Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / voice

VOI-011 Hard constraint layer: sentence

Calibrate confidence to evidence

IF wording expresses certainty, THEN match modal strength to evidence and uncertainty ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Tone must not make a claim sound more certain than the evidence allows.

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.

  • sentence.epistemic_claim eq true

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
sentence.epistemic_claim You supply it

Then

  1. align — target sentence.confidence, value from evidence.strength_and_uncertainty

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.
  • Advertising and Marketing Basics — U.S. Federal Trade Commission link
    Advertising claims must be truthful, non-deceptive, fair, and appropriately substantiated.
  • Advertising Substantiation Policy Statement — U.S. Federal Trade Commission link
    Objective claims require a reasonable evidentiary basis before dissemination.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 12-voice-rhythm-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/VOI-011.

{
  "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"
    ]
  }
}

Other voice rules

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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