4. Clear, honest, correct communication

• Objective of writing 


  • Communicate clearly with your audience using PLAIN language

  Some rules of plain language:

  • keep sentences as short as possible (KISS)
  • be as concise as possible

  if you can say something in one word, why use many?
• TOP SIGNS OF BAD & GOOD LEGAL WRITING

  
  

  PASSIVE & ACTIVE VOICE

  • Good legal writer uses an active voice
  • Examples:

  1. "The judge ruled"
  2. "The plaintiff filed a complaint"
  3. "The court held..."
• • Bad writers use passive voice
  • Examples:

  1. "The ruling was made by the judge"
  2. "The complaint was filed by the plaintiff"
  3. "It was held that..."

  Spotting guide:

  1. Check for the word "by" (search for "by[space]")
  2. Look for sentences or phrases starting with "it is" or "it was"
• • Exception - Use passive voice when you do not know the actor or when the result is more important than who did it
  • Examples:

  1. "The documents were mysteriously destroyed." (actor unknown)
  2. "Ted Stevens was re-elected anyway" (result important)
• FEAR OF CALLING THINGS BY THEIR NAMES

  • BAD LEGAL WRITERS ARE AFRAID TO CALL THINGS BY NAME, USING GENERIC TERMS INSTEAD

  1. The plaintiff
  2. The defendant
  3. The day in question
  4. The scene of the accident
  5. Her place of employment
• • GOOD WRITERS GIVE THEIR CHARACTERS NAMES

  1. Susan Jones
  2. Michael Fitzhugh
  3. June 3rd
  4. In the parking lot
  5. Pizza Hut
• NOMINALIZATIONS

  • BAD LEGAL WRITERS TURN VERBS INTO NOUNS AND THEN ADD AN EXTRA VERB TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE ONE THEY CONVERTED
  • Examples:

  1. "Reached a conclusion"
  2. "Granted a continuance"
  3. "Involved in a collision"
  4. "Take action"

  Spotting guide - look for words ending in "ION"
• • GOOD WRITERS JUST USE THE FIRST VERB
  • Examples:

  1. "concluded"
  2. "continued"
  3. "collided"
  4. "act”
• VERBOSITY

  • Bad legal writers use run-on sentences containing numerous qualifying phrases
  • Example: "The court in Chester v. Morris, a case involving a similar traffic accident, held that a person riding a bicycle must adhere to the same standards as a person driving a car, although it limited its holding to the facts of that case, which included the fact that the bicyclist was intoxicated."
• • Good writers use several short sentences
  • Example: "Chester v. Morris involved a similar traffic accident. The court held that a bicyclist must adhere to the same standards as a person driving a car. The opinion is limited to situations in which the bicyclist is intoxicated."
• QUALIFYING PHRASES

  • Bad writers put qualifying phrases in the middle of sentences where they do not belong
  • Examples:

  1. "The court, although it limited its holding, held that a bicyclist must adhere to traffic rules"
  2. "The court has, although with limits, held that a bicyclist must adhere to traffic rules"
  3. "The court held, although with limits, that a bicyclist must adhere to traffic rules"
• • Good writers put qualifying phrases at the end of the sentences or eliminate them altogether
  • Examples:

  1. "The court held that a bicyclist must adhere to traffic rules, although it limited its holding ..."
  2. "The court held that a bicyclist must adhere to traffic rules"
• REDUNDANCY

  • Bad writers list every known synonym as if they were writing a thesaurus in a misguided effort to be precise
  • Examples:

  1. "Every town, city, or village"
  2. "Cease and desist"
  3. "Give, devise and bequeath"

  Spotting guide: look for "or" or "and"
• • Good writers use a single-word
  • Examples:

  1. "Every municipality"
  2. "stop"
  3. "give"
  4. "void"
• MEANINGLESS ADVERBS USED IN A VAIN EFFORT TO MAKE A WEAK POINT APPEAR STRONGER

  • Bad writers use meaningless adverbs thinking they're making the argument stronger
  • Examples:

