CHAPTER! INTRODUCTION “The language of law must not be foreign tothe ears ‘of howe who are toby ie = Learned Hand, dg and legal philosopher “The lougyr‘s greatest weapon is clarity, and its whetstone = Judge Protiyman Purpose: ‘Be able to define legal writing, it types and categories. Be able to name e-amples within each category. 1. LEGAL WRITING ‘A. Definition — legal writing sed by lawyers, law professors, judges and other workers ip ‘he fled of Jaw to express ogni rights, obligations and, ‘eninions 1B. ‘Types — legai writing may be informative, porruasive or fnetional 1. Informative siting. eonveys information om Smue involving the law er & persons legal rights, "This type of writing ieplvad Examples: memoranda, letiers to cliente and statement of fct in brief are ering writing cosine hase nek i ea up repeal oweeG waRTNG Acampetency Based Apres ailalo legal tol to support his thesis. These may bo pies of evidence offered in court, sections ofthe is ‘inions_of legal authorities on a subledt. Examples: academic Tegal writing, motions, pleadings and argument section of the bret, -Runctional writing is designed fora spaifc use or result inlaw, These are deeds, wills, conizacs 0° ras of Ines. and ordinances which legally bind {hose involved. Some specifi format, ceremony oF legal requirement may be present in this type of ‘writing, This type of writing need not be analytical for persuasive. It is eno ‘complete yot understandable, TI, ‘TWO @ BROAD CATEGORIES OF LEGAL WRITING AL Legal Analysis 1, Predictive Analysis — ‘A predietive document deals with a legal question in 8 ways: 4. Analysis — The facts and fase ate analvzed and studied closely, The fais ane then appli so {athe law (or jurisprudence’, and they are (nterprated according to the meaning of the. law, . b. Prediction — Theonteameaf thelegal question, whether positive or negative, is prelicted ‘¢ Recommendation — The writer, based on the facts and lav, gives his advice or xecommendar tion as to whit a the bast line of wction under ‘thecirmumstances, Examples: opinion memorandum written {or sonior partners and legal opinion letter for dliente, a ‘The opinion may be in favor or against the gation ated bythe cent Proditive documenta belong to tho infor smative tpn of aga writing setmODUCHION 2 Persuasive Analysis — document atbempis i persuae 1 judge, arbiter or any other deciding authority {to decide the case infor of the writers cient, A persuasi ‘Examples: pleadings, motions and briefs. B. Legal Drafting ‘Thi ie the functional typ of legal writing. Hore ‘an_slveady- available template found in Legal Forms ‘handbooks, Among the examples are: ontracts, deeds (eg. of sl or mortgage) wils and testaments fr private persons, and laws, regulations and ordinances which bind the pubic in general ‘Legal drafting requires legal authority. Aseparate subject in the law curriculum, “Legal Forms,” den with legal deafing. HL, DEFINITION OF TERMS A. Memorandura ~jterally "tbe remembered is paper thot explains and summarizes specific pints of law fora judge for another attorney oF fazaient, Pleading — The Grmal_preseniation of claims snd dunace by partes oa lawaull The specific papers by ‘which Gn allegations of partes toa lawsuit ure presented, in proper form; specifically the complaint of a plaintift andthe angueer-of-a_ defendant plus any additional responses to those papers that are authorized by law.* ra aT, ner hig renmtra ASO ed een op fa sce by oe en ‘ek is Beefy amen raceme ad eer = Inst visited November axa, Caan gn the res spy pst mae 2 we ee esiaae thar demas Talented ech a er ‘SOTA tedhc he td bar cence entree en sake a hy tnd re ray. Pa i a Ses iat shoe ery oar pore me ‘Suited neta tito po pen mec‘compen Based Aprach ‘Motion — A.written or oral application made to. court scjudge tobiaina tubing oronder directing thatsomeacd bbedone infivoroftheapoliant The applicant is known ‘as tho moving party, or the movant, Example ‘A motion to diamies aska the court to dismiss an action becauss the initial pleading, or complaint, fails to Sto a cause of action oF claim fr which Une law provides aremedy. a ‘A motion for summary judgment, also known as 1 motion for judgment on the pleadings, asks the court to make a judgment solely on tho acts sot rth in the pleadings, without the sscessity of tral. A court. vill grant @ summary judgment ation when the material facts of the ease are notin dispute and all that remains to be determined are question. of law. Brief — A written docw-rent.drawaphy-anatiorney for ‘party ina lawatisor by appearing pro se that concsaly Stes the followings 1. fasues of lawauits %2 fet that bring the parties to court 2 relevant