Voice, Tone, and Rhythm Rules
Voice, Tone, and Rhythm Rules
The 12 rules in this file
- VOI-001 Declare voice before polishing IF a document lacks a voice profile, THEN define relationship, formality, energy, warmth, confidence, and permitted vocabulary ELSE use the profile. Context default
- VOI-002 Tone responds to reader state IF reader emotion changes, THEN adjust directness, warmth, pace, and reassurance without changing facts ELSE maintain baseline tone. Context default
- VOI-003 Address the reader directly in instructions IF the reader performs the action, THEN use an imperative or YOU; do not call the reader THE USER ELSE name the actual actor. Context default
- VOI-004 Vary sentence length for function IF sentence lengths are mechanically uniform, THEN vary them according to emphasis, explanation, transition, and pace ELSE retain. Heuristic
- VOI-005 Short sentence after complexity IF a dense explanation reaches its key consequence, THEN a short sentence may isolate the payoff ELSE continue normal cadence. Creative option
- VOI-006 Read prose aloud IF prose is intended for humans, THEN read representative passages aloud or with text-to-speech and flag breath, ambiguity, repetition, and unnatural stress ELSE retain. Heuristic
- VOI-007 Place emphasis at structural edges IF one idea deserves emphasis, THEN place it at the sentence opening or ending rather than burying it mid-clause ELSE retain. Heuristic
- VOI-008 Limit accidental alliteration and rhyme IF repeated sound distracts from serious meaning AND is unintended, THEN vary one word ELSE retain purposeful sound pattern. Heuristic
- VOI-009 Use repetition with a job IF a word or structure repeats, THEN retain it only for cohesion, emphasis, rhythm, motif, instruction consistency, or technical precision ELSE vary or delete it. Creative option
- VOI-010 Metaphor must preserve the model IF a metaphor explains a mechanism, THEN map its relevant correspondences and state its boundary when overextension would mislead ELSE use it only decoratively. Hard constraint
- VOI-011 Calibrate confidence to evidence IF wording expresses certainty, THEN match modal strength to evidence and uncertainty ELSE retain. Hard constraint
- VOI-012 Avoid institutional self-centering IF WE/OUR language displaces the reader’s need or action, THEN rewrite around the reader or subject ELSE retain clear author responsibility. Heuristic
The file
Served verbatim at /v1/files/voice-rhythm-rules.
{
"title": "Voice, Tone, and Rhythm Rules",
"version": "1.0.0",
"rule_count": 12,
"rules": [
{
"id": "VOI-001",
"name": "Declare voice before polishing",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "document",
"strength": "context_default",
"human_logic": "IF a document lacks a voice profile, THEN define relationship, formality, energy, warmth, confidence, and permitted vocabulary ELSE use the profile.",
"when": {
"path": "document.voice_profile",
"operator": "missing",
"value": true
},
"then": [
{
"action": "define",
"target": "document.voice_profile",
"dimensions": [
"relationship",
"formality",
"energy",
"warmth",
"confidence",
"vocabulary"
]
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Voice becomes consistent when its variables are explicit.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"WEB-003",
"WEB-004",
"BK-013"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-002",
"name": "Tone responds to reader state",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "paragraph",
"strength": "context_default",
"human_logic": "IF reader emotion changes, THEN adjust directness, warmth, pace, and reassurance without changing facts ELSE maintain baseline tone.",
"when": {
"path": "context.emotional_temperature",
"operator": "in",
"value": [
"anxious",
"angry",
"grieving",
"urgent"
]
},
"then": [
{
"action": "adjust",
"target": "paragraph.tone",
"preserve": [
"facts",
"requirements"
],
"dimensions": [
"directness",
"warmth",
"pace",
"reassurance"
]
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Tone is the local adaptation of a stable voice to the reader’s situation.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"WEB-003",
"WEB-004",
"BK-026"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-003",
"name": "Address the reader directly in instructions",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "sentence",
"strength": "context_default",
"human_logic": "IF the reader performs the action, THEN use an imperative or YOU; do not call the reader THE USER ELSE name the actual actor.",
"when": {
"path": "sentence.actor",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "reader"
},
"then": [
{
"action": "select",
"target": "sentence.person",
"value": "second_person_or_imperative"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "name",
"target": "sentence.actor"
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Direct address makes responsibility clear and supports a helpful tone.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"WEB-003",
"WEB-004"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-004",
"name": "Vary sentence length for function",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "paragraph",
"strength": "heuristic",
"human_logic": "IF sentence lengths are mechanically uniform, THEN vary them according to emphasis, explanation, transition, and pace ELSE retain.",
"when": {
"path": "paragraph.sentence_length_variance",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "near_zero"
},
"then": [
{
"action": "vary",
"target": "paragraph.sentence_lengths",
"by_function": {
"short": "emphasis_or_transition",
"medium": "core_explanation",
"long": "qualified_relationship"
}
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Controlled variation creates rhythm and maps length to cognitive function.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-011",
"BK-013",
"BK-019"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-005",
"name": "Short sentence after complexity",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "paragraph",
"strength": "creative_option",
"human_logic": "IF a dense explanation reaches its key consequence, THEN a short sentence may isolate the payoff ELSE continue normal cadence.",
"when": {
"all": [
{
"path": "paragraph.dense_explanation",
"operator": "eq",
"value": true
},
{
"path": "paragraph.key_consequence.position",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "next"
