LEGAL RESEARCH L4 - Communicating Legal Research Flashcards
What does Martin Cutts say in Oxford Guide to Plain English regarding writing structure? (2)
‘Main aim is to help the reader achieve their objectives… to access the information readily, progress through it quickly, and stop as soon as possible.’
What should we consider in writing structure? (1)
Consider precedent, but do not rely too heavily on them.
How should we structure our writing if not using a precedent? (2)
By sequencing material logically and may need to be quite explicit at the beginning to explain the sequence.
What else should we use when writing? (3)
Headings and appropriate paragraphs. Paragraphs should have 3 sections - lead sentence summarising main idea of paragraph, then the body - where the idea in the lead sentence is developed and then the final sentence, which rounds off or re-states the main idea of the paragraph and acts as a link to the next paragraph.
What should we do on completion of writing? (1)
Revise and edit.
Why do we need to achieve clarity in writing? (1)
As the writer we know what we mean but the recipient may not necessarily.
What voice should we use in writing? (1)
Active voice.
Is this the active voice or passive voice - ‘The staff were informed of the latest sales figures by the manager.’? (1)
Passive.
Is this the active or passive voice - ‘The manager informed the staff of the latest sales figures’. ? (1)
Active.
What should we avoid using to achieve clarity? (1)
Double negatives.
How would we rectify this double negative - ‘ The judge did not disagree’ ? (1)
The judge agreed.
How can we achieve clarity when using lists? (8)
- Use a colon
- Items in lost should form a logical group
- All items must form a complete sentence with the lead in text.
- Each new item should be clearly marked
- Each item should begin with a lower case letter
- The next to last item should end with a semicolon followed by or / and
- The last item should end with a full stop
- If each item in the list forms a complete sentence on its own, each item should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
How can we rectify this time period to achieve clarity - ‘The offer is only valid between 4 April and 10 April.’ ? (1)
The offer is only valid between 4 april and 10 april inclusive (or exclusive).
How can we rectify this time period to achieve clarity - ‘These new rules apply from Monday’? (1)
These new rules apply from and including Monday.
What does Martin Cutts states in Oxford Guide to Plain English regarding brevity in writing? (2)
‘Part of writing well is writing concisely, ruthlessly removing dross. Most readers are busy and want to get to your main points quickly. It’s unfriendly to make them read more than is necessary.’
What is tautology? (1)
The needless repetition of the same thing in different words - short summary, short is not needed.
What is a redundant pair? (1)
When two words are used to describe something when
