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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

tabulation
  • 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.