lervan guides
writing rules, without the fog.
Clear, source-backed guides for citing work, checking documents, and understanding what automated writing tools can—and cannot—tell you. No invented rules. No vague shortcuts.
the library
practical references.
Each guide links to the original manuals, support pages, or peer-reviewed research.
document safety · Word
8 min · Windows, Mac, web
How to find hidden text in Word
Show text formatted as hidden on Windows, Mac, and the web, reveal white or tiny text, and run Word's own inspector before you submit.
document safety · PDF
8 min · any PDF reader
How to find hidden text in a PDF
Free checks that reveal white text, tiny text, hidden layers, and text under images, plus what an invisible OCR layer means.
document safety · Canvas
7 min · Canvas LMS
How to check a Canvas assignment for hidden text
How text gets hidden on a Canvas page, the quick ways to reveal it in your browser, and what to do if you find an instruction you were not meant to see.
document safety · AI
9 min · any document
How to spot hidden AI prompts
What instructions planted for chatbots look like, where they hide in files and web pages, and what to do when you find one.
document safety · news
10 min · August 2026
Hidden text just reached the courtroom
A Connecticut judge sanctioned a litigant for invisible AI instructions inside court filings — the first U.S. case of its kind, and what it means for anyone who reads documents with AI.
comparison
8 min · comparison
Hidden-text checker vs. AI detector
One inspects what a file contains; the other estimates how the writing reads. What each check can and cannot tell you, and the order to run them in.
research integrity
9 min · case study
The hidden prompts found in research papers
Preprints on arXiv carried invisible instructions telling AI reviewers to praise the paper. What was found, how authors defended it, and how to check a manuscript.
academic integrity
9 min · how it works
The trojan-horse assignment prompt
Why some instructors hide instructions in essay prompts, the professor who caught 32 students with one planted word, and where the trap fails.
hiring
9 min · research review
White-text résumés and AI hiring screens
41% of job seekers admit hiding prompts for AI screeners; major staffing firms now silently reject résumés that contain them. The numbers and the one check to run.
citations · news
11 min · case review
1,600 fake citations later
Courts have documented over 1,600 matters involving AI-invented authorities, with six-figure sanctions. What keeps going wrong and the verification routine that prevents it.
templates
11 min · 12 templates
Citation templates you can check line by line
Copyable starting points for books, journal articles, webpages, chapters, and videos in APA 7 and MLA 9.
generative AI citations
9 min · APA 7 + MLA 9
How to cite ChatGPT in APA 7 and MLA 9
The retired APA format, the current chat and tool references, MLA's prompt-first entry, and the questions neither style resolves.
video citations
8 min · APA 7 + MLA 9
How to cite a YouTube video in APA 7 and MLA 9
Official templates and examples for uploaders, creators, timestamps, channels, and videos whose primary creator is unclear.
paper format
6 min · APA 7
APA 7 title page format for student papers
The seven student-page elements in order, plus title placement, due-date formats, page numbers, and the running-head rule.
missing information
8 min · APA 7 + MLA 9
How to cite a source with no author
How APA and MLA handle group authors, title-first entries, missing dates, and an organization that is also the publisher.
document safety
9 min · every format
How to find hidden text in any document
The general inspection routine for Word files, PDFs, Canvas pages, and pasted text, with links to a step-by-step guide for each.
AI detection
12 min · research review
What false positives in AI detection really mean
What the research found, what a detector score cannot prove, and what students can preserve to show their writing process.
AI detector comparison
14 min · vendor + research review
Best AI detectors for students, ranked by use case
Use-case picks for free access, combined reports, pay-per-use checks, institutional reach, transparency, and checking your own work.
AI detector comparison
12 min · access + limits
GPTZero vs Turnitin
A student-focused comparison of who can buy each detector, who can see the verdict, the published limits, and what each score can mean.
put the rules to work
Build a citation, then check it against the original source.