Here are writing tips drawn from Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” tailored for law school scenarios. These tips can also benefit writers and professionals in other fields.
Please note that this is not complete. Be sure to obtain the full book for the complete set of tips.
1. Omit needless words.
Clarity is essential for communication in writing.
Vigorous writing is concise, and every word should tell. Examples of wordy phrases to avoid include “call your attention to the fact that” (use “remind you”) and “the fact that he had not succeeded” (use “his failure”).
Be ruthless in deleting excess words. Do not overwrite. Precision is paramount. Be “brief but substantial.” Overstatement makes readers wary and diminishes the whole piece.
Wordiness means you are using more words than necessary. Many law students, including myself, sometimes think that this can be a sign of strength.
However, I’ve heard from bar lecturers who were previously bar examiners that they dislike overly wordy or verbose answers. They may view this as a tactic to conceal the examinee’s lack of knowledge. Furthermore, the sheer volume of answers they must review requires them to work within a limited timeframe.
2. Use the active voice.
The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive. For example, “I shall always remember my first visit to The Netherlands” is better than “My first visit to The Netherlands will always be remembered by me”.
3. Put statements in positive form.
Make definite assertions and avoid tame, colorless, hesitating language. Instead of “He was not very often on time,” write “He usually came late”.
“Tame, colorless, and hesitating language” are those that are weak, vague, and lacking in conviction. Examples are:
- Qualifiers are words that weaken a statement (e.g., “somewhat,” “kind of,” “a little,” “quite”). The law demands accuracy and definiteness. Otherwise, as discussed in our Consti Class, the “void-for-vagueness” doctrine will apply. A vague law is invalid because it opens the door to arbitrariness and the whims of law enforcers.
- Hedges: I know that sometimes, “commitment” is a scary word. But in law school, as much as possible, avoid words that avoid commitment (e.g., “seems,” “appears,” “suggests,” “might,” “could”).
- Euphemisms: Indirect or roundabout ways of saying something (often to soften a negative). However, euphemisms are sometimes necessary, such as when we have to call them “CICL” rather than “juvenile delinquents”, “carnal knowledge” instead of “rape”, among others.
4. Choose a suitable design and hold to it
Foresee or determine the shape of what is to come and pursue that shape. This suggests that most of the time, you should intentionally think and prepare before you begin writing. This is contrary to a personal letter that just flows naturally.
5. Make the paragraph a unit of composition
A paragraph may be of any length as long as it holds together.
6. Express coordinate ideas in similar form
Expressions that are alike in content and function should be crafted to appear outwardly similar. Examples:
- Not coordinate: “Payment extinguishes an obligation, and there is also condonation as another way.”
- Better: Payment extinguishes an obligation; so does condonation.
- Not coordinate: For a cause of action to exist, there must be a legal right, an obligation on the part of the defendant, and the act or omission that violates said right.
- Better: A cause of action requires: (1) a legal right, (2) a correlative obligation, and (3) an act or omission breaching the right.
- Not coordinate: Reclusion perpetua is a penalty of imprisonment for life, while reclusion temporal is when you are imprisoned for a certain number of years.
- Better: Reclusion perpetua is imprisonment for life; reclusion temporal, imprisonment for a specified term.
7. Keep related words together
The position of words in a sentence is the principal means of showing their relationship. Confusion and ambiguity result when words are badly placed. For example, instead of “He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center,” write “He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug.”
8. Place emphatic words or phrases at the end of the sentence
Strunk and White argue that the end of a sentence is the strongest position. The reader naturally gives more attention to what comes last. Therefore, place the word, phrase, or clause you want to emphasize at the sentence’s conclusion.
- Non-Emphatic: “Hearsay evidence is generally inadmissible, but there are exceptions to this rule.”
- Good: “Hearsay evidence is generally inadmissible, except as otherwise provided.”
- Non-Emphatic: “To convict the accused of murder, the prosecution must prove intent to kill, and this must be done beyond a reasonable doubt.”
- Why it’s weak: The emphasis is split. While “beyond a reasonable doubt” is important, it follows weakly after the core element of “intent to kill.”
- Good: “To convict the accused of murder, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, intent to kill.”
- Why it’s stronger: Placing “intent to kill” at the very end gives it the strongest emphasis. In murder cases, mens rea (intent) is a crucial element.
- Non-Emphatic: “Negligence is the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances, and this is crucial in tort law.”
- Why it’s weak: The phrase “and this is crucial in tort law” is a general statement that dilutes the impact of the specific definition.
- Good: “Negligence is the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances.”
- Why it’s stronger: By ending with the core definition, the sentence emphasizes the legal standard that’s at the heart of negligence claims.
9. Revise and Rewrite
Revising is a part of writing, and few writers produce their best work on the first try . Do not be afraid to experiment with what you have written
10. The number of subjects determine the number of the verb
The number of the subject determines the number of the verb. Phrases or clauses coming between subject and verb do not affect the number of the subject. Compound subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb. Singular subjects joined by or or nor take a singular verb . If one subject is singular and one plural and are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody, and anyone usually take a singular verb.
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