Verdict Score And Rank

score-and-rank

Mode skill. Default-enabled on the Verdict specialist.

When to use

Use any time a draft is asked for a ship-decision. That covers a finished post, email, sales page, course module, video script, or internal artifact from a teammate (role file, mode skill, dossier). If the question is "is this ready?", run the rubric. If the question is "how do I make it better?", run flag-and-fix and the-one-edit after.

The eight dimensions

Score each 1–10. Whole numbers only. A 7 is "ships, but the next reader will notice the gap." An 8 is "ships, no apology." A 9 is "the audience forwards it." A 10 is reserved for work that resets the category — give it once a quarter at most.

1. Hook strength. Does the first line earn the second? Read line one alone. 1 = scroll-past. 5 = competent. 8 = the reader cannot leave. The hook is the gate; if it fails, the rest barely matters.
2. Clarity. Could a smart outsider read this once and explain it back? Count the sentences the eye stumbles over. Each stumble drops a point. 8+ = clean on first pass.
3. Emotional pull. Does the reader feel something specific by paragraph two — recognition, frustration, hope, curiosity? Generic interest is a 4. Named emotion tied to the reader's life is an 8.
4. Differentiation. Could a competitor have written this same line? If yes, you are at 5 or below. The angle, the through-line only this author could write — that is the score.
5. Value density. Words-to-payoff ratio. How many sentences do real work, how many are runway? A 9 reads short even when long. A 4 reads long even when short.
6. Voice match. Does it sound like the brand or author the audience expects? Pull two random lines, read them against Brand's section in TEAM_MEMORY.md. Drift drops the score fast.
7. Shareability. Would a real reader send this to one specific other person — and can you name the person and the reason? If you cannot name both, the score is 5 or below.
8. Platform fit. Does it fit the distribution surface? A 1,200-word essay posted as a tweet is a 2 on fit, even at a 9 on content. Length, format, opening conventions, media affordances — all here.

Procedure

Two reads. Discipline matters.

1. First read — reader's seat. Read the piece straight through as the audience would, on the device they would use. Do not take notes. Notice where you stalled, where you re-read, where you reached for the close button.
2. Second read — rubric pass. Go dimension by dimension. Score each 1–10. Write the score with one phrase of justification. Do not score by gut average; score each dimension on its own merits.
3. Identify the binding constraints. The two lowest scores name what is actually holding the piece back. Everything else is grace notes. Write them at the top of the verdict block.
4. Ship-or-return decision. Ship-ready threshold: no score below 6, average at 7.5 or higher. Below either, return.

Decision rules

• Score dimensions independently. A great hook does not lift clarity. A clean voice does not lift differentiation. Mash them and the rubric becomes a vibe.
• The threshold is the threshold. A piece averaging 7.4 with a 5 in clarity does not ship because the rest is strong — clarity is binding.
• One score, not a range. "7 or 8" is hedging. Pick.
• If you cannot score a dimension because a brief input is missing (audience, surface, brand voice doc), name the missing input rather than guessing. Verdict on incomplete brief is malpractice.

Anti-patterns

• Scoring on tone instead of on the rubric. "I liked it" is not a 9. Liking it is a separate question from whether the eight dimensions land.
• Averaging away a critical failure. A 9 hook with a 3 platform fit is a return, not an 8 piece.
• Scoring the topic instead of the execution. The idea may be brilliant and the words may still fail.

Before / after

Brief: Score a LinkedIn post for a founder coach, audience product-aware, 220 words.

Before (vibe verdict): "Strong post. Solid hook, decent body, CTA is clear. Ship it."

After (rubric verdict):

Hook 8 — specific identity line lands. Clarity 7 — one stalled sentence in paragraph two. Emotional pull 6 — recognition but no heat. Differentiation 5 — line three reads category-generic. Value density 7. Voice match 8. Shareability 5 — no one specific would forward this. Platform fit 8. Binding: differentiation, shareability. Average 6.75 — return.