Litigation

Legal Writing: Making the Complex, Simple

By Evan Schaeffer

He wasn't a legal writer, but Raymond Carver had something important to say about expressing complex ideas in a simple manner:

When something feels complex or complicated to you, write it out carefully and thoughtfully, several different times if necessary, until it flows smoothly and expresses exactly what you want it to communicate and nothing else.

Carver's tip appeared in a letter to his daughter. The quote is pulled from a post about Carver at Mark Athitakis? American Fiction Notes.

Related posts:

1. "Legal Writing: Is Shorter Really Better?"

2. "Writing Tip: When You're Stuck, Pretend You're Writing a Letter"

Full post as published by The Illinois Trial Practice Blog on August 11, 2009 (boomark / email).