Finding, goal and choice do different jobs
Three roles in an explanation
These boxes show how statements contribute to an account. They are connected reading roles, not a clinical sequence.
Starting information
The situation described
- What did the supplied assessment describe?
Meaning of the proposal
The intended purpose
- What does the account say it is trying to achieve?
Connection to the choice
The individual reasoning
- How does the explanation connect its chosen approach and considered possibilities?
Crowding can prompt a space discussion. Removal, expansion and enamel reduction have different, individually considered roles.
That general context explains why a proposal needs its own reasoning. This guide's reading method is to separate the description of the situation, the intended purpose and the explanation for the chosen approach. The diagram maps those sentence roles. It does not rank the actions or show treatment order.
Sources: BOS patient guidance
A fictional space explanation, with its meaning filled in
The fictional assessment describes crowding and a goal of space for planned movement. It says the considered expansion and enamel reduction would not supply that space; removal is the proposed approach.
The account gives a concrete reason for the comparison: the stated space goal. It says the two considered approaches do not meet that goal in this fictional assessment. That is different from saying they are always wrong or that the reader should select a preferred label. This is a supplied fictional judgment to interpret, not a suitability test that the guide can apply to someone else.
| Part of the account | What its position in the explanation tells you |
|---|---|
| The assessment's description | This is the starting situation supplied by the clinician. |
| The intended purpose | This connects the proposed action to what the plan is trying to achieve. |
| The considered possibilities | This belongs to the reasoning for this proposal, rather than a universal preference order. |
Sources: BOS patient guidance
Why 'they need space' is an incomplete retelling
Compare two summaries of the same fictional account. 'They need space' preserves the broad subject but loses the proposed action and the connection to a plan. 'The explanation links its proposed action to a stated movement goal, after considering other possibilities' preserves the structure without inventing a different reason.
That is the useful distinction: you can recognise a complete explanation while leaving the individual treatment judgment with the clinician and patient. Retelling an account accurately and agreeing to a treatment are separate things.
If your own explanation is incomplete, identify the missing connection. 'I understand the action, but not how it serves the stated goal' is more precise than replacing the whole account with a yes-or-no verdict.