing statistics: 45 facts and trends for 2024. https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/ai-writing-statistics
Dilmegani, C. (2025, July 24). Bias in AI: Examples and 6 Ways to Fix it in 2025. AIMultiple. https://research.aimultiple.com/ai-bias/

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