Introduction to Legal Writing - CHAPTER 10

Fundamentals of Writing Chapter

• The writing process is made of three steps: prewriting, writing, and editing + proofing

• Prewriting

  • performing necessary research, formulating a writing plan, and outlining

  • should include good note taking

  • will be more or less extensive depending on the type of document

  • research standard formatting for the documents you are writing

  • if it’s an office memo, a memorandum of law, or an appellate brief, it should involve creating a thesis

  • create a flow chat and outline

• Writing

  • follow the formatting rules of the documents

  • keep the reader in mind when organizing

  • inverted pyramid

  • a discussion or reasoning portion of a legal document should contain an introduction, explain relevant law, and apply law to facts

  • Unlike other forms of writing legal documents are not necessarily reader friendly

  • don’t let long block quotes consume the document

  • develop the idea in the introduction and lead up to the conclusion

  • guide the reader through it

  • there are two sections

    • Fact Section: include important facts, stated accurately but do not hide adverse material.

    • Discussion Section: contain an Introduction, state the law, and apply the law. Do not over use quotes but cite correctly. Above all else be logical explaining step by step your thoughts

  • an office memo is used to record law found as a result of research, explain how you analyzed the law and applied the facts to it, and propose a solution to the problem

    • typically: facts, issue, answer, reasoning, conclusion

  • most paragraphs need a topic sentence

    • first sentence to grab attention, second is topic sentence

  • most sentences should follow subject, verb, and object

  • the reader will remember the beginning and end of a sentence more than the middle of it

  • use transitional language and create signposts (words or phrases in a document that point the reader in the right direction and provide a framework for understanding the document.)

    • "However, Therefore, Wherefore”

    • “In chapter 1…….”, “Florida Statutes hold……”

  • each paragraph should discuss one main idea

  • each page of print should contain a minimum of two to three paragraphs

  • you can convey things through graphics as well (tables and diagrams and timelines and stuff)

• Common mechanical errors

  • quoting from a headnote or case syllabus

  • not italicizing a case name

    • italicize last name when referring to case

  • not using plain English

  • not giving a page reference to material from a primary or secondary source

  • not quoting exactly

  • plagiarizing

  • using contractions or “I” in more formal legal documents

  • using a number of different words to refer to the thing (elegant variation)

    • attorney being also referred to as “lawyer” “counselor” or “practitioner"

    • choose one word and stick to it

• Oral Argument is Shakespeare: Exciting, Passionate, Charismatic

• Written Argument is Webster’s Dictionary: Dry, Boring, Logical

Editing:

A.  Does the writing make sense.

B.  Are mechanical errors corrected.

C.  Are all formatting requirements correct.

D.  Are all citations correct.