LawProse Lesson #407 The Troubling Decline of the Humanities

LawProse Lesson #407 The Troubling Decline of the Humanities

Writing is a basic skill, especially in law. And so those of you who read last month in The New Yorker that humanities majors are declining precipitously in universities everywhere might have been alarmed. In the past decade, English majors have fallen by half in many if not most universities. At Harvard, the dean of undergraduate studies was quoted as saying that her students had trouble identifying the subject and the verb in a sentence.          

Things have changed and are still changing.          

In this technological age, the question is how we can motivate and inspire students to write—and, more than that, to write competently. How can we help them produce lucid, accurate, and well-phrased prose?          

It’s never too late. At any stage of your career, you can learn these things. But you must find that rare teacher who both instructs pleasingly and motivates effectively.          

At LawProse, we have such a teacher. Find yours wherever you can.

Live seminars this year with Professor Bryan A. Garner: Advanced Legal Writing & Editing

Attend the most popular CLE seminar of all time. More than 215,000 people—including lawyers, judges, law clerks, and paralegals—have benefited since the early 1990s. You'll learn the keys to professional writing and acquire no-nonsense techniques to make your letters, memos, and briefs more powerful.

You'll also learn what doesn't work and why—know-how gathered through Professor Garner's unique experience in training lawyers at the country's top law firms, state and federal courts, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.

Professor Garner gives you the keys to make the most of your writing aptitude—in letters, memos, briefs, and more. The seminar covers five essential skills for persuasive writing:

  • framing issues that arrest the readers' attention;
  • cutting wordiness that wastes readers' time;
  • using transitions deftly to make your argument flow;
  • quoting authority more effectively; and
  • tackling your writing projects more efficiently.

He teaches dozens of techniques that make a big difference. Most important, he shows you what doesn't work—and why—and how to cultivate skillfulness.

Register to reserve your spot today.

Have you wanted to bring Professor Garner to teach your group? Contact us at info@lawprose.org for more information about in-house seminars.

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