---
title: "no-parataxis"
description: "Flags marches of short coordinate clauses and sentences."
sidebar:
  label: "no-parataxis"
  badge: "Soft"
search:
  tags: [rule, inferential, style]
---

| Property | Value |
| -------- | ----- |
| Kind | Soft rule |
| Engine | `inferential` |
| Tier | `inferential` |
| Severity | `warning` |
| Intent | `style` |
| Scope | `text` |

:::note
This is a style rule. It reports findings and participates in `--fix`, but never moves the [human-likeness score](/docs/concepts/scoring).
:::

## Why

A string of equal short clauses can create a mechanical rhythm when the relationships between ideas deserve subordination.

## Examples

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Column>
    **Flagged**

    The court read the contract. It reviewed the emails. It considered the testimony. It denied the motion.
  </Column>
  <Column>
    **Better**

    After reviewing the contract, emails, and testimony, the court denied the motion.
  </Column>
</Columns>

## Rubric

This rule is evaluated by the optional [AI judge](/docs/guides/judge) against the criteria below.

Flag a paragraph when it marches through several short coordinate clauses
or sentences, especially repeated "and" clauses, without showing which idea
causes, limits, or supports another. Look for a mechanical sequence rather
than a single concise sentence. Do not flag deliberately short holdings,
operative commands, or citation sentences when their brevity is normal for
legal prose. Do not flag a paragraph whose short sentences each carry a
distinct legal step or whose coordination makes the relationship clear.

### Should flag

- The court reviewed the motion. It read the response. It checked the docket. It set a hearing.
- The witness arrived and she sat and she waited and she testified.
- The agency issued the rule. It took comments. It changed the text. It published the rule.
- The contract says payment is due. It sets a date. It states a place. It gives a remedy.

### Should pass

- The court denied the motion because the response was untimely.
- The court held that the notice was late. The judgment followed.
- The clerk entered judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 58.
- The agency issued the rule, accepted comments, revised the text, and published the final version.

## Turning it off

```sh
lawlint --disable no-parataxis draft.md
```

Or durably, in `.lawlint/config.json` — see [Configuration](/docs/reference/configuration).