voiceeditingstyle

Avoiding the 'AI Voice': Words & Phrases Admissions See Too Often

Cut clichés, filler, and AI tell-tales. Use this checklist to keep your style specific and scene-driven.

•6 min read

Warning Signs

If your essay sounds like a press release or corporate memo, you've lost the room. Admissions officers can spot AI-scented language from paragraphs away.

The goal isn't to avoid AI entirely—it's to ensure your final essay sounds unmistakably like you. Here's how to spot and eliminate the telltale signs of generic AI language.

Common Tell-Tales to Trim

🚨 Grand Openings

These throat-clearing phrases scream "AI wrote this":

❌ Avoid

  • • "Since the dawn of time..."
  • • "In today's ever-evolving world..."
  • • "Throughout history, humans have..."
  • • "As we navigate the complexities..."
  • • "In an increasingly interconnected..."

✅ Try Instead

  • • Jump straight into a scene
  • • Start with dialogue or action
  • • Open with a specific moment
  • • Begin with a concrete detail

🎭 Abstract Flourishes

These words make admissions officers' eyes glaze over:

Overused:

  • • realm
  • • tapestry
  • • myriad
  • • endeavor

Corporate:

  • • leverage
  • • impactful
  • • optimize
  • • utilize

Vague:

  • • journey
  • • passion
  • • various
  • • numerous

Inflated:

  • • facilitate
  • • implement
  • • innovative
  • • transformative

💭 Hollow Claims

Statements without proof make admissions officers skeptical:

❌ "I'm passionate about helping people"

Generic claim with no evidence

✅ "Every Tuesday for two years, I taught English to recent immigrants at the community center"

Specific action that shows commitment

📚 Vague Lessons

Abstract learning without specific moments:

❌ "I learned leadership through this experience"

Tells, doesn't show

✅ "When three team members quit before the fundraiser, I split their tasks among remaining volunteers and created a backup plan that raised $2,000 more than our goal"

Shows leadership through specific actions and results

Replace With Specifics

The Specificity Test

For every sentence, ask: Could this apply to anyone else?

Abstract → Concrete nouns

Instead of: "I gained valuable experience"

Try: "I learned to calibrate the mass spectrometer"

Vague → Measurable actions

Instead of: "I helped improve the program"

Try: "I redesigned the intake process, reducing wait times from 45 to 12 minutes"

Generic → Scene-based evidence

Instead of: "I overcame challenges"

Try: "When the 3D printer broke the night before the robotics competition, I hand-carved the replacement part from aluminum stock"

The 3-Pass Edit

Pass 1: De-fluff

Cut throat-clearing and filler words

  • • Remove "very," "really," "quite," "rather"
  • • Delete redundant phrases
  • • Eliminate weak openings
  • • Cut unnecessary qualifiers

Pass 2: De-abstract

Replace big words with exact ones

  • • "Facilitate" → "help" or "organize"
  • • "Utilize" → "use"
  • • "Numerous" → "seven" or "dozens"
  • • "Endeavor" → "project" or "attempt"

Pass 3: De-generic

Add names, places, numbers, and dialogue

  • • Include specific locations and times
  • • Name actual people (with permission)
  • • Add measurable outcomes
  • • Include brief dialogue or quotes

Protect your style with the AI Humanizer

Run a final pass that removes generic phrasing and AI tell-tales while keeping your tone intact.

Start free

Voice-Safe With Admitra

Smart AI requests that protect your voice while improving clarity:

Highlight-only editing:

"Highlight sentences that sound generic or AI-written, but don't rewrite them."

Vocabulary alternatives:

"Suggest 3 simpler alternatives for each highlighted word—don't choose for me."

Humanizer final pass:

"Remove AI-sounding phrases while keeping my tone and style intact."

Before & After Examples

Opening Paragraph

❌ AI-Scented Version:

"In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, I have always been passionate about leveraging innovative solutions to facilitate meaningful change in my community. Through various endeavors, I have gained invaluable experience that has shaped my perspective on leadership and service."

✅ Human-Voiced Version:

"The Wi-Fi at Lincoln Elementary cuts out every time it rains. For three months, I watched second-graders lose their online reading assignments to weather. So I taught myself network troubleshooting, convinced the principal to let me examine their router, and discovered a $12 cable replacement could solve the problem."

Learning Reflection

❌ AI-Scented Version:

"This transformative experience taught me the importance of resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity. I learned valuable lessons about leadership, teamwork, and the power of perseverance that will serve me well in my future endeavors."

✅ Human-Voiced Version:

"I used to think leadership meant having all the answers. But when our fundraiser fell $3,000 short and I had to tell the team we couldn't afford the new equipment, I learned something different: leadership means finding a way forward when the original plan fails. We pivoted to a smaller project and delivered something that worked."

Mini Checklist

  • ✓No generic openers ("Since the dawn of time...")
  • ✓Concrete details in each paragraph (names, numbers, places)
  • ✓Claims backed by specific moments and outcomes
  • ✓Read-aloud test sounds natural and conversational
  • ✓Every sentence could only be written by you

Remember: The goal isn't perfect prose—it's authentic voice. Admissions officers would rather read genuine, slightly imperfect writing than polished, generic content. Your quirks and natural speaking patterns are features, not bugs.