no-setup-payoff

Flags staged questions or tensions resolved by the next sentence.

Why

A setup followed by a manufactured payoff delays a direct point for dramatic effect.

Examples

Rubric

This rule is evaluated by the optional AI judge against the criteria below.

Flag a paragraph when one sentence poses a rhetorical question, announces a tension, or creates suspense solely so the next sentence can resolve it with an obvious restatement. The setup and payoff should function as one direct claim. Do not flag a genuine question that frames an issue the text then answers with evidence, analysis, or a disputed legal standard. Do not flag a transition that introduces a genuinely new section or issue.

Should flag

• What does the record show? It shows that the notice was late.
• The question is simple: who had notice? The answer is the agency.
• This raises a serious point. The point is that the contract is unclear.
• Why does that matter? It matters because the claim is untimely.

Should pass

• What does the record show about delivery? The receipt is missing, and the witness disputes the date.
• The question is whether the agency had notice before the deadline. The answer turns on the March 3 email.
• The record raises a serious point: the contract uses two different dates for payment.
• Why does that matter? Because the statute makes timely notice a condition of review.

Turning it off

lawlint --disable no-setup-payoff draft.md

Or durably, in .lawlint/config.json — see Configuration.