My unfamiliarity with the law impacted
my ability to help my clients as a social worker, incentivizing me to enroll
in law school.
My unfamiliarity with the law affected
www.vtbar.org
Rev. 490, 490 (1964).
2
Bryan A. Garner, Why Lawyers Can’t Write,
A.B.A. Journal, March, 2003, p. 24.
3
Id.
4
Richard Nordquist, We Can Do Better: Dr. Seuss on Writing, http://grammar.about.com/od/
I prefer the latter, which is clear and literadvice from the pros/a/seusswrite09.htm (last
ate. The former tries to compensate for a
visited June 10, 2015).
lack of sophistication about writing by us5
Greg Johnson, Sweat the Small Stuff, Vt. B.
ing words the writer thinks are sophisticatJ., Fall 2014, at 37.
6
ed, but are neither that nor correct.
Nancy A. Wanderer, Writing Better Opinions:
Communicating with Candor, Clarity, and Style,
54 Maine L. Rev. 47, 65 (2002).
Conclusion
7
Patricia T. O’connor, Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide To Better English In Plain English
This article has attempted to ease the
225 (3rd ed. 2009).
8
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commistask of improving your writing by identifysion, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).
ing six simple steps toward clearer, more
9
I am indebted to legal writing authority Bryconcise writing. I hope you will keep the
an Garner for the terms “explicit connectives,”
tips offered here handy and consult them
“pointing words,” and “echo links.” See generwhen editing.16 Perhaps you will so like the
ally Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises (2001).
leaner, more persuasive prose these tips
10
248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (1928).
produce that you will be motivated (never
11
248 N.Y. at 340, 162 N.E. at 100.
incentivized) to pursue additional tips for
12
Wanderer, supra note 6, at 65.
13
enhancing your writing on your own. Enjoy
Id.
14
Id. at 64.
the journey.
15
Id.
____________________
16
Do not be afraid to test the value of the tips
Brian Porto, Esq. is a professor at Verdiscussed here by visiting www.thewritersdiet.
mont Law School, where he teaches legal
com and taking the Writer’s Diet Test. It allows
writing, appellate advocacy, sports law,
you to submit up to one thousand words of your
prose for evaluation. The test will tell you whethand election law.
er your prose is fit or flabby.
____________________
1
Archibald MacLeish, Book Review: David
Mellinkoff, The Language of the Law, 78 Harv. L.
my ability to help my clients as a social worker, prompting me to enroll in
law school.
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2015
Six Simple Steps to Improved Writing
v. Board of Education, which the Supreme
Court decided in 1954, has been the subject of many scholarly books and articles.”
The clause “which the Supreme Court decided in 1954,” is nonrestrictive because it
is not essential to the sentence; you could
understand the sentence even if this clause
were removed.
Finally, when choosing a word, resist the
temptation to commandeer respectable,
time-tested nouns and strong-arm them
into the verb form, resulting in atrocities
such as “impacted” and “incentivized.”
Use impact as a noun only; when tempted
to employ it as a verb, choose “affect” (or
“influence”) instead. Example: “Working
for the public defender had a big impact
on my law school career. It affected my
choices of electives during my second and
third years of school.” And please do not
“incentivize” anybody to do anything; “encourage,” “prompt,” and “spur” are suitable alternatives that have stood the test of
time. After all, which of the following two
sentences would you rather read?
37