SC Lawyer, July 2004, #7. The Scrivener July 2004 Judge Bell's top ten rules of writing Part Two.

• Author: By Scott Mo\xEFse

South Carolina Lawyer

2004.

SC Lawyer, July 2004, #7.

The Scrivener July 2004 Judge Bell's top ten rules of writing Part Two

South Carolina LawyerJuly 2004The Scrivener July 2004 Judge Bell's top ten rules of writing Part TwoBy Scott MoïseThe last column began with the first four of Judge Randall T. Bell's Top Ten Rules of Writing.

The remaining rules are as follows:

RULE #5: Place the dispositive unit of discourse in the position of emphasis, i.e. beginning or end, not middle.

The main idea of a sentence, paragraph, or brief should be at the beginning or end because those are the positions of greatest force. Judge Bell's strong preference was for the main idea to come at the end of the sentence. Do not bury the main idea in the middle. Judge Bell advised writers first to identify the dispositive fact or idea and then build the unit of discourse around it. Next, identify the dispositive action and ask, "Who is the actor?" The actor should be the topic of the sentence, and the verb should express the dispositive action.

The judge also counseled writers not to surrender the end of the sentence to a weak word. He considered prepositions, adverbs, and adjectives as "weak" and verbs, nouns, nominal verbs or adjectives, and prepositional phrases centered on nominal verbs and adjectives as "strong."

Each of the following sentences is correct, but the writer's primary intent is to convey that Judge Bell was elected to both of the state's appellate courts. Based on that intent, the first sentence is less desirable, because the dispositive unit of discourse is diminished by its location within the sentence.

POOR: Judge Randall Bell, who served on the Court of Appeals for eleven years and was then elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court, passed away at only 49 years old.

BETTER: Judge Randall Bell, who passed away at only 49 years old, served on the Court of Appeals for eleven years and was then elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

RULE #6: Order the elements of discourse from old to new, short to long, simple to complex.

This rule-which applies to sentences, paragraphs, arguments, memoranda, and briefs-calls for a logical order so that writing will flow or build to a climax. Judge Bell generally imposed this rule on himself and required his clerks to follow these sequences of time, length, and complexity because they provided clear and understandable order.

EXAMPLE (provided by Judge Bell):

My grandmother taught me how to ride a bicycle, bake a red velvet cake, drive a Mack truck, and wire alarm systems at a nuclear power plant.

RULE #7: Maintain tight linkage between subject-verb, verb-object.

The meaning of a sentence can be clouded by placing intervening words between the subject and verb or the verb and the object. The sentence is easier to understand if the main verb is placed near the subject. If many words separate the subject and verb, the reader may become confused.

POOR: The grounds for our motion, which was varied and complex because of the convoluted facts of the case, took several hours to analyze.

BETTER: We worked several hours to analyze the grounds for our motion because the facts of the case are convoluted.

RULE #8: Balance grammatical elements against each other.

A balanced sentence uses parallel structure for uniformity and flow. Do not mix forms. Judge Bell noted that the "richest balance is achieved by ba-lancing both grammar and meaning."

UNBALANCED: William likes to ride his bike, chase the dogs, and pulling his sister's hair.

BALANCED: William likes riding his bike, chasing the dogs, and pulling his sister's hair.

As with words and phrases, above, keep clauses parallel.

UNBALANCED: The plaintiff's expert testified that the manufacturer did not follow testing standards, that the door latch should have been designed with stronger materials, and the seat belt spooled out.

BALANCED: The plaintiff's expert testified that the manufacturer did not follow testing standards, did not design the door latch with strong enough materials, and did not design the seat belt to prevent spooling out.

RULE #9: Vary the length of sentences.

Sentences will become repetitious and boring if the length and pattern do not vary as to length. The most common pattern of sentence is a simple sentence comprised of the subject + verb. Also, Judge Bell believed that all sentences should be 15 words or less, with 30 words as maximum.

REPETITIOUS: Syvelle Newton signed a contract to buy a house. Mr. Newton made a $5,000 down payment. He was ready to close on the house in March. The buyer changed his mind about selling. Mr. Newton is suing for specific performance.

BETTER: Syvelle Newton signed a contract to buy a house and paid a $5,000 down payment. He was ready to close on the house in March, but the buyer changed his mind and would not sell. Determined to get the house, Mr. Newton is suing for specific performance.

RULE #10: Choose accurate, concrete, vivid words.

Lawyer David A. Fedor participated in a public speaking seminar a few years ago. As part of the exercises, he delivered a talk entitled "War is Hell." He began with the sounds of a helicopter and guns firing. He did not merely state that the helicopters were flying and the guns were firing; he made the actual sounds. Then, he proceeded to tell a story of Vietnam that was so vivid that he transported the audience there, making them see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the same things Dave experienced. Effective communicators like Dave leave the reader, judge, jurors, and opposing party with a clear picture of their idea or argument by carefully choosing the words that will most accurately, vividly, and concisely tell the story. In so doing, we need to avoid what Judge Bell called the "cardinal violation of Rule 10": the malapropism. (An example is: "The preacher is against phonographic pictures.")

Just as Judge Bell labored over every word, sentence, and paragraph in his opinions, all lawyers must do the same. The temptation is strong to stop working on a brief and turn to a new project after writing the first draft, just as we probably did after finishing a paper in undergraduate school. As Judge Bell would tell us, however, legal writing is different. It demands more of us because we are no longer writing for ourselves, but as advocates for our clients, officers of the court, and champions of justice. Judge Bell, by and through his writing, fulfilled each of these roles with dignity, intelligence, and fortitude. If we adhere to Judge Bell's rules and approach the task of legal writing in the manner he always did, we may hope to do the same.

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