Structural Features (SSI)
The eight structural features that make up the Structural Sermonic Index — organizational patterns that score how a text is built at the sentence and paragraph level. These features capture the architecture of preachiness: how imperatives are distributed, how the reader is addressed, whether claims are absolute or hedged, and whether the text escalates toward moral urgency.
8 terms across 3 subcategories
Prescriptive Patterns
Features that measure how directly a text tells the reader what to do, think, or become — from explicit commands and second-person targeting to concluding calls to action.
should / must / need to / have to + directive → prescriptive command density
A measure of how frequently a text uses direct commands, instructions, and prescriptive constructions — 'should,' 'must,' 'need to,' and explicit imperatives that tell the reader what to do or think. Imperative density is the most direct structural marker of preachiness: a text saturated with imperatives is literally telling the reader how to behave. Score 0 means no imperatives; score 5 means nearly every sentence is a command or prescription. The key distinction is between genuinely prescriptive imperatives ('You must examine your conscience') and neutral instructional ones ('Click the save button') — context determines whether an imperative is sermonic.
you / your / you're + moral or prescriptive framing → direct reader targeting
A measure of how heavily a text uses 'you,' 'your,' and 'you're' to address the reader directly, particularly in a prescriptive or moralizing tone. Second person address transforms abstract moral claims into personal confrontation — it puts the reader in the dock. Score 0 means no second person; score 5 means relentless 'you' targeting the reader. Neutral instructional 'you' (as in a recipe or technical manual) is excluded; what matters is whether the 'you' carries moral weight or advisory pressure.
we must / it's time to / stand up / take action / commit to → demand for change
A measure of how strongly a text demands change, commitment, or action from its audience — explicit or implicit exhortations to do something. Calls to action are the structural climax of sermonic writing: after building the moral case, the text demands a response. Score 0 means no call to action; score 5 means the entire text is a call to arms. Strong calls use 'we must,' 'it's time to,' 'stand up,' 'take action,' and concluding exhortations that demand the reader change behavior, beliefs, or allegiances.
Framing Patterns
Features that measure how a text frames its claims — whether it presents ideas as absolute truth, couches them in moral terms, or divides the world into binary categories.
always / never / everyone / no one / the truth is → unhedged universal assertion
A measure of how frequently a text makes universal, unhedged assertions — statements presented as inarguable truth without qualification. Absolute claims use 'always,' 'never,' 'everyone,' 'no one,' and definitive declarations that admit no exceptions. Score 0 means fully hedged prose; score 5 means the text presents everything as settled truth. Absolute claims are a core marker of sermonic authority: the preacher does not say 'perhaps' or 'in some cases' — the preacher declares.
right/wrong + duty/obligation + conscience/shame → ethical reframing of claims
A measure of how heavily a text employs ethical and moral language to frame its argument — right/wrong dichotomies, appeals to conscience, virtue/vice language, moral urgency, and shame/guilt implications. Moral framing transforms factual or policy claims into ethical imperatives: it's not just that something is true, it's that believing otherwise is wrong. Score 0 means purely descriptive prose; score 5 means the text reads as a moral sermon where every point is an ethical judgment.
either/or + us/them + no middle ground → forced binary choice
A measure of how frequently a text presents complex issues as having only two sides — us/them, right/wrong, good/bad, either/or. Binary framing simplifies the moral landscape into categories: you are either with us or against us. Score 0 means nuanced throughout; score 5 means the text exists entirely in binaries. Binary framing is the structural foundation of sermonic persuasion because it eliminates the middle ground where resistance lives.
Rhetorical Devices
Features that measure the use of specific rhetorical techniques — questions that assume agreement and emotional escalation that builds urgency toward a climax.
How can...? / Isn't it time...? / Don't we owe...? → questions that assume agreement
A measure of how frequently a text uses questions not to seek information but to make a point, assume agreement, or shame the reader. Sermonic rhetorical questions presuppose their own answer: 'Don't you think...?', 'Isn't it time...?', 'How can anyone...?' Score 0 means no rhetorical questions; score 5 means rhetorical questions are the primary structural device. Rhetorical questions are a sermonic staple because they create the illusion of dialogue while actually controlling the conversation — the reader is invited to 'answer' but the answer is predetermined.
mild concern → strong concern → outrage → demand → climax → escalating intensity arc
A measure of how much a text builds urgency and emotional intensity over its course — moving from calm to passionate, from observation to outrage, from description to exhortation. Emotional escalation is the structural arc of the sermon: it starts measured, builds through accumulating evidence and moral pressure, and peaks in a passionate climax. Score 0 means flat, even tone throughout; score 5 means the text reads as a crescendo of urgency. Exclamation marks, dramatic language, apocalyptic framing, and intensifying modifiers all contribute.