laws that ‘can alfec the subject of the dispute; and 4. arguments that explain how the law applies to the particular facts so that the case will be decided in the party's favor Appellate Brief — A writing that.mustbe fled with an ‘qnpllate court. »o-that the court may evaluate whether ‘We dcieion of the lower court should be reversed because sf-eome error or impropriety-that occurred during the {sia A statement of the issues presented for review, a summary of how pertinent laws affect the fact, and a statement of the relief being request aro essential rmonts of an appellate brie. The appolle’s brief will INTRODUCTION argue thatthe lower court acted properly in its judgment fand request ‘te alirmance, while the appellants brit ‘ill atempt to convince the court to reverse or vacate the Tower cour’ judgment bocause it acted improperly.”CHAPTER II SIMPLICITY “Plain language i, or should be, vers bit as aerate and precise 1a traditional legal writing. Is elearer ~ considerably clearer. Tt fs umally shorter and jantr. 1 strongly preferred by readers. I ‘vould greatly improve the image of lawyers." — Professor Joseph Kimble, Answering the Critica of Plain Language "You are na iss a lawyer for being understandable.” ~ Christopher T. Late Purpose: Be able to write simply. The student is expected to: a) use short sentences, asa rule; b) avoid wordy expressions, dliches and ‘tautology; © avoid elaborating on the obvions: + yet to the point soonest ©) minimize the use of connectives and relative pronouns; 1 avoid canvalvted word-constrictions and g) replace mltnylaLe terms with shorter, more understandable words. 1. ELEMENTS OF LECAL WRITING ‘The elements of lgal writing are: ) simplicity; b) larity, and e) persuasivencss A. Simplicity Simplicity in writing means to write simply. To observe the rules on “economy of expression.” ach sentence must say what the writar means and means what the writer wants to aay. Convoluted words and ‘word constructions muct be avoided. This is best done by preferring shorter sentences, and choosing shorter words. Repetition must aloo be avoided as much as posible, cuarnen 1 ‘snarucry According to William Zinsser in his tips om waiting well, clutter is a disease in writing The socret of fod writing it to atrip every Sentance to its cleanest Component. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb which carries the same meaning that is already in the verb, ‘weakens the sentence. We are a society strangling in Unnecessary words, circular conslzictons, pompous fils fand meaningless jargon. ‘Who ean understand dhe viscous language of every ay American commeres and enterpriv: tie businoos let ur, the introfice memo, the corporation report, the no- tic: from the bank explaining itslat.st “simplified” state- ‘ment? What member ot an insurance or medical pian ean ‘cipher the brochure that tll him whet his cots and Tenefits cae? What father ot mother can put together a child's toy on Chelatmas Eve or any othor eve — from the intrurtaans on the box? Our national tendancy isto ins fiate and thereby sound important. The arlne pilot who wakes us to announce that he is presently anticipating fxperiencing considerable weather wouldn't dream of ‘tying that there's storm ahead and it may get bumpy. "The sentence is tao simple — there must be something wrong with iL? 1B, Useshort sentences Lawyers gonerally write in long sentences. A com- plain, 899, fr teplevin' may eontain paragraphs consist- {ng of iy one sentence. For example: “Phe hersin plaintiff is willing and ready fo give « bond pursuant tothe Rules of Court ‘executed in favor ofthe defendant in the instant face in an amount double the valuation ofthe “bject personal property above described, and forthe “turn ofthe same property if the return wer W180, On Writing Het An Irma Gude Wing Nonftion,. cal were cope Based proach thereof be adjudg-, and for the poyment to the same defendant of such amount as he may ‘recover from the plaintiff inthe herein action.” ‘The sentenne ahove contain 76 wordsin no ess then 7 separete thoughts, Whereas a good sentence typically ‘contains only one main thought in less than 25 words. By “(ypually” means that a sentonce may have more than ‘one thought It is howev-r preferable to express only one fr at most two thoughts in a statement. Long sentences make one's writing unwieldy and ‘feult 9 understand. They tax the reader's concentra tion and memory. He will have a hard time figuring our ‘what the writer wants to say ashe wades through thick: {is of main and subordinsts clauses. Our sample state- ‘ment may be rewrite: “The plaintiff is willing to give « bond double the value ofthe property. He likewise un- ‘eras to return the prenerty to the defendant frpay him suck amount if adjudged to do 0." While short sentences are recommended, one may cceasionally use longer ones for variety Mark Twain ‘ndviced veriters to stick to short sentences, However, he sud = *At reas (the writer) may indulge himself swith alors one, but he will make sure there are ho folds in it, no vagueness, no parenthetical Interruptions of ite view as a whole; when he ‘han done with tit won't be @sea-serpent with Tlf of tis arches under the water; i will be a toroh-ight procession.