Structure

The Structure category of a style guide. Five fields that control how each article is organized at the section and paragraph level. Structure is applied in Phase 5 of the article workflow (Outline).

The five fields

Field	Type	Values
Opening	Array (multi-select)	direct, contextual, narrative, tension
Closing	Array (multi-select)	summary, call_to_action, open_question, callback, provocation, key_takeaways
Visual Breaks	String	minimal / moderate / generous
Examples	String	none / some / many
Example Types	Array (multi-select, required if examples != "none")	lists, tables, diagrams, code_snippets, quotes, case_studies

Opening types

How each article begins. You pick one or more — Cody chooses the right one per article based on the topic.

Type	What it does
direct	State the main point immediately. “AI radiology systems now exceed human accuracy. Here’s what that means.”
contextual	Set the scene, provide background first. “For the past decade, radiology has been the first medical specialty where AI made measurable inroads…”
narrative	Open with a story or anecdote. “In a Boston ER last March, an AI system flagged a stroke that two human radiologists missed…”
tension	Create stakes, pose a problem. “Hospitals are buying AI diagnostic systems they don’t trust, deployed in workflows their staff resent, and the regulators are watching.”

Many styles pick one (e.g., ["direct"] for technical content) or two (e.g., ["narrative", "tension"] for opinion pieces).

Closing types

How each article ends.

Type	What it does
summary	Recap key points.
call_to_action	Tell the reader what to do next.
open_question	Leave them thinking, no resolution offered.
callback	Reference the opening for symmetry.
provocation	Challenge an assumption the article just built up.
key_takeaways	Bullet list of main insights.

Most styles pick one or two. ["callback", "call_to_action"] is a common pairing (echo the opening, then prompt the next step).

Note: Section labels like “Opening” and “Closing” are workflow metadata — Cody uses them internally to apply the right opening/closing type, but they don’t end up as visible “Opening:” or “Closing:” prefixes in the article body. Section headings are written normally.

Visual Breaks

How much white space and paragraph spacing the article uses.

• minimal — Dense prose, longer paragraphs, fewer section breaks. Reads like a journal article or long-form essay.
• moderate — Balanced spacing, standard paragraph lengths. Reads like a mainstream blog post.
• generous — Short paragraphs, more white space, frequent breaks. Reads like a newsletter or LinkedIn post.

Visual breaks influence both writing (Phase 7) and the editor pass (Phase 10). A style set to generous will be edited toward shorter paragraphs even if the draft came in dense.

Examples

Default preference for including examples in the article.

• none — Minimal to no examples. Rely on explanation. Suitable for opinion pieces, manifestos.
• some — Occasional examples where they genuinely clarify a concept.
• many — Liberal use of examples throughout. Suitable for tutorials, explainers, technical posts.

If you set this to none, the Example Types field becomes optional (and is ignored). For some or many, you must pick at least one example type below.

Example Types

When examples are used, which kinds Cody should reach for. Multi-select.

Type	What it is
lists	Bulleted or numbered lists.
tables	Comparison tables, data tables.
diagrams	Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, state diagrams. Generated as Mermaid markdown when possible; ASCII as fallback.
code_snippets	Code examples (for technical content).
quotes	Pull quotes, expert citations, testimonials.
case_studies	Brief real-world scenarios (2–4 paragraphs each, embedded inline — not separate sections).

A technical tutorial style might pick ["lists", "code_snippets", "diagrams"]. A LinkedIn thought-leadership style might pick ["lists", "quotes", "case_studies"]. An academic essay might pick ["quotes", "case_studies"] only.

How structure is applied

In Phase 5 (Outline), Cody:

1. Extracts opening and closing types from your style and picks the right one for this article’s topic (e.g., a piece about a controversial decision benefits from tension; a how-to benefits from direct).
2. Tags the first section with the chosen opening type and the last with the chosen closing type — internal metadata, doesn’t appear in the article.
3. Plans section count and length based on visual_breaks (generous = more sections, shorter; minimal = fewer sections, longer).
4. Identifies where examples can land based on examples and example_types.

In Phase 10 (Editor Pass), structure also calibrates editor suggestions — visual breaks gets re-checked, example types inform what kinds of inline examples the editor adds.

What’s stored

{
  "structure": {
    "opening": ["narrative"],
    "closing": ["call_to_action"],
    "visual_breaks": "moderate",
    "examples": "some",
    "example_types": ["lists", "code_snippets"]
  }
}

Required:

• opening and closing must each contain at least one valid value.
• visual_breaks must be one of minimal / moderate / generous.
• examples must be one of none / some / many.
• example_types must contain at least one valid value if examples != "none".

Picking values

Some example combinations:

Style purpose	Opening	Closing	Visual Breaks	Examples	Example Types
Thought leadership essay	narrative, tension	callback, call_to_action	moderate	some	lists, quotes, case_studies
Technical tutorial	direct	summary	generous	many	lists, code_snippets, diagrams
Opinion column	tension	provocation	moderate	some	quotes, case_studies
Casual newsletter	narrative	call_to_action	generous	some	lists, quotes
Reference / explainer	contextual	key_takeaways	moderate	many	tables, lists, diagrams

Related

• Voice — applied at Phase 4.
• Formatting — applied at Phase 7.
• Style Guides Overview — how structure fits into the full style guide.