Common Writing Weaknesses

Patterns that weaken prose. Watch for these during drafting and self-editing.

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Purpose

Beyond AI patterns (covered in anti-ai-patterns.md), these are general weaknesses that make prose less effective. Avoiding these improves output quality even when they don't violate the writer's specific voice.

Note: If the DNA document shows the writer uses these patterns intentionally, follow the DNA.

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Weakness Categories

1. Passive Voice Overuse

What It Is: The subject receives the action rather than performing it.

Examples:

Why It's Weak:

• Obscures who is acting
• Adds words
• Reduces directness
• Can feel evasive ("mistakes were made")

When Passive Is Fine:

• Actor unknown: "The building was constructed in 1885"
• Actor unimportant: "The samples were collected over three months"
• Deliberate emphasis on recipient: "Kennedy was assassinated"

Fix: Identify the actor. Make them the subject. Use active verb.

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2. Nominalization

What It Is: Turning verbs into nouns, often adding wordiness.

Examples:

Why It's Weak:

• Adds words
• Buries the action
• Creates abstract, bureaucratic tone
• Often requires weak verbs (made, gave, performed)

Detection: Watch for nouns ending in -tion, -ment, -ance, -ence preceded by weak verbs.

Fix: Find the buried verb. Use it directly.

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3. Hedge Words and Qualifiers

What They Are: Words that soften statements, reduce commitment.

Common Hedge Words:

• very
• really
• quite
• somewhat
• rather
• fairly
• relatively
• basically
• essentially
• generally
• usually
• often
• tends to
• seems to
• appears to
• in my opinion
• I think
• I feel
• I believe
• sort of
• kind of

Examples:

Why They're Weak:

• Undermine confidence
• Add words without meaning
• Make writer seem uncertain
• Dilute impact

When Hedging Is Appropriate:

• Genuine uncertainty: "The data suggests..." (when you can't prove)
• Appropriate caution: "In some cases..."
• DNA document shows hedging is part of voice

Fix: Cut the hedge. Make the claim. If you can't make it confidently, reconsider whether to make it.

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4. Throat-Clearing Openings

What They Are: Introductory phrases that delay the point.

Examples:

• "In order to understand X, we must first consider..."
• "When it comes to X, there are many things to say..."
• "It goes without saying that..."
• "As we all know..."
• "The fact of the matter is..."
• "In today's world..."
• "Throughout history..."
• "Many people believe..."
• "It is often said that..."
• "In this article/essay/piece..."

Why They're Weak:

• Delay the point
• State the obvious
• Sound generic
• Waste reader's time

Fix: Delete the throat-clearing. Start with the actual point.

Before: "In order to understand modern software development, we must first consider the history of programming." After: "Modern software development has roots in the earliest programming languages."

Or even better: Start with something specific and interesting.

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5. Weak Verbs

What They Are: Verbs that don't carry meaning, often requiring adverbs.

Weak Verbs:

• is/was/were/be
• has/have/had
• get/got
• do/did
• make/made
• go/went

Examples:

Why They're Weak:

• Don't paint pictures
• Require adverbs to do the work
• Feel generic

Fix: Find a verb that contains the adverb's meaning.

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6. Adverb Dependency

What It Is: Relying on adverbs to do work the verb should do.

Examples:

Why It's Weak:

• Two words doing one word's job
• Shows lazy word choice
• Reduces impact

Fix: Find the precise verb. Cut the adverb.

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7. Redundancy

What It Is: Saying the same thing twice.

Examples:

Why It's Weak:

• Wastes words
• Shows careless thinking
• Undermines trust in precision

Fix: Cut the redundant word.

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8. Expletive Constructions

What They Are: Sentences starting with "It is," "There is," or "There are" when these words don't refer to anything specific.

Examples:

Why They're Weak:

• Delay the true subject
• Add words
• Create passive feel

Fix: Find the real subject. Start with it.

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9. Prepositional Pile-Up

What It Is: Chains of prepositional phrases that clutter sentences.

Example:

"The book on the table in the corner of the room by the window near the door was old."

Why It's Weak:

• Hard to parse
• Buries main elements
• Creates choppy rhythm

Fix:

• Break into multiple sentences
• Restructure to reduce prepositions
• Choose more specific nouns

"The old book sat on the corner table by the window."

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10. Mixed Metaphors

What They Are: Combining incompatible figurative images.

Examples:

• "We need to get all our ducks on the same page"
• "He's burning the midnight oil at both ends"
• "That's a tough road to swallow"
• "Let's nip this in the bud before it snowballs"

Why They're Weak:

• Create absurd mental images
• Distract from meaning
• Undermine credibility

Fix:

• Choose one metaphor
• Follow it consistently
• Or drop metaphors entirely

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11. Clichés

What They Are: Overused expressions that have lost impact.

Examples:

• at the end of the day
• think outside the box
• it is what it is
• in this day and age
• go the extra mile
• take it to the next level
• game-changer
• paradigm shift
• low-hanging fruit
• move the needle
• circle back
• deep dive

Why They're Weak:

• Generic
• Don't paint fresh pictures
• Suggest lazy thinking

Fix:

• Say what you mean directly
• Find a fresh expression
• Use specific details instead

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12. Unclear Pronoun Reference

What It Is: Pronouns with ambiguous antecedents.

Example:

"When John met Bob, he said he was tired." (Who said? Who was tired?)

Why It's Weak:

• Confuses readers
• Forces re-reading
• Breaks flow

Fix:

• Use the noun instead of pronoun
• Restructure to clarify

"When John met Bob, John said Bob looked tired."

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Quick Detection List

During self-editing, scan for:

• Passive constructions (was/were + past participle)
• Nominalizations (-tion, -ment after weak verbs)
• Hedge words (very, really, somewhat, tends to)
• Throat-clearing openers (In order to, When it comes to)
• Weak verb + adverb combos
• Redundancies (past history, true fact)
• "It is" and "There are" starters
• Preposition chains
• Mixed metaphors
• Clichés
• Unclear pronoun references

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Priority Fixes

High priority (fix always):

• Unclear pronoun reference
• Mixed metaphors
• Passive voice obscuring responsibility

Medium priority (fix usually):

• Nominalizations
• Hedge words
• Weak verbs + adverbs
• Expletive constructions
• Redundancy

Low priority (fix if easy):

• Prepositional pile-up
• Clichés (unless DNA shows writer avoids them)

Context-dependent:

• Throat-clearing (some writers warm up deliberately)
• Passive voice (depends on purpose)

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DNA Override

All of these are default guidelines. If the DNA document shows:

• Writer loves adverbs → use them
• Writer hedges deliberately → hedge
• Writer uses clichés ironically → use them
• Writer prefers passive voice → follow their preference

Voice fidelity > generic rules.