{"id":"PUN-007","name":"Serial comma follows declared style","domain":"punctuation","layer":"sentence","strength":"context_default","human_logic":"IF a series contains three or more coordinated items, THEN apply the selected serial-comma policy consistently AND add a comma when omission causes ambiguity ELSE retain.","when":{"path":"series.item_count","operator":"gte","value":3},"then":[{"action":"apply_policy","target":"series.final_separator","policy_from":"document.style.serial_comma"},{"action":"insert","target":"series.final_separator","when":"ambiguity_without_comma","value":","}],"else":[{"action":"retain","target":"current_text","reason":"No triggering condition is present."}],"unless":[],"because":"Consistency lowers friction, while clarity overrides optional house-style omission.","diagnostics":[],"examples":{},"source_ids":["BK-003","BK-005","BK-007","BK-039"],"laka":{"smallest_sufficient_intervention":true,"primary_axes":["scope","depth","magnitude","reversibility"]},"requires_facts":["series.item_count"],"tests":[],"sources":[{"id":"BK-003","title":"Garner's Modern English Usage","creator":"Bryan A. Garner","domain":"usage_reference","type":"Book","note":"Modern American usage and editorial judgment.","url":null},{"id":"BK-005","title":"Dreyer's English","creator":"Benjamin Dreyer","domain":"copyediting_style","type":"Book","note":"Practical modern editorial advice and stylistic judgment.","url":null},{"id":"BK-007","title":"The Copyeditor's Handbook","creator":"Amy Einsohn; Marilyn Schwartz","domain":"copyediting","type":"Book","note":"Professional copyediting practice, grammar, and editorial process.","url":null},{"id":"BK-039","title":"The Chicago Manual of Style","creator":"The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff","domain":"editorial_style","type":"Book","note":"Comprehensive editorial style, grammar, documentation, and publishing.","url":null}],"defined_in":{"file":"08-punctuation-rules.json","title":"Punctuation as Meaning and Boundary","slug":"punctuation-rules"}}