Bryan A. Garner

LawProse Lesson #428: Your biggest writing challenges (no time, constant interruptions, writer’s block, expected negative reactions)

You face several challenges as a writer, some of which you might not even be fully conscious of. But the big ones are obvious: “I don’t have the time!” The reality is that you must have the time. You must make the time. Lawyers must write more efficiently today than ever before. The good news is that you …

LawProse Lesson #428: Your biggest writing challenges (no time, constant interruptions, writer’s block, expected negative reactions) Read More »

LawProse Lesson 427: The Professional-Football-Player Rule

 For purposes of this lesson, the term professional football player (hyphenated when functioning as a phrasal adjective) means “lexicographer.” In law, the “professional-football-player rule” is the principle that a drafter may explicitly define terms in ways that are peculiar to the legal instrument in which they appear. The rule is especially common in the field of patents, …

LawProse Lesson 427: The Professional-Football-Player Rule Read More »

LawProse Lesson 426: The Supreme Court on Grammar and Meaning

 Given that the law is a profession whose sole tool is language, it’s hardly surprising that the legal profession—especially those at the top of it—are fixated on it. The most penetrating scholarly commentators discuss legal language astutely. The same is true of judges. If you examine U.S. Supreme Court opinions, you’ll find close examination of grammar and …

LawProse Lesson 426: The Supreme Court on Grammar and Meaning Read More »

LawProse Lesson #425: Please do not disturb

Ernest Hemingway was speaking a truth about all professional writers when he said, “You can write anytime people will leave you alone and not interrupt you.” That assumes you have something to declare. But the upshot is that in Hemingway’s view, it’s amateurish to wait on “inspiration.” These days, you must have the discipline not …

LawProse Lesson #425: Please do not disturb Read More »

LawProse Lesson #424: A Cardinal Virtue of Clear Exposition

Clarity entails several cardinal virtues, including unity of purpose, sensible division, logical arrangement of material, and the consistent illustration of generalities with specific examples. Here we’ll focus on the first of these: unity. The neglect of it—commonly seen in the introduction of irrelevant facts—is a prime source of obscurity. No formula will enable you to …

LawProse Lesson #424: A Cardinal Virtue of Clear Exposition Read More »

LawProse Lesson #423: Writing is a lonely endeavor

Writing can never be anything other than a lonely business. In the initial shaping of what you write, you’re going solo. If that’s true, then of what help can outside influences be? How can instruction help? Three main answers. First, the problems common to all writers are predictable. It’s not as if every writer’s struggles …

LawProse Lesson #423: Writing is a lonely endeavor Read More »

LawProse Lesson #420: Clarity of style from clarity of mind

It’s a truism that a clear writing style comes from a clear mind. The necessary corollary is that unclarity proceeds from a hazy mind, which will inevitably produce an unintelligible jumble. But this isn’t a prescription for good writing. You can’t just say, “Think more clearly!” and be done with it. No. People need exercises …

LawProse Lesson #420: Clarity of style from clarity of mind Read More »

LawProse Lesson #418: A Holistic Approach to Writing

The best writing instruction is holistic and broad, not just covering dozens of nitpicky grammatical points. Instead, it deals with the essence of inventing arguments. Effective teaching deals with creativity that enhances your mental capacities: recognizing similarities and differences, knowing the significance of factual changes, being able to shift levels of thought, and understanding differing …

LawProse Lesson #418: A Holistic Approach to Writing Read More »

LawProse Lesson #417: A good book on writing

Can you recommend a good book on writing? We’re often asked this broadly phrased question. But because “writing” is such a broad subject, what one person needs isn’t the same as what someone else would find most helpful. If the question relates to grammar and usage—the thousand nitty-gritty issues of English wording—it’s hard to beat Garner’s Modern …

LawProse Lesson #417: A good book on writing Read More »

LawProse Lesson #416: Writing Can’t Be Taught

You sometimes hear that writing “can’t be taught.” The statement has some truth in it: because writing is a complex integration of thought and technique, no teacher can supervise you while you do it. As a field of practical application, it requires doing. Only when you actually write can you apply whatever theories you might …

LawProse Lesson #416: Writing Can’t Be Taught Read More »

LawProse Lesson #415: Your Subconscious Competence

What happens when you write a good letter, memo, motion, or brief within a reasonable time according to your skill level—one that suits both your purposes and your reader’s? You rely on stored knowledge that you’ve made automatic. Without trying, you’ve blended the powers of your subconscious and conscious minds. The subconscious part is the …

LawProse Lesson #415: Your Subconscious Competence Read More »

LawProse Lesson #414: Why a legal style manual?

A traditional daily newspaper contains about 150,000 words—meaning that the journalists produce the equivalent of a 250-page book every 24 hours. They uniformly follow a style manual to ensure consistency in writing.          Most law offices of 50–75 lawyers produce that much work every workday as well. Like good journalists, they insist on accuracy …

LawProse Lesson #414: Why a legal style manual? Read More »

LawProse Lesson #411: What professors and judges have in common?

Let’s say an undergraduate professor once assigned you to write a critical report on a recently published book. You were expected to read it closely and to consult additional sources, such as related publications and book reviews. Your professor made several assumptions about your capabilities: that you could read and understand college-level materials;that you could …

LawProse Lesson #411: What professors and judges have in common? Read More »

LawProse Lesson #410: Editing vs. Proofreading

Last time, we promised a treatment of editing vs. proofreading. Both involve improving a draft, but there are major differences. There are even two types of editing: macro-editing (reorganizing sections, supplying new text, etc.) and line-editing (making sentence-level improvements, such as enhancing word choices and rewording sentences so that, to the extent possible, each one …

LawProse Lesson #410: Editing vs. Proofreading Read More »

LawProse Lesson #409: The Kinds of Editorial Changes

Whatever their level of competence, revisers can make only three types of alterations: delete, replace, and insert. Any of these should improve a piece, not detract from it.   Deletions involve removing whatever is unhelpful, whether superfluous words (June of 2022 becomes June 2022), redundancies (general consensus becomes consensus), undesirable repetitions (often resulting from inexpert phrasing), and even weak arguments. Yes, sometimes …

LawProse Lesson #409: The Kinds of Editorial Changes Read More »

Scroll to Top