Bryan A. Garner

In contracts and other types of legal drafting, a “topic sentence” for a paragraph is typically a general proposition (stating a duty or a right) that is elaborated with various specifications and exceptions over the next several sentences. As in all writing, contractual paragraphs should be cohesive. Yet because we generally inherit our contracts—at least …

LawProse Lesson #455: Contractual headings as topic sentences Read More »

 To improve your writing, try focusing on well-structured paragraphs that guide your reader smoothly through your ideas. Solid writing divides ideas into units, each paragraph being devoted to a single main topic or point. Paragraphing in this way helps the reader follow your argument and grasp the progression of your thoughts. Starting each paragraph with …

LawProse Lesson #454: Paragraphing and topic sentences Read More »

Although be-verbs—especially is, are, was, and were—remain central to our language, good writers moderate them. They’re sluggish. Action verbs, by contrast, make writing go: they kick, jolt, jump-start, halt, fly, flash, dampen, upset, soothe, hurt, and heal. You get strength from good verbs. Want to improve a draft? Try this: on your computer, search for …

LawProse Lesson #453: Use action verbs Read More »

Why do lawyers, whose profession is essentially literary, tend to write so poorly? (Don’t deny it.) It’s because even the most talented ones read only what other lawyers write. On the whole, lawyers aren’t big readers—except on the job. After a day of scrutinizing cases, briefs, demand letters, regulations, etc., the last thing most want …

LawProse Lesson #452: Why lawyers tend to write poorly Read More »

During a break at a recent in-person seminar, a lawyer came up to me and said: “I’m a lot like you. I care about language and writing—and I know a lot. But there’s one big difference between us. You say you let law students and young lawyers edit your work. I’d never do that. Frankly, …

LawProse Lesson 451: Taking Edits Read More »

As an advocate, what are your two most important words? Can you even identify their part of speech? Verbs? Nouns? Remember: we’re asking about two particular words, not types of words. Do you give up? They’re conjunctions—and subordinating conjunctions at that. The words are because and although. These words occur often in first-rate persuasive writing. Clunky writers, naturally enough, use …

LawProse Lesson #450: The Advocate’s Two Most Important Words Read More »

It’s perhaps easy to forget that persuasion depends on a choice between competing positions—and therefore a conflict. As Aristotle taught us, there’s no reason to persuade if there’s no sense of choice. Argument is useful only if more than one course of action is possible. We argue and attempt to persuade only when people clash …

LawProse Lesson #449: Embrace the clash Read More »

Everyone is constantly bombarded by persuasive messaging—only some of which works. It’s not just advertisers who want us to buy or politicians who want us to vote or donate. It’s also friends and colleagues who want us to support their ideas. Persuaders today have found more and more sophisticated ways of reaching us, even if …

LawProse Lesson #448: A new perspective on persuasion Read More »

What are good writers like? We might generalize from decades of experience:

People who write regularly tend to write well and to enjoy it; people who write infrequently tend to write poorly and to dread it. So how can you enhance your (ahem) regularity? We recommend seven steps: With an inward emotional commitment to write—even if it’s just personal letters—you’ll find that all your writing will improve.     …

LawProse Lesson #445: Increasing your productivity as a writer Read More »

We’ve noticed a trend. Some junior lawyers get frustrated by having a boss rework everything they write. Instead of analyzing and learning from the changes and then redoubling their efforts with each new writing project, they detach themselves and begin turning in half-baked work. If asked why, they say something like this: “Harold’s just going …

LawProse Lesson #443: Don’t expect others to clean up your mess Read More »

Lawyers constantly define terms, often poorly. For detailed guidance on defining effectively, together with lots of before-and-after examples, see pp. 357–79 of Garner’s Coursebook on Drafting and Editing Contracts (2020). In the short space we have here, we’ll give you seven brief pointers: That’s our definitive word on the subject.

Invisible Style: At LawProse, we tend to think that the best style is invisible to an experienced reader: the words disappear into the thought. They shouldn’t be so ostentatious that they draw attention to themselves. They shouldn’t be pretentious or eccentric, and they shouldn’t be semiliterate—or worse. Writing should be like an absolutely clean windowpane …

LawProse Lesson #441: Style as Invisible Read More »

Should you put one forward space or two after a period? It all depends on whether you’re adept at typography—and whether you’re willing to move on from something you might have learned years ago in a typewriting class. Here’s what you’ll find in The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (5th ed. 2023): “Although it’s true that …

LawProse Lesson #440: One or two spaces after a period? Read More »

What’s a good writing style? Over the millennia, there have been four basic theories about good style.           First, there’s the idea that it’s simply good character reflected in writing. As George-Louis Leclerc Buffon (the French naturalist) declared in the 18th century: “Style is the man himself.” More recently, the novelist Norman Mailer made a similar …

LawProse Lesson #439: What’s a good writing style? Read More »

The obvious goal is to provide an answer to a research problem—preferably in a way that solves a client’s problem—and to do it efficiently. Let’s assume you understand what the issue is. In finding an answer, you need to identify a rule that supports your conclusion. You’ll find that rule, one hopes, in both a …

LawProse Lesson #438: What’s the goal of a research memo? Read More »

The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has just been published. It’s the most comprehensive style manual ever, and it will answer virtually every question you might have. (Except, that is, for the kinds of legal-style issues that are answered in The Redbook: A Manual of Legal Style, published in its fifth edition in 2023.)  Since …

LawProse Lesson #437: Did you hear about the new Chicago Manual? Read More »

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Law French (also written law-French) as “the corrupt variety of Norman French used in English lawbooks.” Rather more expansively, the newly issued 12th edition of Black’s Law Dictionary (2024) defines it as “the corrupted form of the Norman French language that arose in England after William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 and that was used for …

LawProse Lesson #436: What is Law French? Read More »

Generally regarded as the greatest lawyer in ancient Rome, Cicero insisted that “success in persuasion” depends on three things: (1) conciliating the audience, (2) proving what we maintain to be true, and (3) producing in the audience’s minds whatever feeling our cause may require. In short, the audience must be conciliated, informed, and moved. “Lawyers,” …

LawProse Lesson #435: Cicero on Successful Persuasion Read More »