warning · Section 6: Descriptive writing
Rule 6.1: Give information gradually
In descriptive text, present information gradually and make sure each sentence contains only one subject. Do not pack multiple facts or ideas about different subjects into one sentence, since this forces the reader to re-read the text to understand it.
What a checker looks for
Usually a deviation, and context can excuse it.
- Flag sentences that combine information about more than one subject or idea (for example, a system's identity, its function, its internal signal path, and a downstream data transmission all stated in a single sentence).
- Flag dense passages where a large amount of technical information is compressed into very few sentences, forcing the reader to parse several ideas at once.
- Check that each sentence has one clear subject; flag sentences that shift to a new subject partway through via a comma splice or an added clause.
What this rule does not cover
- A sentence with a subordinate clause that only defines or qualifies its single subject (rather than introducing a different subject) is not a violation.
How to fix it
Break the dense passage into a sequence of short sentences that each introduce one idea, building progressively from the general identity/function of the item toward more specific details.
Constraints on the fix
- Do not drop any technical fact from the original text — redistribute it across the new sentences instead of removing it.
Examples
Not STE: During the approach to the runway, deviation pointers in the course indicators give commands to fly up or down and left or right. This information comes from the VHF transceivers, which are part of the Instrument Landing System.
STE: The Instrument Landing System (the system) on the aircraft shows data that helps the pilot during the approach to the runway. This system shows the pilot the deviations from the localizer course and the glideslope path. During the approach to the runway, deviation pointers in the course indicators show the pilot in which direction the aircraft must go.
Related rules
Where this fits in AI governance
A rule a checker can test is a rule a model can be held to. The same discipline, on the governance side of this site.
- Explainability
Descriptive writing rules exist so that a description can be verified against the thing described. The same demand, made of a model. - Misinformation and confabulation
The register entry for text that reads correctly and is not. - Output validation guardrails
A controlled language is a checkable output constraint. This is the control that treats model output as something to be checked rather than trusted.
Source
ASD-STE100 Issue 9, Section 6 - Descriptive writing, page 1-6-1.
This page is commentary and does not reproduce the standard. About this rule pack.