Legal Writing in Plain English. A Text with Exercises

248 Pages·2001·1.22 MB·English

Legal Writing in Plain English
On Writing, Editing, and Publishing
Jacques Barzun
Tricks of the Trade
Howard S. Becker
Writing for Social Scientists
Howard S. Becker
The Craft of Translation
John Biguenet and Rainer Schulte, editors
The Craft of Research
Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams
Glossary of Typesetting Terms
Richard Eckersley, Richard Angstadt, Charles M. Ellerston,
Richard Hendel, Naomi B. Pascal, and Anita Walker Scott
Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes
Robert M. Emerson, Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw
Getting It Published
William Germano
A Poet’s Guide to Poetry
Mary Kinzie
Mapping It Out
Mark Monmonier
Indexing Books
Nancy C. Mulvany
Getting into Print
Walter W. Powell
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
Kate L. Turabian
Tales of the Field
John Van Maanen
Style
Joseph M. Williams
A Handbook of Biological Illustration
Frances W. Zweifel
Chicago Guide for Preparing Electronic Manuscripts
Prepared by the Staff of the University of Chicago Press
Bryan A. Garner
Legal Writing in Plain English
A Text with Exercises
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
Bryan A. Garner, president of LawProse, Inc., conducts writing and drafting
seminars for lawyers and judges around the country. He also teaches at Southern
Methodist University School of Law and has written widely on the English
language and legal style.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
䉷 2001 by Bryan A. Garner
All rights reserved. Published 2001
Printed in the United States of America
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 0-226-28417-4 (cloth)
ISBN: 0-226-28418-2 (paper)
ISBN: 0-226-28419-0 (instructor’s manual)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garner, Bryan A.
Legal writing in plain English : a text with exercises / Bryan A.
Garner.
p. cm.—(Chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing)
ISBN 0-226-28417-4 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-226-28418-2 (paper :
alk. paper)—ISBN 0-226-28419-0 (instructor’s manual : alk. paper)
1. Legal composition. I. Title. II. Series.
KF250.G373 2001
808⬘.06634—dc21
00-010665
Excerpts from previously published books are reprinted by permission of the
publishers. The text on page 69 originally appeared in Richard A. Posner,
Problems of Jurisprudence 464 (1990), 䉷 Harvard University Press. The text
on page 70 originally appeared in Ronald Dworkin, A Matter of Principle 385
(1985), 䉷 Harvard University Press.
Exercises are also available for downloading from the University of Chicago
Press website at www.press-pubs.uchicago.edu/garner.
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Other books written or edited by Bryan A. Garner
A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage
A Dictionary of Modern American Usage
Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed., abridged ed., and pocket ed.)
The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style
The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and
Appellate Courts
The Elements of Legal Style
Guidelines for Drafting and Editing Court Rules
Securities Disclosure in Plain English
A Handbook of Basic Law Terms
A Handbook of Business Law Terms
A Handbook of Criminal Law Terms
A Handbook of Family Law Terms
Texas, Our Texas: Reminiscences of the University
For Alexandra
contents
Preface xiii
Introduction xvii
part one: Principles for All Legal Writing 1
1. Framing Your Thoughts 3
§ 1. Have something to say—and think it through. 3
§ 2. For maximal efficiency, plan your writing projects. Try
nonlinear outlining. 5
§ 3. Order your material in a logical sequence. Use chronology when
presenting facts. Keep related material together. 10
§ 4. Divide the document into sections, and divide sections into
smaller parts as needed. Use informative headings for the
sections and subsections. 14
2. Phrasing Your Sentences 17
§ 5. Omit needless words. 17
§ 6. Keepyour average sentence length to about 20 words. 19
§ 7. Keepthe subject, the verb, and the object together—toward
the beginning of the sentence. 23
§ 8. Prefer the active voice over the passive. 24
§ 9. Use parallel phrasing for parallel ideas. 28
§ 10. Avoid multiple negatives. 30
§ 11. End sentences emphatically. 31
3. Choosing Your Words 34
§ 12. Learn to detest simplifiable jargon. 34
§ 13. Use strong, precise verbs. Minimize is, are, was, and were. 37
§ 14. Turn -ion words into verbs when you can. 38
§ 15. Simplify wordy phrases. Watch out for of. 40
§ 16. Avoid doublets and triplets. 43
§ 17. Refer to people and companies by name. 44
§ 18. Don’t habitually use parenthetical shorthand names. Use them
only when you really need them. 45
§ 19. Shun newfangled acronyms. 47
§ 20. Make everything you write speakable. 48
ix