error · Section 9: Writing practices
Rule 9.2: Use each approved word only with its approved meaning and approved part of speech
Many STE-approved words carry only one approved meaning and/or one approved part of speech, which can be narrower than their meanings in standard English. Always use an approved word only in the sense and grammatical role the dictionary assigns it, never in another standard-English sense or part of speech it happens to also have.
What a checker looks for
A clear deviation from the rule.
- Flag an approved word used with a standard-English meaning that differs from its single STE-approved meaning (e.g. 'wear' meaning 'put on clothing' instead of its approved meaning 'become damaged by friction'; 'extend' meaning 'apply to' instead of 'increase in dimension or range').
- Flag an approved word used as a part of speech other than the one the dictionary approves for it (e.g. 'work' used as a verb when it is approved only as a noun; 'help' used as a noun when approved only as a verb; 'damage' used as a verb when approved only as a noun).
- Flag a physical-movement verb or preposition ('go down', 'go through', 'turn', 'see') used abstractly for a condition, requirement, or coming to know something, rather than its approved literal/physical sense.
What this rule does not cover
- A small set of words are approved with more than one part of speech or meaning (e.g. 'flush' as both a verb and an adjective); using either approved sense, distinguishable by its position in the sentence, is compliant.
How to fix it
Replace the misused word with an approved word (or short approved phrase) that actually carries the intended meaning in its approved sense and part of speech, restructuring the sentence as needed to stay grammatical.
Constraints on the fix
- Confirm the replacement word's approved meaning genuinely matches the intended sense before substituting it — do not chain into a second misuse.
Examples
Not STE: Wear protective clothing.
STE: Use (or put on) protective clothing.
Not STE: When the pressure goes down, lift the cover.
STE: When the pressure decreases, lift the cover.
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.
- Prompt engineering
Writing practices are the closest thing the standard has to prompt guidance, and they were written for humans first. - LLM governance, operationally
The prompt is a governed artefact. This is what governing it looks like day to day. - 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 9 - Writing practices, page 1-9-5.
This page is commentary and does not reproduce the standard. About this rule pack.