Legal Writing: Invaluable Tips to Polish Your Skills

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Legal Writing Invaluable Tips to Polish Your
Skills

• 2006 Continuing Education Seminar Baton Rouge
  Paralegal Association

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Have something to say and think it through

• Challenge Figuring out, from the mass of things,
  you might possibly mention, precisely what your
  points are and then stating them concisely,
  with adequate reasoning and support
• Communicate your ideas swiftly to your reader

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Phrasing your sentences

• Omit needless words
• Keep your average sentence length to about 20
  words
• Prefer the active voice to passive voice

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Choosing your Words

• Learn to detest simplifiable jargon
• Make everything you write speakable

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Effective Paragraphs

• Introduce each paragraph with a topic sentence.
• Bridge between paragraphs
• Vary the length of your paragraphs, but generally
  keep them short.
• Clear writing depends on the writer giving the
  reader signposts so the direction and point of
  the analysis are always apparent.

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Final Thoughts for Continued Improvement

• Embrace constructive criticism
• Edit yourself systematically.
• Learn to find reliable answers to questions of
  grammar and usage
• Remember that good writing makes the reader's job
  easy bad writing makes it hard.