Recording and sharing a writing process
Writers and students can use Humanly to preserve an inspectable record while drafting. Start writing in the workspace before the process you want to document occurs. A certificate can show recorded edits and in-platform AI assistance; it cannot recover the earlier drafting history of text imported from elsewhere.
Start with the right writing setup
Open the Humanly application. For personal writing, create a document and review its setup. For an assignment, use the task invitation or public task link supplied by its owner. An assigned task carries the owner's instructions and controls; creating an unrelated personal document does not complete that assignment.
Check whether the task permits AI, copy and paste, and access to downloadable resources. Also check any timing, length or attempt limits. Those settings affect what you can do in the workspace and how another reader should interpret the resulting evidence. See AI access modes for the difference between discussion, polishing and fuller assistance.
Draft, inspect, then submit or certify
- Draft inside the Humanly editor so the session has a recorded process.
- Keep quotations and sources identifiable in the writing itself. Source attribution in a certificate describes input channels; it does not replace academic citations.
- If AI assistance is permitted, review any suggested changes before accepting them. You remain responsible for the resulting wording and claims.
- Inspect your document and recorded activity as part of finishing the work.
- Submit an assigned task, or generate a certificate for personal writing. Check that the certificate corresponds to the document you intend to share.
For example, you might paste a properly cited quotation and then write an analysis around it. The pasted portion is process information, not a finding that the quotation was improper. A reviewer needs the assignment rules and citation context to judge it.
How can I use permitted AI polishing and keep a process record?
Write the draft in Humanly before requesting polishing, and use the in-platform assistant only within the task's permission. This records the interaction and applied assistance in the workspace; it does not establish that no outside assistance occurred.
- Read the assignment's AI rule. Polish Only is intended for language improvements to existing writing; None disables the assistant, and Read Only does not offer document edits. Full permits broader assistance, but the assignment may still restrict what you may request.
- Draft your argument and citations yourself. In an ordinary document, select the passage you want polished; without a usable selection, Polish Only can work at document scope.
- Request a specific language change, such as correcting grammar while preserving the claims and citations. Polishing should not add evidence or invent an argument.
- Open the proposed change for review. Check its meaning and sources, then choose Apply or Reject.
- Submit the assigned work or generate a personal certificate. Check the evidence exposed by the shared view and include any disclosure the assignment requires.
A certificate does not replace an AI-use declaration required by a teacher or venue. See AI permissions for the modes and certificate evidence for what recipients can inspect.
Read your certificate accurately
Final-text composition describes the recorded sources of text that remains. Process input volume also reflects writing activity that may later have been revised or deleted. A large amount of drafting can therefore accompany a short final document. Neither number is a score for effort, skill or originality.
“Typed” means text entered through a recorded typing path. It does not prove that the writer invented the ideas, worked without AI elsewhere, or never consulted another person. Likewise, AI-assisted text can be entirely allowed in an assignment. See understanding the evidence before using a percentage as a claim about authorship.
Choose what a recipient can inspect
The certificate controls include whether the public view shows full text and edit history, and whether an access code is required. Inspect the shared view before sending its link. Sharing full history can reveal earlier wording as well as the final text; a certificate deserves the same care as the document itself.
These display choices control the shared certificate view. They are not a promise to erase stored records or withdraw copies someone has already obtained. An assigned task also has its own owner-facing submission workflow. Check with that owner about how assignment records will be reviewed.
The Humanly privacy policy explains service data processing. For the product's overall workflow, use What is Humanly?; for the limits of comparing process records with text classifiers, use provenance versus AI detection.
Reviewed: 2026-09-24.
Applies to: Humanly writing workflows reviewed on 2026-09-24. Available controls and evidence depend on the writing setup. Research findings refer to arXiv:2607.21758v1.
Canonical: https://writehumanly.net/reference/writers