™ ©. Omit needless words ‘Simplicity and economy are good qualities to have in logal writing, One must therefore omit unnecessary ronda. Ragan rer ern De Compt Plain Words, 10057 8 US, ely ny Gs sl Hast Wt 0) by Wi sre curren . RULES 1. Avold wordy expressions ‘Simpler construction is prefered than using too many words to express an iden. Wordy: Thecars were bought for the purpose of starting taxi business. : Concise: ‘The ears were bought to start a taxi business Word; "The brothers succeeded in baking two huge ice-cream cakes. Concise: ‘The brothers baked two huge icecream cakes. Ward answered inthe aimee [si atl ies at the intrsoction of isaemarina in he abeenen inthe anos of inthe event Tin |i the emt hat in the meantine in the near future in the neighborhood of inthis place in view of th fact that sinc, beens [large number of [many of most [taking into consideration the |sinoo fact that there -an be no doubt that [doubtless with the exception of except with reference to! with rogard [about» ‘boat waornsc Acompetne Based ADprwch 2, Avoid elaborating on the obvious ‘This means do not expand or restate the obvious It ores the reader with information he already has. Wordy: Annie Bantug’s two sons, Kenneth and Julio play judo ‘Conese: Annie Bantugs sons, Kevin and Julio pay judo. Wordy: Neodless to say, you sre your mather’s favorite, It goes without saying, you are your mothers favorite, Concise: You are your mathers favorite, ‘Wordy: A baby girl was born to Sps. Reyes. Concise: A girl was born to Spe. Reyes. 3. Gotto the point ‘Omit unnecessary preliminaries, Wordy: Weare very proud and happy to announce that our office won tho golf championship thie year. ‘Concise: Our office won this years go chamnionsbip. Wordy: There is no doubt that some people will disagree pinion, | f=mly believe that ore rum ne board members of Concise: I believe that teschers should not run anymore as PTA, board members, 4. Avoid tautology ‘This means doing away with unnecessary repetition ofan idea {in ifforent words, Words: Concise: Wordly: Concise: ‘The guests stood up during the flag ceremony. "The guests stood during the flag ceremony. Prease vice out your opinion Please vee your opinion. ca ‘cusp ” ‘Soeruicny Wort Concise factually happened sppened_ iadvance pl nny and all by gil was born [before in tho past [cheap in price [eombined together feonnet vp, end up, finish up, [discussed ina talk [during the course of leveh and e fequally as ery oncein awhile fatal death final destination |frstand foremost |frst_______| {or the purpose of ae zi in color Ihopeful optimism: footimiam [huge throng throng, and when i jin my opinion Think I think linen of inside invited guest est. flonglensth of time ong time |meet up with et. modern colleges oftoday modern college [numerous in number [numerous = [one and on} fone (or only) lone and the same [ave (or the same) [past history Inistory rarely ever [rare [mauirementa needed or [equines lund in shape id [sesave back and forth sees “ian 1 it, Maer ah ation ening: D.C HEATH & 0.‘The compromise agreement of April 2, 2005 should be enforced. ei unyers arty Pees om marae ai weg Serene escape ques = = eee aes ee ee eee mie ero, aoe ee eae “= _ fen aa a fears as ag ar ee eee eet os coer Sgt See ee ee eS eee ee a cea as Wordy: There were eight members of the faculty who attended the fact that you have not_succeeded | your failure Laas ae eee = ae sre eet eee ae eee ere Wee eae ween ae peer) Concise: This topie interests me. Phe Wordy: ‘The memorandum whieh I sent to you last week explained Wordy: the leader of the unit ee ee es Soe Seed er alpe ee eae Sa ec eee ee ee ao ee elt eee ee he ee aoe y averted toa word or be eliminated eee ee stoatng inmmarbecnete tnwontrt tin ee oper Wordy: ‘The question as to whether you or your husband should et Poe ee a ee eee Ps eo ae oe eS ec YE ese eee PETS See ate meees Cuaidon “Cynthia A Barnos,A Manager's Guide: Modet Memos (New York: MIF Books,te eee 5 jcmeet. [what fof what hat i im i fanaa = ea eae ee it has come to my attention |'ve noticed (or omit * me ee Bane opabane yaeienien — eee