  1. Chester v. Morris clearly held that bicyclists must adhere to the rules of the road.
  2. The fact that he was drunk is extremely important
  3. The holding is very and utterly narrow.
  4. It is really important that he is not wearing a helmet.
  5. He was undoubtedly drunk.
  6. It is manifestly obvious that absolutely drunken bicyclists are dangerous.
• • Good writers diligently avoid useless adverbs
  • Examples:

  1. Chester v. Morris held that bicyclists must adhere to the rules of the road.
  2. The fact that he was drunk is important
  3. The holding is narrow.
  4. It is important that he was not wearing a helmet.
  5. He was drunk.
  6. It is obvious that drunken bicyclists are dangerous.
• MEANINGLESS WEASEL WORDS USED BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID TO TAKE A POSITION

  • Bad writers are afraid of being wrong and use weasel words to avoid taking a clear position
  • Examples:

  1. alleged
  2. maybe
  3. quite possibly
  4. at best/at least
  5. might be
  6. seems to
  7. appears to
  8. perhaps
  9. so-called
  10. implicates
  11. probably
  12. tends to
• DOUBLE NEGATIVES

  • Bad writers use double negatives
  • Examples:

  1. "not uncommon"
  2. "failed to show inability"
  3. "not insignificant"
  4. "not uncomplicated"
  5. "no small part"
  6. "not incapable"
  7. "not inappropriate"
• • Good writers use single positives
  • Examples:

  1. "common"
  2. "showed ability"
  3. "significant"
  4. "complicated"
  5. "large part"
  6. "capable"
  7. "appropriate"
• • Bad writers use meaningless (usually pompous) phrases
  • Examples:

  1. "I would like to point out that Chester v. Morris was overruled"
  2. "I would argue that Chester v. Morris is not applicable."
  3. "It should be noted that Chester v. Morris was decided before the statute was amended."
  4. "Evidence that the defendant was drunk does not operate to remove the issue of contributory negligence"
  5. "Despite the fact that the defendant was drunk, he operated his bicycle carefully."
  6. "In fact, he should be commended."
• • Much better!
  • Examples:

  1. "Chester v. Morris was overruled"
  2. "Chester v. Morris is not applicable."
  3. "Chester v. Morris was decided before the statute was amended."
  4. "Evidence that the defendant was drunk does not remove the issue of contributory negligence"
  5. "Despite the defendant's drunkenness, he operated his bicycle carefully."
  6. "He should be commended."
• Grammar


  Common errors in writing

  • Incorrect tenses/words/terminology/punctuation Use of plural forms of words Incomplete or fragment writing (syntax)
  • How to avoid these errors? By Editing! Editing is critical…
• Editing


  Lack of proper editing leads to poor writing:

  • English second or third language
  • Errors caused by haste – ‘more haste, less quality’
  • Errors caused by ‘fancy language’
  • Carelessness is a major problem in writing!

  How can you completely avoid these errors?

  • By practicing! ‘Keep writing & Editing’ – practice makes perfect.
• How do I edit?

  Go through:

  • Word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, read out loud, get a proof-reader, dictionary etc.
  • Check for spelling mistakes
  • Check grammar -especially verb tenses
  • Check if the content makes sense
  • Make sure the argument 'flows‘
  • The structure is easy to follow and understand
• Referencing - should be consistent, complete, and clear

  • Consistent - referencing style should be the same throughout the entire text i.e. text referencing and footnoting.
  • Complete - references must provide enough information to allow your audience to find the source.
  • Clear - it should be easy for your audience to figure out how your referencing style works.
• How to reference?

  • Footnotes

  LAW USUALLY USES A FOOTNOTE STYLE, WITH FULL REFERENCES IN THE FOOTNOTE - SoL style is based on this.

  NOT THE ONLY STYLE - you need to learn to follow the assigned style

  TWO MAIN ISSUES - where to place quotation marks and other

  references to indicate use of sources & what to put in the footnotes/ bibliography
• • Quotes

  Short quotes in ‘single quote marks’

  Long quotes indented

  Slight alterations to quotes in [square brackets]

  To leave out words in quotes …

  Place a footnote mark at the end of the quote

  • Paraphrases

  No quote marks

  Footnote mark at the end of the passage that: is being paraphrased, you want to show supporting research for