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Step Four: Use “Echo Links” to Connect
Sentences and Paragraphs
Thus far, this article has concentrated on
individual sentences and has advised you
what not to do when constructing them.
Now, the focus shifts to the relationships
that exist between sentences and between
paragraphs. Our primary concern is how
to link sentences and paragraphs without
overusing “explicit connectives” such as
“additionally,” “furthermore,” “moreover,”
“therefore,” “nevertheless,” and “however” (my students’ favorite). Admittedly,
these words are appropriate for adding a
point, giving an example, pressing a point,
summing up, or contrasting. An equally appropriate alternative, with which you
are presumably familiar, is to use “pointing words” (this, that, these, those and the)
to link sentences and paragraphs together.
For example, after discussing in one paragraph several cases explaining the law of
premises liability in Vermont, you may wish
to begin the next paragraph with the pointing word “these.” The first sentence in the
new paragraph might begin as follows:
“Taken together, these cases show that ... “
Use of the pointing word prevents overreliance on explicit connectives.
Perhaps less familiar to you than explicit connectives and pointing words are
“echo links,” which may be the most effec-
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2015
tive means of linking sentences and paragraphs.9 An echo link appears on the first
page of this article, where the discussion
begins with a reference to Archibald MacLeish’s observation about legal writing being more like other forms than lawyers realize. The next sentence begins by recalling the previous one, referring back to MacLeish: “Undoubtedly, MacLeish had encountered legal writing like the contract
language below ... ” Another echo link appears on the second page. After quoting
stilted, confusing contract language about
a waiver, followed by a clear, concise version of the same language, the article proceeds by observing, at the start of the next
paragraph: “The second passage achieves
both brevity and clarity by following the
simple steps to be discussed here.” By referring back to the positive features of the
second passage, this sentence links the
new paragraph (and the remainder of the
article) to the good and bad examples of
contract language previously discussed.
Do not conclude from this treatment of
echo links that you should always use them
in place of explicit connectives and pointing words. On the contrary, writers must
use all three devices if the linking function
is to avoid the tedium inherent in repetitive
usage of “additionally,” “however,” “this,”
and “that.” But because you are more likely
Six Simple Steps to Improved Writing
ber that,” “It should be noted that,” and
“It is well-established that.” Like their relatives discussed above, these expressions
add bulk, but not intellectual heft, to legal
documents. Worse still, that bulk not only
fails to contribute meaning to a sentence,
but often obscures meaning in a fog of
murky words.6 Besides, throat-clearing expressions are the written equivalent of the
opening lines of an after-dinner speech,
which are often delivered when the audience may still be concentrating on dessert,
tea, or coffee, not the speaker. A written
document is not an after-dinner speech,
though, so omit throat-clearing words from
your written work.7
Your readers are poised to read your
brief or memorandum, so get to the point.
Do not write: “It is important to remember that Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission authorized corporations and
unions to spend unlimited sums to support political candidates as long as their
spending is independent of (i.e., not coordinated with) a particular candidate’s campaign.”8 Instead, write: “Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission authorized
corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money to support political
candidates so long as their spending is independent of (i.e., not coordinated with) a
particular candidate’s campaign.”
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