ae ate eae le fonts eee : ni Seperate parity on - Soe ee ae ent = ee acre aes See So eres ene Es pant east Rees Se a cae a ene el ie 4 se: Mere nada Ban ul sce g eM ety jno doubt, doubtless insurance coverage and updated realty tax payments. Se eee ee er emp ees ae eee eee ‘using connectives and = ‘conjunctions such as “end” and “but™ which Join clauses of eq Fank; orb) subordinate conjunctions such ac“ns," "because, “if “Ghat” “though” which eannect to the principal clause tninor rank. Relative pronouns oF “relatives” relate to an antecedent find incroduoas qualifying elause,eg, met my cousins who taught Fossosive ‘Objective whee [shor lot which [whieh iar carinatingseonpnetion a or ar fr yea connectives may be reest in simple sentences. The result preserves the orginal tkought‘low of the writer without taxing the reader togo through great lengths. If anything, clarity and conciseness is achieved Iti alao possible to jo'n two clauses witha semi-lon instead ofa connective.CHAPTER Ill CLARITY “There is nothing as mysterious as something clearly seen.” = Robert Prost “The pric of larity, ofcourse ia thatthe clearer the document ‘the more obvious its substantive deficiencies. For the lazy ‘or ll, tis pee may be foo high.” — Reed Dickerton, Profesor of Lave, Indiana University Puree Students are expected ta: a) use concrete instead of abstract terms, ) when abetract terms could not be avoided, to back them up ‘vith ilustrative examples; c) avoid wide gaps between subject verb Sd abject; d) avoid nected mailers; o) avoid dangling modifiers, # avoid ambiguous pronoun reference; g) avoid punetwations which ‘cause ambiguity; b) apply the seven rales of clear writing CLARITY Clarity in veriting results when the writer is able to express exacily (and tinambiguously) what he wants to be Zelleced on his work. The last thing a writer would want isto confuse his readers. On one love, clear writing involves clarity sfexpression and sentence structure. On another, deeper level Clarity refers iy clearness of one’s loge and arguments Clear expression happens when what one thinks is reflected on that which one has written. To check i this hat ‘meaning. Generally, what ie unclear forthe writor i ikevise Uunelar forthe reader ——— CARTY ‘Acardinal prinsiplc lear writing isto be concrete. This ‘will prevent ambiguity and room for misinterpretation. “Many Filipinos are_in favor of contraceptives” is abstract when compared to “a 2007 research conducted by the University of Eastern Visay2e shows that 75% of Filipinos above 21 are {in favor of using condoms.” When one eannot help using an abetractstatament, this must be followed by conerte examples USE FAMILIAR AND CONCRETE WORDS Aristotle said that: “Style io be pond must be elear..that speech which fils to convey a plain meaning will fail odo just Uhat speech has to do...Clearnese ce secured by using words {noune and verbs ale) that are current anc ondinary.” Plain meaning is a by product of the use of defnite and ‘conere'e language. This makes for vivid writing, oce which ean bbe eaily grasped aa itis "picturesque" Preference fr abutract ‘words mah One's prose indefinite and vague Bxample: Abstract ‘She sustained bereavement of her paternal relative. Concrete Her father ded Abstract Her counset failed to come because of the onset of {inclement weather. Concrete Her counsel could not come due tothe storm. Abstract ‘You need agricultural implements todo the ob of planting trees, Concrete ‘You need a spade to plant trees THRETOTE, matronAcompeleney Baal Aprteh ‘The use of nighfalutin words is often an attempt to cover {or one's inability tobe definite or specific. For instance ‘birds of ‘the same feather flock together” can become “eletial denizens ‘of identical plumage congregate in their own proximity” ‘The graphic desription in Exodus 8:7 of Moses inflicting 1 plague on Baypt which orginally reads: “He ited up the rod and smote the waters ofthe river..and all ‘he water that were inthe river were turned to blood. ind the fh that were in the river ied; and he river stank, and the Egyptians could hot drink the water of ska river: and there was blood ‘roughout the land of Baye.” Ta the hands of sentimental and florid. writers become: “The water wos impacted by his rod, whereup ‘on a polluting effect was achieved, The consequent taxifigation retuces the conditions necessary for the sustenance of the indigenous population of eqratic tertebrates below the level of etailty. Olfatory dis ‘comfort stondards were eubstantially exceeded, and ‘potability declined. Social, economic and political disorientation were experienced fan unprecedente? degree” ‘Thus, why ea: “member