Guide To Legal Writing Style Aspen Reprint

In this concise, and easy-to-use paperback, veteran legal writing professor Terri LeClercq offers hundreds of practical pointers to help your students develop good legal writing skills. In four chapters, LeClercq covers all of the key areas essential to clear legal writing--from macro and micro organizational techniques to sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation.

This concise paperback focuses on the nuances of legal writing style and provides novice legal writers with the skills they need to polish their writing. Guide to Legal Writing Style, Fourth Edition, intended as an ancillary to any basic legal writing text, expands what students learn in their first-year courses by providing additional techniques and style tips that will help make their writing more precise, readable and elegant. This highly regarded paperback, specifically directed at legal writers, offers crisp, pointed advice written in a personal and humorous style lucid organization that helps students find the information they need most, including practice with basic skills and helpful advice on organization, sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and formatting an emphasis on legal ethics throughout, with most of the examples and exercises focusing on ethical issues a chapter on organization that compares and contrasts undergraduate terms and goals with those expected by a legal audience a guide that helps students guard against plagiarism short, end-of-chapter exercises, with the answers at the back of the book, that strengthen skills and provide opportunities for self-testing Special features in the Fourth Edition include: an updated interactive CD-ROM with multiple exercises to reinforce the materials in the book, which includes updated and expanded tests of basic skills and click-on answers and explanations a new chapter testing common errors in professional writing, with explanations as well as succinct answers new checklists that reinforce essential advice of each chapter

Helps law students gain essential skills needed to advance from acceptable to exceptional writing, focusing on organization, sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and formatting. Includes exercises and reviews for self or group testing. This second edition includes a new chapter on formattin

The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Just Writing covers the basic principles of good legal writing — including style, grammar, and punctuation — and demonstrates them through numerous examples. The text provides legal writers of all experience levels with tips, techniques, and helpful advice for every step of the process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. However, Just Writing goes further, guiding students to eloquence in concise legal prose. The text provides valuable resources for English-as-a-Second-Language students and teachers.

This concise text offers a straightforward guide to developing legal writing and analysis skills for beginning legal writers. Legal Writing and Analysis, Third Edition, leads students logically through reading and analyzing the law, writing the discussion of a legal question, writing an office memo and professional letters. The author then focuses on writing for advocacy and concludes with style and formalities and a chapter devoted to oral argument. The Third Edition features new material throughout on drawing factual inferences, one of the most important kinds of reasoning for legal writers, as well as additional examples on the book s companion web site. Among the features that make Legal Writing and Analysis a best-selling text : It tracks the traditional legal writing course syllabus, providing students with the necessary structure for organizing a legal discussion. The consistent use of the legal method approach, from an opening chapter providing an overview of a civil case and the lawyer s role, to information about the legal system, case briefing, synthesizing cases, and statutory interpretation. The emphasis on analogical reasoning and synthesizing cases, as well as rule-based and policy-based reasoning, with explanations of how to use these types of reasoning to organize a legal discussion. Coverage of the use of precedent, particularly on how to use cases. Superior discussion of small-scale organization, including the thesis paragraph. Numerous examples and frequent short exercises to encourage students to apply concepts. Many exercises focus on first-year courses and others focus on professional responsibility. The Third Edition offers: New material on drawing factual inferences, one of the most important kinds of reasoning for legal writers. Citation materials updated to cover the new editions of both ALWD and the Bluebook. Companion web site will include additional examples of office memos, opposing briefs, letters, and summary judgment motions.

Clarity and precision in legal writing are essential skills in the practice and study of law. This book offers a straightforward, practical guide to effective legal style from a world-leading expert. The book is thoughtfully structured to explain the elements of good legal writing and its most effective use. It catalogues all aspects of legal style, topic by topic, phrase by phrase, usage by usage. It scrutinises them all, suggesting improvements. Its 'dictionary' arrangement makes it easy to navigate. Topics range as widely as ambiguity, definitions, provisos, recitals, simplified outlines, terms of art, tone, and the various principles of legal interpretation. Words and phrases deal with legal expressions that non-lawyers find opaque and obscure. The purpose is to show that you can usually substitute a plain-English equivalent. Usage entries include matters such as abbreviations, acronyms, active and passive voice, brackets, bullet points, citation methods, cross-referencing, deeds, fonts, document design, footnotes, gender-neutral language, numbering systems, plain language, punctuation, the use of Latin, structures for legal advices and documents, and techniques for editing and proofreading. With an emphasis on technical effectiveness and understanding, the book is required reading for all those engaged in the practice and study of law.

This streamlined text offers a straightforward guide to developing legal writing and analysis skills for beginning legal writers. Legal Writing and Analysis, Fifth Edition by Linda Edwards, leads students logically through reading and analyzing the law, writing the discussion of a legal question, and writing office memos, letters, and briefs. The text includes chapters on citation form, writing style, professionalism, and oral argument. The book features special focus on forms of legal reasoning (rules, analogies, policies, principles, customs, inferences, and narrative) complete with examples and exercises. It teaches students to recognize rule structures and use them to organize their document. New to the Fifth Edition: Streamlined chapters and exercises Updated citation materials covering current editions of both citation manuals Product page featuring more material on professional letters and accessible coverage and use of legal theory Professors and students will benefit from: Contextual learning, including important legal method material Superior treatment of how to organize a legal discussion Clear, ample coverage of legal reasoning Practice-oriented approach Numerous examples and short exercises for formative assessment Strong coverage of professional responsibility

This is a custom book curated by Professors Anna Chason, Robert Kaplan, and Laura Killinger at William & Mary Law School.