Preserve the reference list while polishing flagged spans

Charles Li · HumanPen · preserve-reference-list

Reference lists and in-text citations are easy casualties of blunt rewrite tools. The literacy move here is preserve the reference list (and matching in-text citations) while changing only the flagged continuous prose the report paints.

Distinct from freeze-citations-numbers-formulas (broader freeze including numbers/formulas), citations-not-in-rewrite-bill (billing), and docx-layout-stays-intact (styles/tables). Here the point is bibliography integrity across the polish pass.

Better order

1. Import the full AI writing report; confirm attempt identity; read the legend once.
2. Lock the References/Works Cited section and in-text citation tokens before rewriting body prose.
3. Rewrite only flagged continuous-prose spans in methods/results/discussion as needed.
4. Never regenerate the bibliography from a chat paste; re-check DOI/URL and author-year fields stayed put.
5. Re-export and spot-check that reference numbering or alphabetical order still matches in-text cites.

Why the reference list is fragile

Whole-document washes often rewrite author names, years, and titles “for fluency,” which breaks evidence trails reviewers check first. Freezing the list keeps the polish pass comparable to the imported report.

What this is not

• Not a guarantee the next AI percentage will drop or clear.
• Not permission to wash the whole document or to chase “undetectable” output.
• Not a substitute for your course integrity process if one is opened.

Product: humanpen.net. Charles Li · HumanPen.