Actionability Score¶
Rule ID: content-actionability-score
Score instruction files on actionability (verb density, commands, file references)
| Severity | info (auto) |
| Autofix | llm |
| Since | v0.7.0 |
Research Basis¶
Scores instruction files on actionability — verb density, command references, file path mentions.
Instruction files full of passive descriptions ("the system architecture is microservices-based") give the model no direction. Files with imperative verbs ("use microservices architecture for all new services") give clear marching orders.
Google's Gemini prompting guide states: "Always remember to include a verb or command as part of your task — this is the most important part of a prompt." The Bsharat et al. study confirmed that imperative framing is one of the strongest predictors of prompt quality.
References:
- Bsharat et al., Principled Instructions Are All You Need — Imperative framing as a quality predictor
- Google Workspace Gemini Prompt Guide — "Always include a verb or command"
- OpenAI Prompt Engineering Guide — "Specify the steps required to complete a task"
- IBM Prompt Engineering Techniques — "The request should be an action verb: 'analyze', 'summarize', 'classify'"