Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Legal Writing: 8 things you can do

The 8 best things you can do to improve your legal-writing style.

This advice is for analytical and persuasive writing, not for legal drafting. And I must add, thanks to a commenter, that these relate to mechanics, not to substance:
  1. Avoid heavy connectors.
  2. Minimize passive voice.
  3. Consistently apply connections and transitions.
  4. Use words precisely and consult the best sources to be sure you’re right.
  5. Master the comma, the semicolon, the colon, and the dash.
  6. Choose the vigorous, the crisp, and the conversational over the abstract, the stuffy, and the formal.
  7. Choose the succinct over the verbose.
  8. Seek critique.


Better Legal Writing
Writing for the Legal Audience

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