Law Commons^™

Attaching People To Their Problems: Eliminating Passive Voice And Vague -"Ing" Words From Your Writing, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Legal writers often unknowingly use the passive voice or vague –“ing” words to create detachment. The problem with this is threefold: it leaves the reader wondering who is doing what, it’s boring, and it’s confusing. Fortunately, getting rid of detachment in your writing is easy if you identify and eliminate passive voice and vague –“ing” words. [excerpt]

Confusing Word Pairs, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Here are [a number of] confusing word pairs explained and some tips to help you use the correct word when writing or editing. [excerpt]

Adding Eloquence To Your Legal Writing With Figures Of Speech, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

While it would be great if the email to a client could be more eloquent, it might not be worth the time. But other types of writing benefit from added eloquence.

Indeed, an eloquent brief is more persuasive. Yes, writing must first be clear, correct, and readable. And yes, the arguments themselves must be persuasive and supported by the law. But presentation matters.

Using rhetorical devises can convey your meaning in a more vivid and meaningful way. Using certain figures of speech can also motivate the decision maker to see the outcome your way. So, this essay will cover simile, …

Back To Basics Iii: Noun-Sense, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

... [T]his month, I bring you noun-sense. Let this column help you better understand both the basics and a little beyond the basics of how nouns function[--cases, participles, phrases, and clauses]. [excerpt]

Back To Basics Ii: Parts Of Speech, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

In English, we classify words into eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. These classifications are based on how a word functions within a sentence, not necessarily on the word itself. Think about the last time you looked up a word in a dictionary— remember how a single word could be both a noun and an adverb, for instance....

When a word trips you up as you write or edit a sentence, you just might have a problem with its usage as that part of speech. So, we will look briefly at each of …

Capitalization Conundrums Clarified, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

The trend in writing in general is to capitalize less, even though as legal writers we tend to capitalize more. This can lead to tension when writing: When should I capitalize certain words? And, many of us learned capitalization rules as children, only to see them thrown out the window when reading opinions. What, then, are we to do when faced with a capitalization conundrum? ... Follow these simple tips to eliminate many of those pesky capitalization questions. [excerpt]

Back To Basics, Part V: Adjectives, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

In grammar terms, an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. You might have learned that it’s a 'describing word' back in elementary school.

Adjectives tell the reader what sort, how many, what size or whose. Adjectives can also be used to add more detail to a noun. [excerpt]

A Pro's Woe: Overcoming Writer's Block In A Hurry, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Even though attorneys spend much of their lives writing, we are not immune to writer’s block. Some of us have triedand- true methods for overcoming these slumps, but even then there might be times when the go-to trick that has worked in the past fails to put words on the page. So for this month we are going to look at some tips for overcoming even the worst episodes of writer’s block. [excerpt]

Blogging While Untenured And Other Extreme Sports, A. Christine Hurt, Tung Yin

A. Christine Hurt

No abstract provided.

Help The Reader Swim Downstream: Create Flow In Your Writing, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Idahoans know flow. We have the most amazing rivers just out of our backdoors. But as legal writers, Idaho attorneys need to do more than look outside to create effective writing. This month’s column will focus on flow when writing, and how to achieve that flow through better paragraphs. [excerpt]

Odds And Ends: My Inbox Part Ii, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

One of the joys of writing this column is hearing from my readers. Every month a loyal Advocate reader contacts me. Some just let me know about a topic they particularly enjoyed. Others, though, ask for advice or answers to specific questions.

This month, I’ve decided to share some of the tips, tricks, and answers that have gone out to individuals. We will look at when e-editing isn’t particularly helpful, combating verbosity, using numbers correctly, and how to correctly identify a nickname. [excerpt]

Alphabet Soup: More Confusing Word Pairs, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

I’m writing this over my Spring Break. By the time you read this, the weather will be lovely, but today it’s classically blustery. I decided to make soup before sitting down at my computer. Filled with a lovely, warm homemade concoction, I realized that I didn’t have a topic ready to pour out of my head.

So as sometimes happens when I have a bit of writer’s block, my mind began to wander. I remembered lunches of alphabet soup on blustery spring days long before I hit law school (or high school for that matter). And then it hit me—I …

Beyond The Basics: Transitive, Intransitive, Ditransitive And Ambitransitive Verbs, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Here’s a good laugh: Lori walks into the kitchen and says to Greg, “Make me a sandwich.” Greg waives his hands wildly and replies, “Poof! You’re a sandwich.” I know you all love a good grammar joke as much as I do. That one’s worth at least a chuckle, right? But, don’t you wonder what makes that funny? And don’t you wonder if the correct phrasing should be “Please make a sandwich for me”? The answer lies, of course, in grammar. To understand whether “Make me a sandwich” is a correct way to ask someone to prepare a sandwich, you …

Feeling Possessed: The Use Of The Genitive Case, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

"Maybe it’s just the end of the winter, but I always go a little stir crazy this time of year. Not like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, of course. But I do long for a nice long walk in the sunshine with those dogs of mine. Or to do a little gardening with my husband in our yard. Or to get away from my students’ gripes about having to write a 20-page appellate brief in a mere six weeks. Wow — there was lot of possessing in that paragraph! In fact, we tend to do a lot of possessing in …

A Quick Reference: Tricky Prepositions And Confusing Adjectives, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

I’ll admit it: This month’s column is a little bit for my students (and newer law grads). It seems that about this time each year my students start to notice that they struggle with certain prepositions and adjectives. So as I begin to deal with these issues in my class, it occurred to me that it might be helpful to my readers to have the same type of quick guide. This month we’ll cover the most common preposition and adjective mistakes, and some tips for remembering their correct usage. [excerpt]

Confusing Word Pairs Iii: D Words, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

... [T]his month we are going to delve into D words. So sit back (maybe by a nice fire with a cozy beverage) and prepare to be dazzled as we dig into an array of confusing word pairs that all begin with D[--decimate/destroy, deduce/deduct, defective/deficient, definite/definitive, deprecate/depreciate, detract/distract, discrete/discreet, and dominant/dominate]. [excerpt]

Beyond The Basics: Typographic Symbols In Writing, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Last week my students finished their major assignment for the spring semester. As we were working on proofing and editing, one student asked me when to use § and when to use “section.” I quickly explained the rules, but I’m so used to the legal writing conventions about § that I was almost shocked by the question. Later it dawned on me that other writers might also be confused about when or how to use typographic symbols in their writing. So this month’s column will cover general advice about using symbols, as well as specific advice about using common symbols. …

Exemplary Legal Writing 2016: Books Selected By Our Respectable Authorities: Five Recommendations, Femi Cadmus

Femi Cadmus

No abstract provided.

Ask A Director: Reporting Accomplishments, Caroline L. Osborne

Caroline L. Osborne

None available.

Securing Professional Development: Getting To Yes, Caroline L. Osborne, Carol A. Watson, Amy J. Eaton

Caroline L. Osborne

None available.

Scaffolding On Steroids: Meeting Your Students Where They Are Is Harder Than Ever ... And Easier Than You Think, Kari L. Aamot Johnson

Kari L. Aamot Johnson

No abstract provided.