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Full-Text Articles in Law
Power Verbs, K.K. Duvivier
Power Verbs, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
To make your writing more vivid and efficient, focus attention on your verbs. For those who were not taught the parts of speech in school, the “subject is that part of a sentence about which something is being said,” and the verb “says something about what the subject is [a state of being] or is doing [an action].”
Quotations Part Ii: Block Quotes, K.K. Duvivier
Quotations Part Ii: Block Quotes, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The previous column addressed the tendency of legal readers to skip or skim long quotations. To be sure impatient readers do not miss critical points, legal writers can reduce quotations to key words and incorporate those few words into the analysis. Sometimes blocked or indented quotations are helpful.
Quotations Part I: Fundamentals, K.K. Duvivier
Quotations Part I: Fundamentals, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Legal writing relies heavily on the words of others. The impulse to repeat verbatim the words of applicable authorities is often compelling. While an authority may be integral to your discussion, quoting lengthy passages actually may interfere with your message. This column addresses quotation fundamentals—when and how much to quote.
Letters From Readers, K.K. Duvivier
Letters From Readers, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
This month’s column features remarks from readers concerning previous columns.
Misguided Metaphors, K.K. Duvivier
Misguided Metaphors, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Figures of speech, such as the metaphor of the season of spring that President Clinton used in his Inaugural Address, are commonplace in rehtoric. Similarly, such figures have their place in legal writing. Through judicious use of a metaphor, you can provide your readers with a pleasant interlude to the more mundane aspects of. your argument and transform an abstract concept into a powerful visual image.
Road Maps, K.K. Duvivier
Road Maps, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
When you write, do your readers know your ultimate destination and how you will get there? Help them trek through your analysis by providing a road map.