Some common problems in legal writing, a series--part 3: Care in proofreading
Care in Proofreading
The original text had problems in these areas:
I have already confessed that I'm not a great proofreader, but here's my advice.
A professional approach to proofreading from an expert:
113-114 (Career Press 1997).
Based on advice from that book, here's a professional guide to the time spent preparing a legal document:
Anne Enquist & Laurel Currie Oates, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, And Style For The Legal Writer
(2d ed. Aspen L. & Bus. 2005).
Black's Law Dictionary
(Bryan A. Garner, ed., 8th ed., Thomson West 2004).
Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage
(2d ed., Oxford U. Press 1995).
Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style
(2d ed. Thomson West 2006).
C. Edward Good, A Grammar Book for You and I (Oops, Me)
(Capital Books 2002).
Mary Barnard Ray & Jill J. Ramsfield,Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written
(4th ed., Thomson West 2005).
Wayne Schiess
Director of Legal Writing | The University of Texas School of Law | Website | Seminars | Articles | Books: Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand
| Better Legal Writing
| Writing for the Legal Audience
| The Legal Memo: A Basic Guide
The original text had problems in these areas:
- Incorrect plurals
- Redundancy
- Incorrect verb forms
- Incorrect English usage (words)
I have already confessed that I'm not a great proofreader, but here's my advice.
A professional approach to proofreading from an expert:
- Read the entire document, or a good-sized chunk of a larger document, through once slowly, reading for overall content and meaning.
- Read the document through even more slowly, this time aloud and correcting all errors you find.
- Read the document a third time, silently or aloud, focusing especially on trouble spots.
- Read the document backwards.
- Skim the document at arm’s length.
113-114 (Career Press 1997).Based on advice from that book, here's a professional guide to the time spent preparing a legal document:
- Prewriting (30%) Prewriting is identifying and refining your document’s purpose and your understanding of your reader’s needs, then organizing your initial ideas into a general game plan.
- Writing (15%) Actually writing the document. To write effectively, work quickly, loosely following your game plan, seldom stopping to make changes.
- Editing (50%) Editing is clarifying, strengthening, and condensing the communication you attempted at the writing stage.
- Proofreading (5%) Proofreading is polishing the final draft, ensuring that no errors in communication, however small or seemingly insignificant, make it through to the intended reader.
Anne Enquist & Laurel Currie Oates, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, And Style For The Legal Writer
(2d ed. Aspen L. & Bus. 2005).Black's Law Dictionary
(Bryan A. Garner, ed., 8th ed., Thomson West 2004).Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage
(2d ed., Oxford U. Press 1995).Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style
(2d ed. Thomson West 2006).C. Edward Good, A Grammar Book for You and I (Oops, Me)
(Capital Books 2002).Mary Barnard Ray & Jill J. Ramsfield,Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written
(4th ed., Thomson West 2005).Wayne Schiess
Director of Legal Writing | The University of Texas School of Law | Website | Seminars | Articles | Books: Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand
| Better Legal Writing
| Writing for the Legal Audience
| The Legal Memo: A Basic Guide
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