Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / argument

ARG-003 Hard constraint layer: paragraph

Classify claim before selecting evidence

IF a claim is present, THEN classify it as factual, causal, evaluative, definitional, predictive, or policy before choosing support ELSE do not infer support requirements.

Why the rule exists

Different claims require different evidence and warrants.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

  • paragraph.claim exists

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
paragraph.claim You supply it

Then

  1. classify — target paragraph.claim

Else

  1. retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • Technical Communication — Mike Markel; Stuart A. Selber
    Audience, design, ethics, research, and technical genres.
  • Rhetorical Situations — Purdue Online Writing Lab link
    Author, audience, purpose, text, and setting as communication constraints.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 14-argument-nonfiction-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/ARG-003.

{
  "id": "ARG-003",
  "name": "Classify claim before selecting evidence",
  "domain": "argument",
  "layer": "paragraph",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF a claim is present, THEN classify it as factual, causal, evaluative, definitional, predictive, or policy before choosing support ELSE do not infer support requirements.",
  "when": {
    "path": "paragraph.claim",
    "operator": "exists"
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "classify",
      "target": "paragraph.claim",
      "types": [
        "factual",
        "causal",
        "evaluative",
        "definitional",
        "predictive",
        "policy"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Different claims require different evidence and warrants.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-026",
    "WEB-010"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other argument rules

  1. ARG-001 Define the rhetorical situation IF author, audience, purpose, text, or setting is unknown, THEN define the missing element before drafting strategy ELSE proceed. Hard constraint
  2. ARG-002 One controlling thesis IF a document makes multiple unrelated controlling claims, THEN narrow, subordinate, or split them ELSE retain. Context default
  3. ARG-004 Evidence matches claim type IF evidence type does not support the claim type, THEN replace, supplement, narrow, or remove the claim ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  4. ARG-005 Make the warrant available IF evidence does not obviously entail the claim for the intended audience, THEN state the connecting warrant ELSE retain. Context default
  5. ARG-006 Qualify to the evidence boundary IF claim scope exceeds evidence population, conditions, time, or uncertainty, THEN narrow or qualify the claim ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  6. ARG-007 Address strongest relevant counterargument IF a reasonable reader has a strong relevant objection, THEN represent it fairly and respond with evidence or concession ELSE omit peripheral objections. Context default
  7. ARG-008 Distinguish correlation from causation IF evidence is correlational AND the claim is causal, THEN add causal evidence, state a mechanism with tests, or change the claim to association ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  8. ARG-009 Name uncertainty and limitations IF evidence has material uncertainty, missing data, selection limits, or alternative explanations, THEN disclose them near the conclusion ELSE retain. Hard constraint