As an editor or self-editor, you’re essentially a physician treating a patient (the composition). You must be a good diagnostician, and you must know the best possible treatments. Is the problem a superficial condition akin to slight bruising, or is it something so serious as to require resuscitation and intensive care?
To treat the sick, you must have a thorough grounding in good health. To understand writing illnesses, you must know what vigorous writing looks like.
When it comes to legal writing, it isn’t easy when you’re assaulted daily, on all flanks, by bad prose. That’s where sound instruction comes in. To a great extent, it’s a matter of reacquainting lawyers with what good writing looks like—and how to eradicate all the common defects.
Just as doctors learn about medicine through rigorous training, you can train to edit effectively. You might begin with our course Advanced Legal Writing & Editing