Constructing impulse and corrective Elliott wave labels

How a cycle is assembled

Elliott wave labeling classifies price into nested five-wave trend legs and three-wave countertrend legs so a count can be completed or invalidated. A with-trend move is constructed as five labeled waves, after which a three-wave countertrend sequence is expected to complete the cycle.

Impulse and corrective placements

Waves 1, 3, and 5 are impulse waves. An impulse wave is a with-trend wave, typically labeled 1, 3, or 5, that subdivides into five smaller waves and may elongate into an extension.

Waves 2 and 4 are corrective waves that move against the preceding impulse. A corrective wave is a countertrend wave, typically labeled 2, 4, a, b, or c, that usually takes a three-wave form and may appear as a zigzag, flat, triangle, or combined three.

Nested subunits and wave degree

Impulse waves 1, 3, and 5 subdivide into five waves of smaller degree, while waves 2 and 4 take a three-wave form. Wave degree is the scale of a pattern: every wave can be unpacked into smaller waves or grouped as one wave of the next higher degree.

A finished five-wave advance plus three-wave correction is one complete cycle and one wave of the next higher degree.

When an impulse extends

An extension is an elongated impulse that stretches beyond a typical length and can appear in wave 1, 3, or 5. A fifth-wave extension is favored when waves 1 and 3 are of similar length.

Four families of corrective construction

Corrective construction is grouped into four families: zigzag, flat, triangle, and double or triple threes.

A zigzag is built as five waves in a, three in b, and five in c. A flat is built as three waves in a, three in b, and five in c.

A triangle contains five waves, each a three-wave subunit. It occurs only as wave 4 or wave b and takes one of four shapes: ascending, descending, contracting, or expanding.

A double or triple three joins separate corrective patterns with a connecting three-wave X, such as a zigzag, then X, then a flat. A double three is two corrective patterns joined by that connecting three-wave X label.

When a count is accepted

Editorial: a finished count is a hypothesis, not a decoration on the chart. Keep the five-then-three reading only while the impulse subdivisions, the chosen corrective family, the triangle location limits, and the degree grouping can each be checked. If a placement rule fails, mark that label broken and rebuild the count.