{"id":"SYN-005","name":"Put conditions before instructions","domain":"syntax","layer":"sentence","strength":"context_default","human_logic":"IF an instruction applies only under a condition, THEN state the condition before the imperative ELSE give the action directly.","when":{"all":[{"path":"sentence.function","operator":"eq","value":"instruction"},{"path":"sentence.condition","operator":"exists"}]},"then":[{"action":"move","target":"sentence.condition","destination":"before_instruction"},{"action":"label","target":"sentence.condition","when":"high_stakes","prefix":"If"}],"else":[{"action":"retain","target":"current_text","reason":"No triggering condition is present."}],"unless":[],"because":"Readers should know whether an action applies before they perform it.","diagnostics":[],"examples":{},"source_ids":["WEB-003","WEB-006","BK-024"],"laka":{"smallest_sufficient_intervention":true,"primary_axes":["scope","depth","magnitude","reversibility"]},"requires_facts":["sentence.function","sentence.condition"],"tests":[{"id":"TST-006","rule_id":"SYN-005","before":"Select Delete if you no longer need the file.","after":"If you no longer need the file, select Delete.","reason":"The condition appears before the potentially destructive action.","assertion":{"if":{"path":"output","operator":"eq","value":"If you no longer need the file, select Delete."},"then":"pass","else":"review"}}],"sources":[{"id":"WEB-003","title":"Google Developer Documentation Style Guide","creator":"Google","domain":"technical_style","type":"Official style guide","note":"Clear, consistent, audience-directed technical documentation.","url":"https://developers.google.com/style"},{"id":"WEB-006","title":"Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities","creator":"W3C","domain":"cognitive_accessibility","type":"W3C Working Group Note","note":"Clear words, simple voice and tense, explicit instructions, and supportive structure.","url":"https://www.w3.org/TR/coga-usable/"},{"id":"BK-024","title":"Developing Quality Technical Information","creator":"Michelle Carey; Moira Lanyi; Deirdre Longo; et al.","domain":"technical_writing","type":"Book","note":"Quality dimensions for usable technical information.","url":null}],"defined_in":{"file":"09-syntax-and-sentence-rules.json","title":"Syntax and Sentence Construction Rules","slug":"syntax-and-sentence-rules"}}