California Appeal

Rules for Writers

I was recently referred to the works of a great writer and columnsit, William Safire.  He is opinions on writing style are quoted on websites across a range of genra.  He is well known for his list of "rules for writers".  Here are a few of his rules as posted by the Network of Women in Media

1. Remember to never split an infinitive.
2. The passive voice should never be used.
3. Do not put statements in the negative form.
4. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
5. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of
6. repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
7. A writer must not shift your point of view.
8. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
9. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
10. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
11. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
12. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
13. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
14. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
15. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
16. Always pick on the correct idiom.
17. The adverb always follows the verb.
18. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable
19. alternatives.
20. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
21. Avoid anoying alliteration.
22. Don't verb nouns.
23. Don't use no double negatives.
24. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.
25. When dangling, watch your participles.
26. Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.
27. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
28. About those sentence fragments.
29. Try to not ever split infinitives.
30. Its important to use apostrophe's correctly.
31. Always read what you have written to see if you've any words out.
32. Correct spelling is essential.
33. Proofread you writing.
34. Between you and I, case is important.
35. Verbs has to agree with their antecedents.

Resources To Improve Writing Skills

Effective legal writing can make the difference between a good and a great result for our clients. As appellate attorneys, strong legal writing skills are essential to serving the needs of our clients.  Here are some great sites for improving all aspects of your writing:

Grammar & Style

• The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, is a classic.  You can find the whole text of this manual on the Bartleby website.
• The Guide to Grammar and Writing, by Capitol Community College in Hartford, Connecticut offers help with Words and Sentences, Paragraphs, Essays and Research Papers, with quizzes and games to improve your writing style.
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) has a complete set of resources on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Legal Writing

• Bryan Garner provides some great exercises from his book Legal Writing in Plain English at the University of Chicago Press site.
• Legal Writing Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving legal writing by providing a forum for discussion and scholarship about legal writing, analysis, and research. LWI seems directed more towards legal writing instructors; there are some impressive resources.
• Barger on Legal Writing: Coleen Barger is a professor at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock William H. Bowen School of law, She has links to appellate resources, courses in legal writing, legal research links, and writing resources.
• LegalWriting.net by Wayne Schiess is a great blog dedicated to advancing quality legal writing.  Wayne is the director of legal writing at UT law school.

Sharpen Your Writing Skills

My friend at "The Legal Writer" spotted a great article in the Los Angeles Lawyer - Sharpening Your Legal Writing Skills, by Scott Wood is a short, pointed article.  While the article was written for the newly admitted, the tips are great for vetran legal writers also.  My three favorite tips in his article are:

• If you don’t keep it awfully simple, it will become simply awful.
• Avoid left-handed sentences.
• Constantly consider the reader.

50 Writing Tools

Roy Peter Clark, is a writing coach at the Poynter Institute and the author of "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.  On his blog he provides a "quick list" of those 50 tools.  Many of these tools & tips are extremely applicable for appellate writing.  Here are just a couple of tips from Clark's list:

• Order words for emphasis. Place strong words at the beginning and at the end
• Take it easy on the -ings. Prefer the simple present or past
• Prefer the simple over the technical.  Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs at points of complexity.
• Tune your voice. Read drafts aloud.
• Put odd and interesting things next to each other. Help the reader learn from contrast.
• Turn procrastination into rehearsal. Plan and write it first in your head.
• Break long projects into parts. Then assemble the pieces into something whole.

How To Write An Appellate Brief

Writing an appellate brief for the first time can be a daunting task.  Raymond Ward, who blogs at Appellate Law and Practice, an excellent article on How to Write an Appellate Arief.  This article is great for newbies and experienced appellate practitioners.