structure.sentence-too-long
What it flags
Sentences whose length exceeds a per-profile ceiling. The intrinsic cognitive load of a sentence grows non-linearly with its word count (Graesser et al. 2004, Coh-Metrix); FALC caps at 15 words, Plain English at 20. Long sentences increase the probability of a reader under attentional load losing the thread mid-read.
At a glance
| Category | structure |
| Default severity | warning |
| Default weight | 2 |
| Languages | EN · FR (identical detection) |
| Source | src/rules/sentence_too_long.rs |
Detection
Split text into sentences via strong punctuation (., !, ?, …, paragraph breaks). Count Unicode word tokens, excluding punctuation. Contractions (don't) and elisions (l'accessibilité) count as one word when the apostrophe sits between two letters. Code blocks are skipped.
Parameters
| Key | Type | dev-doc | public | falc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
max_words | int | 30 | 22 | 15 |
exclude_code_blocks | bool | true | true | true |
Examples
Three ideas, colour-matched across the rewrite — position already pairs them, the tint just confirms the rewrite loses none. lucid-lint reports; the rewrite is always yours.
English
Before (flagged):
The caching subsystem, which was introduced in an earlier milestone, turned out to interact poorly with the new request pipeline under sustained load, and the investigation that followed required multiple rounds of profiling.
What lucid-lint check --profile public reports:
warning input.md:1:1 Sentence is 33 words long (maximum 22). Consider splitting it into shorter sentences. [structure.sentence-too-long]
After (your rewrite):
The caching subsystem was introduced earlier. It interacts poorly with the new request pipeline under sustained load. The investigation required several rounds of profiling.
French
Before (flagged):
Le sous-système de cache introduit lors d’un jalon précédent interagit mal avec le nouveau pipeline de requêtes sous charge soutenue, et l’enquête a nécessité plusieurs rondes de profilage.
What lucid-lint check --profile public reports:
warning input.md:1:1 Sentence is 29 words long (maximum 22). Consider splitting it into shorter sentences. [structure.sentence-too-long]
After (your rewrite):
Le cache a été introduit lors d’un jalon précédent. Il interagit mal avec le nouveau pipeline sous charge soutenue. L’enquête a nécessité plusieurs rondes de profilage.
Suppression
See Suppressing diagnostics for the inline and block forms.
See also
rhythm.consecutive-long-sentences— catches rhythm; its threshold must stay lower thanmax_wordshere.- Scoring model —
structure.sentence-too-longcarries weight2because the cognitive cost compounds with length.
References
See References for the full bibliography.