Writing Matters
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 0062 |
Ten Tips for Clearer Legal Writing
In the context of legal writing, clarity means a straightforward, direct written communication that achieves its goals. This installment of "Writing Matters" shares tips to help you draft clear legal texts.
BY DAVID HRICIK AND KAREN J. SNEDDON
One hallmark of effective legal writing is clarity. In the context of legal writing, clarity means a straightforward, direct written communication that achieves its goals. Achieving clarity is not as easy as it might first seem. This installment of "Writing Matters" shares 10 tips to help you draft clear legal texts.
1 State the Purpose Upfront
Legal writing should not be a "whodunnit," with the reader left wondering what the point is until the very end. It makes for great TV, but lousy legal writing.
Explicitly state the purpose of the document in the beginning with an overview sentence or paragraph (also called a roadmap). For example, a letter can begin, "The purpose of this letter is to ... " Or, the first paragraph of the argument section of an appellate brief can begin, "For two reasons, this court should reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment" followed by one or two sentences succinctly describing each ground for reversal.
Each paragraph also presents the opportunity for the writer to state its purpose up front. Each paragraph should begin with a strong topic sentence. The first sentence of a paragraph should be a topic sentence, also referred to as a thesis sentence, that states what the paragraph is about. One way to ensure you have well-written and well-placed topic sentences is to read, only, the first sentence of each paragraph of a document.
Don't keep the legal reader in suspense. State the purpose upfront.
2 Include Descriptive Headings
A wall of words from top to bottom on a page can be inaccessible and appear daunting. In addition to good use of white space and short paragraphs, descriptive headings can break up the page and help the reader navigate a document. The use of descriptive headings should not be limited to only longer documents, like contracts and briefs. Many, if not most, documents can benefit from headings. Even letters and emails can benefit for the inclusion of descriptive headings. To prove the point, envision this column without the headings.
3 Use Quotes Sparingly and Avoid Using Cases or Statutes as the Subject of...
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