Gaining Clarity - AI as your Writing Critic - the Before and After

• It forces a deeper review. Instead of just taking your draft at face value, AI hunts for weaknesses.

• It builds resilience in a safe space. Seeing the flaws called out makes you less attached to your first draft.

• It generates alternatives. Criticism comes with specific fixes you can adopt immediately. I had been provided a style guide and followed it as best as I could, however, the formal English language frequently sounds stiff to me, so receiving feedback on my writing was helpful to ensure my articles were in style and consistent.

Here’s a tough but constructive critique of your draft:

Overall Problems

• Choppy flow: The draft reads like disconnected notes. Each sentence introduces a new idea without smooth transitions.

• Redundancy: Phrases like “AI hunts for weaknesses” and “criticism comes with specific rewordings” overlap in meaning and could be streamlined.

• Inconsistent tone: Sometimes you sound conversational (“This was key for me”), other times stiff and formal (“grammatically-correct English language, to me, frequently sounds stiff”). Pick one voice.

• Weak grammar & mechanics:

  • Missing spaces after periods (“weaknesses.It”).

  • Awkward commas (“I had been provided a style guide and followed it as best as I could, however, the formal, grammatically-correct English language, to me, frequently sounds stiff” → long, meandering, and grammatically off).

  • “the just-in-time feedback” is dangling; it’s not clearly tied to a subject.

• Unfinished/unclear thoughts:

  • “Being put into print upped the stakes and put many more eyes on my writing.” → who put it into print? How did that change things, exactly?

  • “Seeing the flaws called out makes you less attached to your first draft.” → less attached… but what’s the benefit? Do you rewrite more freely?

Suggested Improvements (line by line)

Original:
It forces a deeper review. Instead of just taking your draft at face value, AI hunts for weaknesses.It builds resilience in a safe space.
Problem: Abrupt and repetitive. Missing space after period.
Fix:
“AI forces a deeper review. Instead of accepting your draft at face value, it identifies weaknesses. This process builds resilience in a safe space.”

Original:
Seeing the flaws called out makes you less attached to your first draft.
Problem: Vague cause-and-effect.
Fix:
“By pointing out flaws, AI helps you detach from your first draft and approach revisions with a clearer, less defensive mindset.”

Original:
This was key for me because my blogger "voice" was loose and casual. Being put into print upped the stakes and put many more eyes on my writing.
Problem: Weak phrasing. “Loose and casual” sounds apologetic. “Being put into print” is clunky.
Fix:
“This mattered to me because my natural blogger voice was informal. Once my work was in print, the stakes rose—suddenly many more readers were judging my writing.”

Original:
It generates alternatives. Criticism comes with specific rewordings or fixes you can adopt immediately.
Problem: Bland repetition of “it.” Slightly mechanical phrasing.
Fix:
“AI doesn’t just critique—it suggests alternatives. The feedback often comes with specific rewordings you can apply right away.”

Original:
I had been provided a style guide and followed it as best as I could, however, the formal, grammatically-correct English language, to me, frequently sounds stiff, so receiving the just-in-time feedback on my writing was helpful to ensure my articles were in style and consistent.
Problem: Run-on, tangled syntax, unclear subject.
Fix:
“I worked from a style guide and did my best to follow it. But formal, grammatically correct English often sounded stiff to me. That’s why just-in-time feedback was so helpful—it ensured my articles matched the required style while still feeling natural.”

Final Stronger Draft (streamlined & polished)

“AI forces a deeper review. Instead of accepting your draft at face value, it identifies weaknesses and builds resilience in a safe space. By pointing out flaws, it helps you detach from your first draft and revise with a clearer perspective.

This mattered to me because my natural blogger voice was informal, but once my work went to print, the stakes were higher—suddenly many more readers were evaluating it. AI doesn’t just critique; it also suggests alternatives, offering specific rewordings you can use immediately.

I worked from a style guide and did my best to follow it, but formal English often felt stiff to me. Just-in-time feedback ensured my articles were both consistent with the guide and still true to my voice.”