Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / clarity

CLR-012 Heuristic layer: phrase

Delete redundant meaning

IF two adjacent elements express the same necessary meaning AND repetition adds no emphasis, rhythm, definition, or legal precision, THEN delete the weaker duplicate ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Redundancy increases length without increasing usable information.

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.

  • ALL
    • phrase.semantic_duplication eq true
    • phrase.repetition_function eq "none"

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
phrase.semantic_duplication You supply it
phrase.repetition_function You supply it

Then

  1. delete — target phrase.weaker_duplicate

Else

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

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • The Elements of Style — William Strunk Jr.; E. B. White
    Conciseness, conventional usage, and composition principles.
  • Dreyer's English — Benjamin Dreyer
    Practical modern editorial advice and stylistic judgment.
  • On Writing Well — William Zinsser
    Clarity, simplicity, voice, and nonfiction craft.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 11-clarity-style-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/CLR-012.

{
  "id": "CLR-012",
  "name": "Delete redundant meaning",
  "domain": "clarity",
  "layer": "phrase",
  "strength": "heuristic",
  "human_logic": "IF two adjacent elements express the same necessary meaning AND repetition adds no emphasis, rhythm, definition, or legal precision, THEN delete the weaker duplicate ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "phrase.semantic_duplication",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "path": "phrase.repetition_function",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": "none"
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "delete",
      "target": "phrase.weaker_duplicate"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Redundancy increases length without increasing usable information.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-001",
    "BK-005",
    "BK-013"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other clarity rules

  1. CLR-001 Prefer the precise familiar word IF two words are equally accurate AND one is more familiar to the audience, THEN use the familiar word ELSE keep the precision-bearing term. Context default
  2. CLR-002 Define necessary jargon IF a domain term is necessary AND the intended reader may not know it, THEN define it at first use and use it consistently ELSE replace it with plain language. Context default
  3. CLR-003 Expand unfamiliar abbreviations IF an abbreviation is not universally familiar to the audience, THEN spell it out at first use and pair it with the abbreviation ELSE retain. Context default
  4. CLR-004 One term per concept IF multiple terms refer to the same technical concept without rhetorical need, THEN select one preferred term and replace the variants ELSE retain. Context default
  5. CLR-005 One concept per term IF the same term denotes multiple concepts in one context, THEN rename or qualify the concepts ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  6. CLR-006 Replace vague reference words IF THIS, THAT, IT, THEY, FORMER, or LATTER has an uncertain referent, THEN repeat or summarize the referent ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  7. CLR-007 Quantify actionable vagueness IF vague quantity, frequency, time, or probability affects a decision, THEN provide a range, threshold, date, or defined category ELSE retain approximate language. Context default
  8. CLR-008 Use concrete examples after abstractions IF a central abstraction lacks a concrete instance AND the audience knowledge gap is moderate or large, THEN add one representative example ELSE retain. Heuristic