How to Ensure that your Paper is not Flagged for Excessive AI Content

With academia increasingly adopting AIGC (AI-generated content) detection systems, reducing “AI-generated content rates” has become a critical concern in academic writing. According to 2024 statistics from medical journals, approximately 5.6% of submissions are rejected each month due to excessively high proportions of AI-generated content.

Some authors alternate between ChatGPT and Claude to generate different sections, hoping to reduce textual consistency. Others turn to AI content obfuscators in an attempt to bypass detection and avoid accusations of AI plagiarism. But are these methods truly effective? What is the recommended best approach?

1. Understanding AI Detection Mechanisms in Academic Papers

Beyond the commonly-known tool Turnitin, MIT has developed a “writing style fingerprinting” technique that can trace the unique output patterns of different AI models.

Core Principles Behind AI Plagiarism Detection:

These systems analyze indicators such as average sentence length, vocabulary diversity, and textual predictability. AI-generated content often features repetitive sentence structures and overly rigid logic.
Leading AI writing detection tools like Turnitin and Originality.ai use a confidence-level grading system, flagging potentially AI-generated passages without directly labeling them as plagiarism.

High-Risk Triggers:

Repeated use of fixed sentence openers such as“We will…” or overused phrases such as “crucial”
Lack of concrete examples or personal viewpoints
Paragraphs that are overly symmetrical in structure
Flowery but hollow language, along with citations of non-existent sources

The Problem of False Positives

However, these tools are not flawless. Although many AI writing detection systems claim false positive rates below 1%, real-world use suggests that misclassification happens more frequently. Common causes of false positives include grammar checkers, translation software and even advanced editing tools. In some cases, even a writer’s consistent personal style may be mistakenly flagged as AI-generated content!

2. Three Methods to Reduce AI-Generated Content Rates

Method 1: Manual Rewriting with a Personal Touch

Try and rewrite in a more conversational tone. Avoid overly formal or rigid sentences; instead, use the kind of language you would naturally use when speaking. Incorporate everyday expressions to make the writing sound more authentic.
Remove repetitive, mechanical transition words (e.g., “Moreover”) and replace them with more natural alternatives like “But” or “Interestingly.”
Include reflections on your own research process within theoretical sections, adding personal insights and viewpoints.
Break up long, complex sentences into 2–3 shorter ones to increase variability in sentence structure.
Add a concluding paragraph on “Research Limitations and Reflections” to enhance originality.

Method 2: AI-Reduction Tools

While many online tools claim to reduce AI writing detection rates, our testing shows that most are misleading or simply generate meaningless content to trick the system.

These tools typically offer free AI detection checks while promoting their paid rewriting services. You might see improved scores in their system, but results from Turnitin, Originality.ai, or other credible platforms often remain unchanged.

Many of these tools are built on English-based algorithms and rely heavily on machine translation for marketing. We generally do not recommend using these tools.

Method 3: Professional Academic Editing Services

Professional editing services bring deep subject knowledge and language expertise to the table, allowing experienced editors to reinterpret and revise content with full understanding of the research context.

By clarifying the logical flow and core argumentative structure, editors can revise flagged sections into more nuanced academic discourse.

For instance, standardized data descriptions can be transformed into interpretative narratives that reflect conversations within the academic community. Editors may also embed the researcher’s unique reasoning process into key arguments.

This human-centered rewriting approach reduces the likelihood of detection by algorithms sensitive to formulaic writing, while preserving both academic rigor and the authenticity of the researcher’s voice.

💡 Need Help Reducing AI Detection in Your Paper? Contact AsiaEdit

We offer professional academic editing services in both English and Chinese.

AsiaEdit specializes in high-quality translation and copyediting of academic documents, and has long partnered with top universities across Asia and beyond. Our expertise covers journal papers, grant proposals, academic reports, and more. In response to recent challenges around AI-generated content, we now provide tailored editing and translation solutions to address these concerns.

Your work will be handled by native-speaking, post-graduate editors who will ensure the language is natural and fluent. Depending on your needs, we can either make light revisions to retain your original tone or provide comprehensive rewriting to minimize AI writing detection issues.

3. Seven Key Tips to Avoid AI Detection When Writing

Avoid Overreliance

While AI is a helpful tool, relying too heavily on it reduces originality. Make sure your paper reflects your own thinking and analysis, not just AI-generated output.

