Anthropomorphism Checker
Paste your paper to find places where a study, paper, theory or table does something only a person can — the study concluded, the theory wants. Each hit is sorted by how likely APA is to object, with a rewrite that names the researchers or a verb that is literally true. Free, no sign-up.
Runs entirely in your browser — your text is never uploaded.
Paste or type some text to check whether studies, papers, theories and tables are doing things only people can do.
How to Use the Anthropomorphism Checker
- Paste your text. The check runs as you type and nothing leaves your browser.
- Read the colours. Rose marks wording likely to be called anthropomorphic (the theory wants, our experiment attempted). Amber marks wording worth a second look (the study concluded, this paper argues).
- Open each card. It explains the problem, offers a rewrite that names a person where one fits, and lists verbs that are literally true of the source.
- Switch to Strict if your instructor is strict. Standard leaves widely used wording such as the results suggest alone; Strict lists those constructions too, in blue, so you can decide for yourself.
What APA Says About Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is giving human traits to something that is not human. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., 2020, section 4.11) asks writers not to credit animals or inanimate sources with human actions, because a study cannot believe anything and a paper cannot argue. The manual's remedy is to pair an active verb with a human actor, or to pick a verb that is literally true of the source. It also accepts widely used constructions that do not mislead the reader or make the sentence harder to understand.
That last exception explains why the results suggest and the table shows are fine while the study concluded draws a comment. Nobody believes a table has eyes; the verb has become a normal way of pointing at evidence. Fields differ on where the line falls — the study found is routine in psychology, and some instructors object to it anyway — so the checker sorts hits into three tiers instead of issuing a verdict.
| Tier | Example | Rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| Likely | The theory wants to explain why. | Proponents of the theory want to explain why. |
| Likely | Our experiment attempted to replicate the effect. | We attempted to replicate the effect. |
| Worth checking | The study concluded that daily naps improve recall. | The researchers concluded that daily naps improve recall. |
| Worth checking | This paper argues that schools should start later. | The author argues that schools should start later. |
| Widely accepted | The results suggest a small benefit. | No change needed. |
How to Fix It
- Name the people. The study concluded becomes the researchers concluded; the paper argues becomes the author argues or Hernandez (2021) argues. In your own paper, I and we are fine in APA style.
- Change the verb. A table can show, list or present. Data indicate and results suggest. A theory can predict or assume, as a model does in ordinary technical writing.
- Restructure. The article attempts to show can become the author sets out to show, or lose the attempt altogether: the article shows.
- Keep what is idiomatic. If a construction is everywhere in your field's journals and no reader could be misled, leaving it is a defensible choice.
What the Checker Looks For — and Misses
The checker looks for a subject noun from a fixed list — study, experiment, paper, article, chapter, theory, model, table, figure, data, results, plus a few organisations — followed within two words by a verb from a fixed list. It skips quoted passages, because the wording is someone else's, and it ignores the noun when something before it, such as of, in or who conducted, shows it is not the subject. That is why participants in the study believed is left alone.
It cannot read meaning. The group wants more time may refer to people, and a study nickname such as the Stanford prison experiment is a proper noun it does not understand. It does not check animals, and it will miss unlisted nouns (the questionnaire, the dataset) and verbs. Companies, hospitals and schools can act as units, so the checker never rates them above worth checking; writing guides based on APA advise naming the people when it matters who decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is anthropomorphism in academic writing?
- It is attributing human characteristics or actions to something that is not human, such as saying a study concluded, a theory believes or a paper feels strongly. Academic style guides discourage it because it blurs who actually did the thinking, and it can make a claim sound more authoritative than it is.
- Is "the study found" anthropomorphism in APA style?
- Technically a study cannot find anything, but APA accepts widely used constructions that do not mislead readers, and the study found, the results suggest and the data indicate are standard. If your instructor objects, the researchers found costs you nothing. Use Strict mode to see every such construction listed.
- What is the difference between anthropomorphism and personification?
- They overlap. Personification is a literary device that gives human qualities to objects or ideas for effect (the wind whispered). Anthropomorphism in a research paper is the same move made by accident, in a setting where precision matters more than effect.
- How do I fix "the paper argues"?
- Put a person in the subject position: the author argues, Hernandez (2021) argues, or the authors propose. If you do not want a name, use a verb that is true of the text itself, such as presents the argument that or contains the claim that.
- Can I say "this paper will discuss"?
- Usually yes. Discuss, describe, address and examine are widely accepted for papers and sections in APA writing, and the checker treats them that way. If you want to be strictest, write I will discuss — first person is acceptable in APA style.
- Does APA apply this rule to organizations?
- Organizations such as companies, hospitals and schools can reasonably act as units, so the hospital implemented a new policy is fine. Writing guides based on APA advise naming the specific people when it matters who made a decision, which is why the checker marks organizations as worth checking at most.
- Is my text uploaded or checked by AI?
- Neither. The check is a fixed list of nouns and verbs applied in your browser, so the same text always gets the same result and nothing is sent anywhere.