Visual Content: Part I

• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 0054
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 0054
• Year: 2024

Visual Content: Part I Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 54 Georgia Bar Journal February 2024

Writing Matters

Use fewer words to convey more information.

BY KAREN J. SNEDDON AND DAVID HRICIK

We all have heard that a "picture is worth a thousand words." Yet, too often legal writers use 10,000 words when 10 words and a picture will do.^[1] While a 2014 study indicated that the use of visual content had begun to increase, many briefs and other persuasive court documents contain nothing but black and white text. That is curious, particularly given the replacement by courts of page limits with word count limits. While lawyers have long used photographs for visual impact, increasingly available technology allows easier use of existing content as well as creation of new visual content.

This installment of "Writing Matters" is the first in a short series designed to help you expand your use of visual content. Visual content can and should be in your persuasive writing including in pleadings, motions and briefs. This installment will give some simple examples. The next few installments will describe newer software and services that you can use in your practice to develop and incorporate visual content into text to better represent your clients.

At the outset, however, it is important to emphasize that creating visual content may require you to learn how to use features in programs you already use (such as Microsoft Word) or to embrace new technology. You must either master how to use that technology or draw upon the expertise of others. The effort is worth it: experience and science show that people learn and remember content seen in pictures and not just as text much better, something known as the "Picture Superiority Effect."^[2]

Examples of Visual Content

Obvious uses of visual content include photographs of an accident scene, graphical depictions of timelines, flowcharts, and—particularly for purposes of showing damages—charts, tables and graphs.^[3]Word is able to create many forms of visual content. The "table" function is a great example. A two-column table may be used to juxtapose information, such as the testimony of two witnesses who dispute what they perceived used to show a disputed issue of material fact exists.

Similarly, if parties are disputing which state a defendant should be deemed a citizen of for purpose of diversity jurisdiction, a table may be used to show imbalance in information. The following is such an example:

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