Edit, Fact-Check and Find Your Voice

Introduction

A raw AI draft often reads smoothly but says very little. This lesson is about the work that turns a draft into content readers trust and remember.

Spot generic AI writing

Watch for:

• Filler openings such as "In today's fast-paced world…"
• Vague claims such as "many experts agree" with no expert
• Lists of obvious points that anyone could write
• Repeated phrases and the same sentence shape again and again
• Overly polished, neutral tone with no opinion or personality

Delete or replace each one.

Add what AI cannot

• Your experience: "When I first tried this, I made the mistake of…"
• Specific examples, with real numbers from your own work
• Photos, screenshots or data that you made
• A clear opinion about what to do, and why
• Local or niche detail that generic text misses

This is what makes a page worth choosing over thousands of similar ones.

Fact-check everything

AI can state wrong things with confidence. For every fact, number, date, name, quote and link:

1. Find it in a trusted source you have opened yourself, such as official documents or well-known organisations.
2. Check that the source actually says it, and is recent.
3. If you cannot verify it, remove it or say it is your opinion.
4. Open every link. AI sometimes produces links that do not exist.
5. Credit sources by linking to them where useful.

For health, money and legal topics, be extra careful, and consider adding that the content is general information and not professional advice.

Find your voice

• Read the text aloud. Change anything you would never say.
• Use words your readers use.
• Keep sentences short. Remove words that add nothing.
• Add small, human touches: a joke, a story, an honest "I am still learning this".

The final checklist

• Does it answer the reader's question clearly in the first few lines?
• Is every claim checked, and every link working?
• Is there at least one thing here that comes from me?
• Is it free of copied text? (Search an unusual sentence in quotes to check.)
• Would I be happy to put my name on it?

Try it yourself

Take a short AI draft and mark every generic phrase, then replace three of them with a real example from your own experience. Verify every number in it.

Summary

• Cut generic filler, and add your own experience, examples and opinion.
• Verify every fact, number, quote and link with real sources, or remove it.
• Read aloud and use a checklist before you publish.