Legal Research & Writing LAW-215

1. Legal Research & WritingLAW-215 Legal Writing Skills Part Three: The Process of Writing

2. Prewriting • Have something to say and think it through. • This is the biggest challenge – before you sit down to write, you should know generally what you want to say!

3. Prewriting • Consider: • What is the purpose for writing the document? • What is your goal? (Remember that legal writing is intended to inform and/or convince the reader, and not to entertain the reader.)

4. Prewriting • Consider: • Who is the audience? • What are the issues? • How does the audience benefit from the results? • What are the points of emphasis? • Is there a length restriction? • What is the required completion date?

5. One Method: Writing as a Four-Step Process • Brainstorming: Think of things you want to say (as many as possible as quickly as possible). • Outlining:Figure out a logical order for those thoughts. • Writing: Write a draft, using your outline as a guide. • Revising: Edit the draft after setting it aside for a period of time. Repeat as necessary!

6. Step 1: Brainstorming • The imaginative, creative side that generates ideas. • Write them down, fast and furious. • One idea: Use a non-linear outline.

7. Step 2: Outlining • Take the ideas generated in Step 1 and organize them. • Create a linear outline of the various points you want to address in your written document. • Try to figure out a logical sequence – does the reader need to know something first before a second point will make sense? • Keep related material together.

8. Step 3: Writing • Using the outline drawn up in Step 2, start to create your written document. • Begin writing! Don’t worry about typos or grammar – just get something out there to work with.

9. Step 4: Revising • Put aside the document created in Step 3 for awhile. Now you are ready to edit! • Start big: • Transitions between sections and between paragraphs • Paragraph-level: have you used effective topic sentences? Does each paragraph contain information about one point or idea? • End small: • Sentence-level: eliminate verbosity & jargon • Strive for clear, concise, easy-to-understand language • Check for typos

10. Another Method“Direct Writing” • Divide your available time in half. • First half: • Fast writing without worrying about organization, language, correctness, or precision • Second half: • Revising

11. Additional Postwriting Tips • Try reading your draft out loud. • Sometimes our ears catch typos or awkward language that our eyes miss. • Print out a copy of your draft and edit by hand. • Our eyes miss a lot when we read from a computer screen. • Give yourself enough time. • Editing after being away from the document for a bit will give you a fresh perspective.

12. Postwriting Checklist • Check your document for organization. • Verify the existence and adequacy of the Thesis Paragraph. • Be sure that the document opening clearly and concisely introduces the intended topic. • Verify proper topic sentences and proper transition of paragraphs.

13. Postwriting Checklist • Be sure that each paragraph contains facts supporting your thesis. • Confirm that verbs are active and appropriate • Verify the proper use of transition words and phrases. • Verify that the conclusion properly ties the document together.

14. Legal Writing Skills End of Part Three