Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / syntax

SYN-003 Context default layer: clause

Prefer visible actor–action order

IF the reader must act or identify responsibility AND no stronger reason favors passive voice, THEN place the actor before the action ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Visible actors reduce ambiguity about responsibility.

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
    • ANY
      • context.purpose eq "instruct"
      • content.responsibility_critical eq true
    • clause.passive_justification eq false

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
context.purpose You supply it
content.responsibility_critical You supply it
clause.passive_justification You supply it

Then

  1. convert — target clause.voice, value "active"

Else

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

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • Google Developer Documentation Style Guide — Google link
    Clear, consistent, audience-directed technical documentation.
  • Microsoft Writing Style Guide — Microsoft link
    Warm, clear, concise, helpful technical communication.
  • Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities — W3C link
    Clear words, simple voice and tense, explicit instructions, and supportive structure.
  • On Writing Well — William Zinsser
    Clarity, simplicity, voice, and nonfiction craft.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 09-syntax-and-sentence-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/SYN-003.

{
  "id": "SYN-003",
  "name": "Prefer visible actor–action order",
  "domain": "syntax",
  "layer": "clause",
  "strength": "context_default",
  "human_logic": "IF the reader must act or identify responsibility AND no stronger reason favors passive voice, THEN place the actor before the action ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "any": [
          {
            "path": "context.purpose",
            "operator": "eq",
            "value": "instruct"
          },
          {
            "path": "content.responsibility_critical",
            "operator": "eq",
            "value": true
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "path": "clause.passive_justification",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "convert",
      "target": "clause.voice",
      "value": "active",
      "order": "actor_action_object"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Visible actors reduce ambiguity about responsibility.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "WEB-003",
    "WEB-004",
    "WEB-006",
    "BK-013"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other syntax rules

  1. SYN-001 Complete clause for formal prose IF a unit is presented as a formal prose sentence AND lacks an independent clause, THEN attach it, complete it, or label it as a fragment ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  2. SYN-002 Separate fused independent clauses IF adjacent independent clauses have no valid boundary, THEN add a coordinator and punctuation, a semicolon, or a period ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  3. SYN-004 Use passive voice for a reason IF a clause is passive, THEN retain it only when the receiver is the topic, the actor is unknown or irrelevant, blame should be softened, or domain convention requires it ELSE convert to active. Context default
  4. SYN-005 Put conditions before instructions IF an instruction applies only under a condition, THEN state the condition before the imperative ELSE give the action directly. Context default
  5. SYN-006 One principal action per procedural step IF a step contains multiple independently verifiable actions, THEN split them into ordered steps ELSE retain a tightly coupled action. Context default
  6. SYN-007 Limit nested clauses for general audiences IF clause nesting exceeds two levels AND the audience is not expert-only, THEN split or promote a buried clause ELSE retain necessary complexity. Heuristic
  7. SYN-008 Given information before new information IF a sentence introduces new information before the anchor it depends on, THEN reorder from shared context to new contribution ELSE retain a deliberate surprise. Heuristic
  8. SYN-009 End-weight complex material IF a long complex phrase separates subject from verb OR delays the core relation, THEN move that weight later when meaning permits ELSE retain. Heuristic