Legal Writing

Why I drive some people crazy--a diversity post

Posted on December 13, 2007
Left Brain Right Brain 45% 55% This was my score on the test for dominance of the left or right brain...

Plain Thoughts

Posted on December 05, 2007
?Don?t have too complicated a mind,? he said. ?Think in ten-word sentences.?--philosophy of the guy who writes the fortunes in most Chinese fortune cookies.Read Cookie Master in the New Yorker

Tights are not pants

Posted on November 20, 2007
LET'S BE CLEAR The wearing of tights as pants is an abomination. TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS. Sure in the context of sports, ballet, hair metal, and renaissance fairs, tights function as suitable leg coverings, but still they are not pants...

Is there a more effective framework for teaching writing?

Posted on November 04, 2007
There is a program in elementary schools is called 6 Trait writing developed by NorthWest US educators (see: http://www.thetraits.org/about). It was developed to replace a simple grading system and provide teachers with a more effective method for evaluating and giving feedback on student writing...

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Mahar Receives Apology from U.S. Democrats

Posted on October 18, 2007
I wrote a series of posts about public apologies awhile back. Yesterday I saw a riff on apologies in the NY Times and wondered whether to bring it to your attention.Today there is an apology from the U.S. House of Representatives to Mahar Arar. This is an apology that is owed by the U...

The Rule to Follow Even If It does Not Apply!

Posted on October 15, 2007
General Rules and Regulationspromulgated under theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-19 -- Plain English Presentation of Specified Information Any information included or incorporated by reference in a report filed under section 13(a) of the Act that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 402, 403, 404 or 407 of Regulation S-B or Item 402, 403, 404 or 407 of Regulation S-K must be presented in a clear, concise and understandable manner...

Blogging for Action on the Environment and Writing as Action

Posted on October 15, 2007
I had planned to blog about writing with clarity under the monthly campaign by Joanna Young at Confident Writing . But when I started scanning items in my blog reader, I was reminded that today is Blog Action Day to save the environment.My mind was working on the problem of relating writing with clarity, integrity, and authenticity to the environment, which was raising something about a post I saw which draws a distinction between the market and the audience for public relations writers...

In a pig's eye

Posted on October 08, 2007
Will technology change language? Carmen Laethem, 2007 Trabecular meshwork cells from a pig?s eye (20x)http://209.85.101.200/images/gallery2007/fourbythree/Laethem-10603-3.jpgMicroscopic photographyhttp://www.nikonsmallworld.com/gallery.php?grouping=year&year=2007

Personality and Communication Style

Posted on October 04, 2007
I have been intending to introduce you to a writing blog that I have enjoyed reading for quite awhile now. Here now you get the blogger, Kenneth W. Davis, who says: "In this knowledge economy, writing is the chief value-producing activity. But you may not be writing as well as you could...

Plain Language: A Health Strategy

Posted on September 28, 2007
Thanks to Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD, The Patients Doctor of Bombay for bringing this brief to our attention. The full report is very useful: Plain Language: A Promising Strategy for Clearly Communicating Health Information and Improving Health Literacy "Conclusion:Plain language makes health information easier to understand Our nation faces an enormous challenge to ensure that people with low health literacy skills have the opportunity to receive and understand the health information they need to make sound decisions...

Raise-A-Reader Day: Thursday, Sept. 27

Posted on September 26, 2007

Plain Language measure sets guidelines for tax, college aid and other forms

Posted on September 24, 2007
THonline.comBraley bill would reduce government legalese By MARY RAE BRAGG TH staff writerDubuque's congressman, Rep. Bruce Braley, introduced a bill last week that would require the federal government to communicate in easy-to-understand language...

Personality and Style Affects Communication

Posted on September 17, 2007
As year-end nears, the time is now to clear out [publish] all those drafts in my toolbox.Law Practice TodayBuilding Blocks: The Interpersonal Communication Toolbox By Stewart Levine September 2007Instruments Demonstrate Differences There are many different instruments that reveal style differences in different aspects of communication...

Target Crime with Literacy

Posted on September 14, 2007
September is National Literacy Month and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is targeting crime with literacy. Raising literacy rates in the community contributes toreducing crime and lowering re-offending. The CACP?s Crime Prevention Committee launched their "Literacy and the Police in Canada" project in March 2007...

Intelligence Analyst on Plain Language

Posted on September 09, 2007
If you think this is a cheap shot, then I am sorry--that you think it.It seems odd that the use of plain language is worthy of comment--by an intelligence analyst. Even more reason that plain language should be the norm..."At times, bin Laden speaks directly to Americans, using plain language that "appears to be crafted in a way as to be understood by the average person on the street in Europe or in the US," said intelligence analyst Ben Venzke...

I Remember You; Oh, Excuse Me.

Posted on September 07, 2007
Negative sentence constructions are difficult for people to process. Their minds first construct the positive version, then reverse it. Like teen-agers who used to accomplish this verbally in this style: I love school, not!A fairly recent study now suggests another reason to avoid the negative: long term memory loses the negative and remembers the positive construction...

Business Communication

Posted on September 07, 2007
Business Communication Headline News provides news about communication for instructors of business communication. It is a companion to three college texts on business communication.I have find it very helpful, and at the moment I have ten items sitting in my blog feed waiting for me to have the time to read them carefully...

Res Ipsa Loquitor

Posted on September 05, 2007

Scientist makes funny--it can happen

Posted on September 05, 2007
Guide to translating scientific papers into plain English.This post by T. Ryan Gregory offers a guide to scientific bafflegab.

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