Simplifying Legal Jargon

The importance of simplifying stressed again. Plain English, not unintelligible sentences. The talk says it all.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/alan_siegel_let_s_simplify_legal_jargon.html

Thinking Small - Writing Big

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." By saying this, Elmore Leonard, an American novelist, has merely shown the ultimate goal to us. If you leave out the parts that people skip, the rest should be interesting, amusing, catchy and have the impact we want our piece of writing to have on the reader. Deliberately or not, he 'forgot' to say how exactly we can manage to detect and delete those unnecessary bits. As writing is a great deal a matter of craft, William Zinsser's simple tips are the light for those stumbling in the dark of the writing tunnel.

Think small. Narrowing the topic is hard work, as many writers don't know what exactly they want to write about once they start writing, and tend to generalize in order to be on the safe side. No one is able to do many things qualitatively at the same time: watch TV , study, chat with friends. Actually, it is possible, but all these activities are likely to be done superficially, without enjoying and devotion they deserve. Therefore, choosing one segment of the initial topic is likely to translate into clear thoughts, clear standpoints, and - clear sentences. "A clear sentence is no accident" says Zinsser. It is a consequence of narrowing, simplifying and finally finding out what exactly you want to write about.

If we try to visualise the 'thinking small' process, what we get is short paragraphs, that is, the visual representation of our thoughts. It makes it easier for the readers to follow you. I know a great deal of people who immediately get put off by a long block of text. I belong to the same group, too. However, don't make them too short. This may have a counter effect. Instead of helping the reader to follow your thoughts, you may annoy him with the constant 'chopping' of what should be integrated into one paragraph, into one idea.

Words are the writer's tools and he/she should have a lot of respect for them. Knowing all the shades of meaning and the correct usage of words gives the writer the power to organise his text and express himself/ herself in a much more vivid and original way. In the majority of cases a colourless phrase can be replaced with a single, colourful word. Why say extremely angry, when there is livid, or furious? Words are precious. If you know what to do with them, a whole world of expressing yourself is literally at your feet.

Written with reference to: On Writing Well, William K. Zinsser , Part 1