When it comes to correct English, “the lunatics are running the asylum,” says Steven Pinker in his new book, A Sense of Style. In a long chapter titled “Telling Right from Wrong,” Pinker tries…
Category: Style
No Thanks: Six More Words and Phrases to Avoid
Small wording changes can liven up your style by speeding up and punching up your prose. Let’s match wits with some of the world’s best judicial writers below. Or is that “with certain of…
No Thanks: Six Words and Phrases to Avoid
Small wording changes can liven up your style by speeding up and punching up your prose. To see how it works, let’s match wits with some of the world’s best judicial writers below. Or…
Adverbs on Trial: Innocent on Two Counts, but Guilty on Three More
The Wall Street Journal recently put adverbs on trial. Witnesses for the prosecution: Stephen King (“The adverb is not your friend,” says he), a slew of anti-adverb judges, and legions of legal writing teachers.…
Ten Teasers from Pinker’s “Sense of Style”
I’ve dog-eared and scribbled on Steven Pinker’s Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century so much that it’s time to buy a new one. Here are My Top Ten…
Five Grammar Myths
For scams and urban legends, we have snopes.com. But what about the grammar myths that fill the air at so many workplaces? Are these five myths holding you back—or making you crazy? If you…
Bridge to Somewhere: Better Flow for Busy Lawyers
When you read average writing, shifting from one paragraph to the next can feel like a giant leap. When you read great writing, by contrast, the same shift feels like a small step. Improving…