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# Unchecked Writing
- URL: https://justincox.com/blog/2025/11/unchecked-writing/
- Published: 2025-11-25T12:00:07.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-25T12:00:07.000Z
- Description: This Just In: I stopped using Grammarly; have you noticed? Plus, a deeper exploration into AI writing and my friend the em dash.
- Author: Justin Cox
- Tags: AI, This Just In, Craft, Tech

Today, let's take a few looks into my writing process and how it's impacted (or not) by AI.

## 1.

Earlier this year, I mentioned that I couldn't live without Grammarly. I’ve used it for *years*, correcting every missing comma or swapped tense. A reader responded, asking if I'd considered that maybe Grammarly was a crutch and I didn't *actually* need it as much as I thought I had. Reader, it was an interesting thought.

A few months ago I stopped using it all together — it’s not even installed on any of my computers. At first, I was afraid I’d miss the tool but the reality is that I do not — in fact, I trust my writing more than I ever have.

Apple’s Writing Tools, [while still not great](https://justincox.com/blog/2024/10/are-apples-writing-tools-the-right-stuff/), help flesh out sentences I think are out of whack. I’ve also taken to using ChatGPT as a developmental editor (more on that in a minute).

I have not missed Grammarly with only *one* exception: work tools. Teams and Slack ignore macOS’s native spelling and grammar checking tools, which means they’re where I miss Grammarly most.

My question for you is simple: **have you noticed a change in my writing**? I’m very curious, so please hit reply and let me know.

## 2.

AI-generated articles now [outnumber](https://graphite.io/five-percent/more-articles-are-now-created-by-ai-than-humans?ref=justincox.com) ones written by humans. You all, it only took three years from ChatGPT’s release for it to fill up the internet with slop. Talk about disheartening.

## 3.

Speaking of ChatGPT, tangentially related to the uninstallation of Grammarly, I’ve started using ChatGPT as a simplistic developmental editor. I’ve given the chat some serious limitations and prompting to focus solely on argument delivery and overall article clarity.

Once I’ve fully written and edited the articles, I ask the chatbot if any of the points land flat. Most suggestions it provides are incredibly minor, which is interesting. I honestly don’t know if the bot is being sycophantic or if my writing is as polished as it lets on — my guess is it’s somewhere in between.

I’ve found this use of AI to be a helpful — but not necessarily essential — part of my writing. So, again, what do you think? Is my writing worse for wear? Unnoticeably changed? Let me know.

## 4.

Finally, while we're talking about AI, let's talk em dashes. They seriously get a bad rap as an “AI tell.”

The em dash has been my favorite punctuation mark since I began writing in the early aughts. Yes, I know that I don’t format them properly to certain style guides, but I happen to like the space before and after the lovely em dash — it helps separate the thought and distinguishes the em dash from the lowly hyphen.

Apparently OpenAI [realized](https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/14/openai-says-its-fixed-chatgpts-em-dash-problem/?ref=justincox.com) everyone was equating the em dash with AI-generated writing and now allows you to tell ChatGPT to stop using them. So, I guess we’ll all have to go back to detecting generative AI writing the old fashioned way: by its complete lack of life.