Research Your Sources

AI can assist in locating relevant academic sources and data, but you should read, understand, and rephrase the information in your own words to ensure accuracy and academic integrity.

Avoid Copy-Pasting AI Text

Copying and pasting AI-generated content directly can raise the AIGC (AI-generated content) score and compromise the paper’s independence. Always rewrite and integrate AI-provided insights into your own writing style. Or pay a service to do this for you if possible.

Use AI as a Writing Aid, not a Ghostwriter

If you’re struggling during the writing process, feel free to ask AI for ideas or guidance. However, the final content should be your own to preserve originality.

Proofreading and Logic Checks

AI tools are useful for grammar and spell checks, but it’s your responsibility to verify the paper’s logical flow and coherence. A clear structure and sound argumentation are essential for academic work.

Proper Citations and References

AI can help identify relevant references, but it’s important to cite them correctly and include all sources in your paper to meet academic standards.

Run a Detection Check

After writing, use AI-detection tools to check the AIGC rate. This will help ensure your paper meets academic expectations and avoid potential misconduct.

4. Legal and Ethical Boundaries: The Framework for AI in Academic Writing

Evolving AI Citation Standards in International Guidelines

The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides specific guidelines for citing AI-generated content to promote transparency and traceability. According to the MLA Style Center, when incorporating material produced by AI tools like ChatGPT, authors should include a description of the prompt or content, the name of the tool (italicized), the version (if known), the developer or publisher, the date of content generation, and a stable URL. (source)

An example citation would be:

“Analyzing Imagery in Yeats’ Poetry” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 12 Mar. 2025, chat.openai.com/chat.

In contrast, the American Psychological Association (APA) recommends that AI-generated content be cited as the output of an algorithm. The author of the content should be the company that created the AI tool. For instance, when citing ChatGPT, OpenAI would be listed as the author. The citation should include the prompt used, the date, and a URL if available. (source)

Key Ethical Concerns in Academic Writing

Defining Originality: Walden University emphasizes that the use of AI in academic writing must be approached with caution. Authors are expected to substantially rephrase AI-generated content in their own words and properly cite sources to avoid plagiarism. Simply paraphrasing AI output without meaningful contribution is still considered plagiarism. ScholarWorks
Responsibility and Authorship: The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) explicitly states that AI tools cannot be listed as authors of a paper, as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. AI tools lack legal standing and cannot hold copyright, be sued, or sign off on research. publicationethics.org
Bias Detection: IBM has developed AI Fairness 360 (AIF360), an open-source toolkit designed to detect and mitigate unwanted bias in datasets and machine learning models. This toolkit provides metrics to assess cultural or gender bias in generated content, promoting fairness in AI applications. IBM Research

Legal Risks and Infringement Cases

Copyright Disputes: In December 2023, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of using millions of its articles without permission to train AI models like ChatGPT. The lawsuit alleges that this practice threatens the newspaper’s revenue, as AI outputs often contain verbatim excerpts from its articles, reducing web traffic and ad revenue. AP News

Academic Misconduct: The University of South Florida (USF) defines plagiarism as representing someone else’s work as one’s own. While USF’s policies do not specifically mention AI-generated content, the unauthorized use of such material without proper citation would fall under this definition of plagiarism. usf.edu

Publisher Policies: Springer Nature, a leading academic publisher, has clarified its policies on the use of AI writing tools in scientific papers. The company announced that software like ChatGPT cannot be credited as an author in papers published in its journals. However, Springer Nature permits the use of AI tools to assist in writing or generating ideas, provided that this contribution is properly disclosed by the authors. The Verge

Conclusion

With structural adjustments and the help of professional tools or editors, it is possible to reduce AI writing detection rates from over 80% to below 15%. The key lies in maintaining a human narrative thread—using AI as a resource, not a replacement—and building a distinctive, personalized writing style.

Several universities have begun scanning for AI-generated content and signs of AI plagiarism. If your paper is flagged as AI-written, it could be deemed academically dishonest.

AI is great for assisting in outlining or planning your paper, but the actual content and citations should be written by you. This is especially important for references, as Turnitin and similar tools are strict in verifying source accuracy and originality.