Legal Writing

Brad Shorr publishes a great writing blog, Word Sell. Something he said today got me thinking:

It takes an extraordinary person to take something simple and keep it simple, let alone take something complicated and make it simple.

Many of us know that when we revise something we've written, we should look for ways to simplify it. But many of us don't know when to let well enough alone.

This week, when you revise, stop and ask, "Is this word, sentence, or paragraph simple and clear enough already?" If so, don't revise it for the sake of revising. And especially, don't revise it to impress your reader by using more complicated language. Write to express, not impress.