Hollow explanations
Empty trailing clauses that pretend to explain — 'highlighting', 'underscoring', 'reflecting' — bolted onto a fact without adding one.
What it looks like
The phrases and patterns that give it away:
highlighting the team's commitmentunderscoring the importance ofreflecting a broader shiftshowcasing its dedication todemonstrating the value of
In the wild
A real one, quoted verbatim — the underlined words are the tell.
“…has released its 2024 Sustainability Report titled "Built to Last," underscoring its dedication to operating an organization that is prepared for the future and designed to thrive in it.”
Crown Holdings ↗ — press release
Why AI produces it
Trained on press releases and reports, the model appends an interpretive participial clause to sound analytical, even when it only restates the fact in vaguer terms. The bare verb underscores belongs to ChatGPT / Claude speak; what defines this category is the trailing clause — underscoring its dedication to — bolted onto a fact.
How UnSlopIt handles it
UnSlopIt flags hollow explanations and rewrites around it — cutting the tell while keeping your meaning, facts, and voice. You see exactly what changed, as a redline plus a clean version.
Related tells
Knowing the tell is half of it. The five-step method covers how to fix a whole draft, not just one pattern.