Prose textures break paragraph-level monotony. Composition patterns break block-level monotony by combining prose with visual components from the gallery. These six patterns have emerged organically across the Anlak reports — they are not theory, they are what the best chapters actually do.
Each pattern is a recipe: this kind of prose → this component → this kind of prose → this component. Use them as starting points, then break them deliberately when the chapter demands it.
1. Chain → Synthesis
Used in: saas-meltdown/ch08.typ (the canonical example), palantir/ch07.typ
Brief framing paragraph (1–2 lines)
→ #chain-link(company: "CRM", date: "...")[Specific fact.]
→ #chain-link(company: "TEAM", date: "...")[Specific fact.]
→ #chain-link(company: "NOW", date: "...")[Specific fact.]
→ #chain-link(company: "SNOW", date: "...")[Specific fact.]
→ #insightbox[The pattern these four share is ___.]
Why it works: Stack four atomic pieces of evidence visually, then close with the synthesis. The reader sees the data accumulate before you tell them what it means. Massively more persuasive than asserting the conclusion first.
Minimum chain length: 3. Less and it does not feel like a pattern. Maximum: 6. More and the eye fatigues before the synthesis lands.
2. Hero Block
Used in: centauros/ch02.typ, vector-company/ch01.typ
Opening line (one-liner aislado texture)
→ #statcallout(number: [48%], label: [European booking share], caption: [...])
→ #infographic("/.../hero.png", caption: "...")
→ #pullquote[Quote that reframes the stat.]
[Attribution]
→ #source-line[Source: ...]
Why it works: Hits the reader with a number, a visual, a quote, a source — four different cognitive modes in sequence. This is what magazine editors call "the spread" — the opening of a chapter that earns the reader's commitment to the next 15 pages.
Use sparingly: once per chapter, at the opening. If every chapter does this it becomes formula.
3. Rhetorical "So What?"
Used in: palantir/ch11.typ, vector-company/ch04.typ
Analysis paragraph ending in an implicit question
Párrafo-pregunta texture: "What does this mean for the operator?"
→ #insightbox(title: "SO WHAT")[
Three consequences, as a short bulleted list.
]
Why it works: The "So What?" box is not a different component — it is insightbox with a different title and a list body. What makes the pattern work is the párrafo-pregunta that precedes it. The question sets up the box as an answer, not a lecture.
Do not: put a "So What?" box without the rhetorical setup. It reads as decoration. The texture of the prose before the box is 70% of the effect.
4. Evidence Pile → Thesis
Used in: storymakers/ch03.typ, gnr-hotel/ch05.typ
Framing paragraph
→ #casebox(title: "Case 1: ...")[Full case study paragraph.]
→ #casebox(title: "Case 2: ...")[Full case study paragraph.]
→ #casebox(title: "Case 3: ...")[Full case study paragraph.]
→ Transition sentence ("Across all three, one thing recurs:")
→ #thesisbox(title: "The pattern")[The synthesis, stated once, with full border weight.]
Why it works: Three case studies is the minimum viable pattern for induction. The thesisbox (full border) reads as heavier than insightbox (left-border) — it earns its weight by coming after the evidence.
Variation: for weaker evidence, use two casebox + one alertbox (to acknowledge the counter-example) → thesisbox. This is more honest and usually more persuasive.
5. Data + Caveat
Used in: vector-company/ch06.typ, centauros/ch07.typ
Brief framing (1 line)
→ #premium-table(headers: (...), ...rows)
→ #source-line[Source: ...]
→ #margin-note[The caveat that stops this from being over-interpreted.]
→ Short analytical paragraph that earns the caveat.
Why it works: The margin-note is not boilerplate — it is the editorial voice saying I see the weakness in this data and I am ahead of you. It buys you permission to then analyse the data anyway.
Do not: use this pattern for tables where the caveat destroys the argument. If the caveat kills the table, cut the table.
6. Framework Intro
Used in: storymakers/ch01.typ, gnr-hotel/ch03.typ
Opening paragraph stating what the framework does
→ #pairs-list(
([Concept A AND Concept B], [Short explanation]),
([Concept C AND Concept D], [Short explanation]),
([Concept E AND Concept F], [Short explanation]),
)
→ Transition paragraph
→ #do-dont(
do-items: (...),
dont-items: (...),
)
Why it works: Pairs-list says here is the shape. Do-dont says here is how to use it. Together they compress what would otherwise be 3 pages of prose into 1 page of structured guidance. Works because the reader has already agreed to learn a framework — they want density, not exposition.
Do not: use this pattern before you have earned the reader's interest. It is a delivery vehicle for an accepted framework, not a way to introduce one.
Rule of Thumb
If a chapter uses zero of these patterns, it will feel like an essay. If it uses all six, it will feel like a consulting deck pretending to be prose. The right number is 2–3 per chapter, interspersed with stretches of narrative prose using the paragraph textures.
See rhythm-rules.md for the hard constraints.