Augie, my two-year-old son, has mastered the art of implied passive voice. Here’s how it works. Say, purely as a hypothetical, he throws his new toy car off a bridge and into the Arno River. Rather than say “I threw my car into the river,” he immediately turns to me and asks “What happened?” In …
Avoid Sexist Language
My most stunning and irrevocable gender reference occurred when I tried to make a friend after getting settled in my college dorm room. I strolled into the adjoining room, introduced myself to Deb, the occupant, then, in an effort to make conversation, glanced at a picture on her bulletin board, pointed and said, “Is that …
Legal Style Guides
To badly hijack a quote from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, good legal writing style, like pornography, is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Attorneys start developing a legal writing style in law school. For most of us, it is awkward at first. Remember IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion)? Not to …
Commas, Exposed
Exasperated, I finally forbade one of my first year law students from using any commas in a writing assignment. We’d gone down the road of attempting restraint. Reviewed the comma rules. But she just couldn’t help herself, it was as if every time she paused on the keyboard, her finger reached out and jabbed a …
Read Aloud
I’ve heard attorneys disparaged: “He just likes listening to himself talk.” Good, that means you will proofread well. Today’s two minute tip takes two seconds to explain and a little longer to implement. But it is essential. Here it is: Good proofreaders read their drafts aloud. Reading aloud tells you what is there and what is …
Comments