}
]
},
"then": [
{
"action": "isolate",
"target": "paragraph.key_consequence",
"as": "short_sentence"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Contrast in length can direct attention to the consequence.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-011",
"BK-019"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-006",
"name": "Read prose aloud",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "document",
"strength": "heuristic",
"human_logic": "IF prose is intended for humans, THEN read representative passages aloud or with text-to-speech and flag breath, ambiguity, repetition, and unnatural stress ELSE retain.",
"when": {
"path": "document.audience",
"operator": "neq",
"value": "machine_only"
},
"then": [
{
"action": "test",
"target": "document",
"method": "aloud_or_text_to_speech",
"flags": [
"breath_overload",
"ambiguity",
"accidental_repetition",
"stress_mismatch"
]
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Sound reveals problems silent visual review can miss.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-005",
"BK-019",
"WEB-004"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-007",
"name": "Place emphasis at structural edges",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "sentence",
"strength": "heuristic",
"human_logic": "IF one idea deserves emphasis, THEN place it at the sentence opening or ending rather than burying it mid-clause ELSE retain.",
"when": {
"path": "sentence.emphasis_target",
"operator": "exists"
},
"then": [
{
"action": "move",
"target": "sentence.emphasis_target",
"destination": "opening_or_ending",
"choose_by": "coherence"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Beginnings frame attention; endings receive terminal stress.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-008",
"BK-019"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-008",
"name": "Limit accidental alliteration and rhyme",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "sentence",
"strength": "heuristic",
"human_logic": "IF repeated sound distracts from serious meaning AND is unintended, THEN vary one word ELSE retain purposeful sound pattern.",
"when": {
"all": [
{
"any": [
{
"path": "sentence.alliteration_density",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "high"
},
{
"path": "sentence.accidental_rhyme",
"operator": "eq",
"value": true
}
]
},
{
"path": "sentence.sound_pattern_intended",
"operator": "eq",
"value": false
}
]
},
"then": [
{
"action": "replace",
"target": "sentence.one_sound_repeating_word",
"preserve": "meaning_and_voice"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Sound should support rather than trivialize the message.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-019"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-009",
"name": "Use repetition with a job",
"domain": "rhythm",
"layer": "paragraph",
"strength": "creative_option",
"human_logic": "IF a word or structure repeats, THEN retain it only for cohesion, emphasis, rhythm, motif, instruction consistency, or technical precision ELSE vary or delete it.",
"when": {
"path": "paragraph.repetition.exists",
"operator": "eq",
"value": true
},
"then": [
{
"action": "verify",
"target": "paragraph.repetition.function",
"allowed": [
"cohesion",
"emphasis",
"rhythm",
"motif",
"instruction_consistency",
"technical_precision"
]
},
{
"action": "delete_or_vary",
"target": "paragraph.repetition",
"when": "function_missing"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Repetition is powerful when patterned and tiring when accidental.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-011",
"BK-019",
"WEB-004"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-010",
"name": "Metaphor must preserve the model",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "paragraph",
"strength": "hard_constraint",
"human_logic": "IF a metaphor explains a mechanism, THEN map its relevant correspondences and state its boundary when overextension would mislead ELSE use it only decoratively.",
"when": {
"path": "metaphor.function",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "explanation"
},
"then": [
{
"action": "verify",
"target": "metaphor.mapping",
"require": [
"source",
"target",
"shared_relation"
]
},
{
"action": "qualify",
"target": "metaphor",
"include": "where_the_analogy_breaks",
"when": "overextension_risk"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "A vivid analogy can create a false mental model if its limits stay hidden.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-008",
"BK-037"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-011",
"name": "Calibrate confidence to evidence",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "sentence",
"strength": "hard_constraint",
"human_logic": "IF wording expresses certainty, THEN match modal strength to evidence and uncertainty ELSE retain.",
"when": {
"path": "sentence.epistemic_claim",
"operator": "eq",
"value": true
},
"then": [
{
"action": "align",
"target": "sentence.confidence",
"value_from": "evidence.strength_and_uncertainty"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Tone must not make a claim sound more certain than the evidence allows.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"BK-026",
"WEB-012",
"WEB-013"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
},
{
"id": "VOI-012",
"name": "Avoid institutional self-centering",
"domain": "voice",
"layer": "document",
"strength": "heuristic",
"human_logic": "IF WE/OUR language displaces the reader’s need or action, THEN rewrite around the reader or subject ELSE retain clear author responsibility.",
"when": {
"all": [
{
"path": "document.first_person_plural_rate",
"operator": "eq",
"value": "high"
},
{
"path": "document.reader_need_displaced",
"operator": "eq",
"value": true
}
]
},
"then": [
{
"action": "reframe",
"target": "document",
"center": "reader_need_or_subject"
}
],
"else": [
{
"action": "retain",
"target": "current_text",
"reason": "No triggering condition is present."
}
],
"unless": [],
"because": "Reader-centered prose is not the same as hiding who is responsible.",
"diagnostics": [],
"examples": {},
"source_ids": [
"WEB-003",
"WEB-004",
"WEB-002"
],
"laka": {
"smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
"primary_axes": [
"scope",
"depth",
"magnitude",
"reversibility"
]
}
}
]
}