{"id":"CLR-011","name":"Put the main point before qualifications","domain":"clarity","layer":"sentence","strength":"heuristic","human_logic":"IF qualifications delay the main clause beyond easy recovery, THEN state the core point first and attach the qualifications clearly ELSE retain legally necessary order.","when":{"all":[{"path":"sentence.pre_main_clause_word_count","operator":"gt","value":20},{"path":"sentence.main_point_delayed","operator":"eq","value":true},{"path":"context.required_legal_order","operator":"eq","value":false}]},"then":[{"action":"move","target":"sentence.main_clause","destination":"earlier"},{"action":"attach","target":"sentence.qualifications","with":"explicit_scope"}],"else":[{"action":"retain","target":"current_text","reason":"No triggering condition is present."}],"unless":[],"because":"Readers need the proposition before they can correctly interpret its limits.","diagnostics":[],"examples":{},"source_ids":["BK-008","BK-013","WEB-002"],"laka":{"smallest_sufficient_intervention":true,"primary_axes":["scope","depth","magnitude","reversibility"]},"requires_facts":["sentence.pre_main_clause_word_count","sentence.main_point_delayed","context.required_legal_order"],"tests":[],"sources":[{"id":"BK-008","title":"The Sense of Style","creator":"Steven Pinker","domain":"cognitive_style","type":"Book","note":"Reader-centered clarity informed by linguistics and cognition.","url":null},{"id":"BK-013","title":"On Writing Well","creator":"William Zinsser","domain":"nonfiction_style","type":"Book","note":"Clarity, simplicity, voice, and nonfiction craft.","url":null},{"id":"WEB-002","title":"Principles of plain language","creator":"Digital.gov / U.S. General Services Administration","domain":"plain_language","type":"Government guidance","note":"Design content so the intended audience can find, understand, and use it.","url":"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/"}],"defined_in":{"file":"11-clarity-style-rules.json","title":"Clarity, Precision, and Plain-Language Rules","slug":"clarity-style-rules"}}