Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises | 
 enlarge | Author: Bryan A. Garner
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $8.99
You Save: $7.01 (44%)
New (38) Used (26) from $6.40
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 8976
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 227
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0226284182
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.06634
EAN: 9780226284187
ASIN: 0226284182
Publication Date: June 5, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Admirably clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful-unfortunately, these adjectives rarely describe legal writing, whether in the form of briefs, opinions, contracts, or statutes. In Legal Writing in Plain English, Bryan A. Garner provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The book encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. In essence, it teaches straight thinking—a skill inseparable from good writing.
Replete with common sense and wit, the book draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through more than a decade of teaching in the field. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting. Meanwhile, Garner explores important aspects of document design. Basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section reinforce the book's principles. (An answer key to basic exercises is included in the book; answers to intermediate and advanced exercises are provided in a separate Instructor's Manual, free of charge to instructors.) Appendixes include a comprehensive punctuation guide with advice and examples, and four model documents.
Today more than ever before, legal professionals cannot afford to ignore the trend toward clear language shorn of jargon. Clients demand it, and courts reward it. Despite the age-old tradition of poor writing in law, Legal Writing in Plain English shows how legal writers can unshackle themselves.
Legal Writing in Plain English includes:
*Tips on generating thoughts, organizing them, and creating outlines.
*Sound advice on expressing your ideas clearly and powerfully.
*Dozens of real-life writing examples to illustrate writing problems and solutions.
*Exercises to reinforce principles of good writing (also available on the Internet).
*Helpful guidance on page layout.
*A punctuation guide that shows the correct uses of every punctuation mark.
*Model legal documents that demonstrate the power of plain English.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Excellent May 11, 2008
Law Student (Wisconsin)
Simply put, this is a handy writing guide for lawyers. Just casually flipping through this book for a few minutes will make you a better writer. For example, I especially like the lists, which give you substitutes for legalese or summarize styles that Judges like. Briefly reading through this book taught me more than I learned in an entire semester of Legal Research & Writing. I highly recommend it.
 Great resource for self-checking your work March 16, 2008
M. O'Neill (Santa Cruz, CA United States)
This reference book is a great tool for prompting the editing of your own work. Often I will write something and after I have edited it then I will take a look at a few random sections of this book and make sure that my writing is in line with what this master wordsmith suggests. A bit of an erratic method of editing, but it serves a purpose of making me seriously think about if something applies or not to my work. However random, I am often surprised by the things that I turn up via this method.
In striving to be a better writer, complacency and comfort are your enemies. Garner has helped me break out of my self-made box. I gave it four out of five stars because there are times I am left wanting more from a few of the sections in this book. If there was a 4.5 star rating, then this book would have my vote.
OUTSTANDING May 11, 2007
Diego F. Ocampo (North Carolina)
The book is excellent. It teaches you everything about legal writing: design, grammar, persuasive writing, organized ideas and punctuation. Don't forget the exercises. They will help you to recognize your weaknesses in writing.
A Great look March 22, 2007
Kychel Smith (New York, NY)
The book was everything i wanted. Very helpful, intricate, detailed, and just what i needed for my legal writing class. I highly recommend this book for those students pursung legal studies, and paralegal work.
 Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises January 15, 2007
Dr. B. (Olympia, WA USA)
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
Garner's book helps to answer the many lawyer questions you get asked when trying to write legal documents or multiple-user documents in Plain Talk. Garner's approach reinforces Plain Talk and shows ways around the mountains of "What if?" and "How can we say it without risk?" issues. Because of its publication date, it lacks the most recent changes in punctuation as found in The Gregg Reference Manual. Also, some courts want things written according to their own "Red/Green" book standards. Even with these detractors, the book provides excellent advice, examples, and exercises.
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