Wording quality - mehen

Wording quality is style and register. Where readability formulas score difficulty, wording quality flags writing patterns that consistently hurt clarity.

What mehen emits

Sub-metric	Default threshold
Passive voice (write-good / retext-passive pattern)	Doc-type ratio from the readability ensemble.
Hedge words (Hyland 2005; ~165 entries)	Flag > 3 % in non-narrative docs.
Weasel words (write-good)	Count-based.
Wordy phrases (~240 entries from too-wordy / retext-simplify)	Per-match count / 100 words.
Adverb density (`-ly` endings minus exceptions)	Hemingway budget ≤ 1 per 100 words.
Nominalizations (`-tion`, `-sion`, `-ment`, `-ence`, `-ance`, `-ity`, `-ness`, `-ism`)	Flag paragraph > 10 % of content words.
Expletive constructions (`^(there\|it)\s+(is\|are\|was\|were)`)	Per 100 sentences.
Lexical illusions (`lower(t[i-1]) == lower(t[i])`)	Zero-tolerance defect.
Clichés (~700 entries)	Per 1,000 words.
Non-words (`irregardless → regardless`, `thusly → thus`, …)	Error-level flag.
Long sentences	Warning > 30 words, error > 40.

Wording Quality Score

WordingQualityScore = clamp01(
    1
  − 0.18 · sat(passive_ratio;          0.25, 0.60)
  − 0.15 · sat(hedge_density;          0.02, 0.08)
  − 0.12 · sat(weasel_density;         0.01, 0.05)
  − 0.12 · sat(wordy_density;          0.01, 0.05)
  − 0.10 · sat(adverb_density;         0.02, 0.06)
  − 0.08 · sat(nominalization_density; 0.08, 0.20)
  − 0.08 · sat(long_sentence_rate;     0.05, 0.30)
  − 0.07 · sat(cliche_density;         0.002, 0.02)
  − 0.05 · (lexical_illusions > 0 ? 1 : 0)
  − 0.05 · (nonword_count     > 0 ? 1 : 0)
)

WQS is deliberately orthogonal to Filler / Lazy Risk: Filler covers repetition and specificity, WQS covers style and register.

References

Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. Continuum.
Williams, J. M. (1981). Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. University of Chicago Press.
write-good rules.
proselint.
retext-passive.
Hemingway editor.

See also

English readability ensemble — orthogonal difficulty axis.
Inclusive language — separate flag list.