What Is a Provenance Score?
What it measures — and what it does not
The Provenance Score reflects how much cognitive effort went into a writing session. A writer who struggled with their argument, revised heavily, and worked non-linearly will have a high score. A writer who wrote quickly and confidently — because they know the subject deeply — may have a low score.
What it is not: The Provenance Score is not a quality metric. It does not predict whether the writing is good. It does not indicate whether the writer is experienced or inexperienced. Two HACs with scores of 40 and 90 tell you about the difficulty of the cognitive process, not the quality of the output.
It is also not a pass/fail verdict on human authorship. The score is one signal among many. A very low score is more common for experienced writers in their area of expertise; a very high score is more common for complex, unfamiliar topics or writers working through difficult arguments in real time.
What goes into the score
Five dimensions of writing behaviour contribute to the Provenance Score:
Composition patterns
How a writer develops and organises their work across the session — the shape of the writing process from start to finish.
Revision behaviour
The character and depth of edits made during the session — how the work evolved and how actively the writer engaged with what they had written.
Temporal patterns
The rhythm and distribution of writing activity throughout the session, including how effort was spread across the total time.
Cognitive engagement
Indicators of active intellectual work during composition — signs of thinking, decision-making, and genuine engagement with the material.
Session structure
How the writing activity was organised across the session as a whole — reflecting the overall process the writer went through.
Where it appears
The Provenance Score is displayed on the public verify page for each certificate — visible to anyone with the certificate ID. It appears alongside session metadata (duration, word count) and the behavioural summary in the Writing DNA panel.
Verifiers (instructors, editors, institutions) who understand the Provenance Score can use it to enrich their understanding of the writing session — not to make a judgement, but as one signal among several in the certificate record.
See your Provenance Score
Every Scripli session generates a Provenance Score alongside your Human Authenticity Certificate. Free to start.