Legal Writing

Roy Jacobsen, at Writing, Clear and Simple, has posted a lovely meditation on David McNally's comment that "Language is software for the mind."

The whole posting is well worth reading; I'll quote only its last two paragraphs:

The words you use, either written or spoken, can have powerful effects on your audience?if you use them carefully and skillfully. Whether your goal is to inform, to persuade, to call for action, or to entertain, your words and your stories can be powerful. They can be powerful, because language is software for the mind.

Learning how to write that software well is well worth the effort.