---
title: "Evidence ledger | Glossary"
description: "An evidence ledger is a claim-level register: what was asserted, which source supports it, how strong that source is, and what would retire the claim. It is…"
image: "https://lenvanderhof.com/photos/len-portrait-1.jpg"
---

Term

# Evidence ledger

An evidence ledger is a claim-level register: what was asserted, which source supports it, how strong that source is, and what would retire the claim. It is not a bibliography dumped at the end. Operators use it so a number cannot wander between chapters, books, or a back-cover line. If the claim cannot point at a row, it is not ready to print, pitch, or paste into an answer. The ledger is the product. The reference list is a rendering.

## When to use it

Use it the moment a manuscript, article, or strategy memo starts quoting numbers. If two chapters cite the same figure with different N, the ledger is missing or ignored.

## Do not confuse with

Not a bibliography, not a reading list, and not a pile of PDFs in a folder. The unit is one claim with a source grade.

## Essays on this site

- [The Agentic Author: introduction](https://lenvanderhof.com/en/blog/the-agentic-author-introduction/)
- [A SENSE intelligence layer in 90 days](https://lenvanderhof.com/en/blog/sense-90-day-intelligence-layer/)
- [What is BooksOS? Seven gates, not a writing CMS](https://lenvanderhof.com/en/blog/what-is-booksos/)
- [What is an evidence ledger?](https://lenvanderhof.com/en/blog/what-is-an-evidence-ledger/)

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