How AI texts become easier to understand
By Oliver Schmalzl · Written: · Archive discovery date:
6 August 2025 · Archive date
A text can be grammatically correct and still feel tiring. Long introductions, abstract nouns and the same transitions over and over quickly turn a simple statement into a paragraph you first have to work your way through.
When revising, one concrete question helps: what should someone have understood after reading? Only once that statement is fixed is it worth working on tone and sentence length.
An example I made up
"The implementation of a structured storage solution enables an optimisation of clarity" sounds bigger than what is meant. "Three labelled boxes make the shelf tidier" describes something you can picture.
The second version names objects and an action. It does, however, still claim a benefit. If the sentence were part of a real guide, the example would have to match it. Even a well-worded sentence can be wrong.
For a writing brief, I would add a short sample paragraph of my own: this is how long the sentences are, this is how directly the text starts, this is how technical terms are explained. That conveys more than the instruction "human and authentic". The target audience also helps: beginners need different explanations from someone who already knows the terms.
Checking language and content separately
The first pass is about the statement and its evidence. The second is about order, repetition and understandable words. Only after that come details such as punctuation.
Some style rules quickly become an end in themselves. Individual style rules do not make a good text. A paragraph gets better when it has a recognisable job, builds on the one before and does not keep the reader busy with unnecessary detours.
Original finds
These links were the starting point for this post. The commentary in the text is mine; the linked posts are not my own tests.
- Revising AI texts with style samples and clear instructions
- Revising AI texts with style samples and clear instructions
- Revising AI texts with style samples and clear instructions
- Deriving principles rather than copies from good texts
About the date: This post was written on 11 October 2026. The archive date corresponds to the earliest related find in the collection, not to a publication at that time. Technical context and sources added later refer to the time of writing.