ofthe feline family” when one is ony talking about c "ca," or say he “rendered a negative response on he subject of my solicitations when Uthat one means is he denied my request.” AVOID WIDE GAPS BETWEEN SUBJECT, VERB ANI oBsECT A. Gaps may ‘A sentence normally consists of a subject and a verb, with the abject (if any) following the verb, eg., The lawyer shouted af the witness If these three are placed in THe mpm, nae 6. ‘and verb of betwoen the verb and its objeet makes for tedious writing. ‘With gap botween subject and ver “The plaintif, disgusted at how long it took for the court to decide sash avimple eectnent caso, filed a motion for early resalion” Improved: “The plaintiff filed a motion for early reslution, Hie was disgusted at the court's delay in resolving Ins simple ejoctment ens." 1B. Modifying the modifiors Particulecly avoid “nested modifirs” which modify the modifiers Whon this happens take away the nest" of ‘modifiers and make a separate sentence. ‘With Nested Modite: ‘Antonioto Doro, who was defendant’ une, and smong thoco defrauded Sy him, filed before ‘te court close for Christmas vacation a Motion to Improved: “Defendants rele, Antonicto Doro, fled a Motion io fatecsane before the sourt closed or Christmas vacation. He was among those Gefrauded. by defendant” Poor: “Mara, who at that time wns carrying bundle of nevwly-rinsed cloths some of which belong to plaintiffs son, while trying to escape through the back gat, was caught by the plaintif there.” Improved: “Maria was caught by the plain atthe back ‘gato as the tried to eecspe. She curred « bundlecas ers A corpeteney Beed Approach of newly-rinsed clothes, some of which belonged to plaints son (passive) “The plaintiff eayght Maria at the back gate as she tried to escape. She carried a bundle of newly- inged clothes, sume of which belanged to plaintiffs son." (active) IV. AVOID MISPLACED OR DANGLING MODIFIERS word oF phrase that doseribes 2 gives ‘more detail about a concept. A dangling modifier attempts fo clarify a word not clearly stated in the sentence. As a rule, the writer ht falr amount of freedom where place his modifier ina sentence, e, He edited the letter quickly, He quickly edited the ltter Quickly, he edited the lett: In the above examples, the thought ofthe sentence ‘anains, When a modiSer i misplaced, the meaning ‘hengee ines the moder appears to describe the wrong thing: For exampue: New Dalakit Municipal Blementory School (hich is “nem” “Dalakit” or the “Flomentery Senooi?”) ‘Our policy is to give our buyers the lowest possible prices and workmanship. (Surely the shor ‘mer means to give our buyers workmanship at lowest posible priews”) “Mental Health Prevention Center" (sign in 4 hospital clearly containing a misplaced modifier. ‘What i means is probably “Mental Health Disease Prevention Conter.") “Ribbosveutting ceremony” Better: “Cutting of ‘the Ribbon Goremoay," as it is the ribbon being ent, ‘ot the nibhon that does the eutting) B. Rules in revising dangling modifiers 1 Place sngle-word modifiors near the word or phrases that they modify, eepecally ifthe modifier tends to deserbe the wrong word Poor: He almost ate all the desserts inthe party. (here the subject has not yet eaten.) Better: He ate almost all the desserts in the party Poor: ‘The judge could understand the Hocano spoken ‘by the witnesses easily. (Query: Did the judge understand “easily” or did the witnesses spoke “easily”) Better: ‘The judge coul easily understand the Mecano ‘spoken by the witnesses. Likewise, place the modifying phrase or clause losest to the word it modifies. Misplacing these modifiers next to the wrong word often seelonslly ‘hanges the meaning of the seutonee. For exemple: Poor: T heard that my wife intesded to throw surprise birthday party for me while I was outside her office window. Betton While I seas outside her office window, Theard that my wife intended t throw a surprise birthday party for me Poor: “Thre television sete were repurted stolen by ‘he Dalahit City police yesterday”wa ware Acompeten Bae Botter “The Dalahit City police reported that three teleiaion sete were stolen yesterday.” ‘The wrong placement of modifiers can have absurd results. For example Poor: “Calf born to farmer with two heads” Better: “Calf with two heads born to farmer” Poor: “Palting a thousand feet from the cliff, we finally sow Pagsanjan Falls.” etter: We finally saw Pegeanjan Falls falling a thousand feet from the cliff” 3. By categorically naming the doer, dangling ‘modifier ean be elieninated. For example: Poor: Having finished washing the dishes, the door tons lose Since the doer of the action erpressed in the participle “having finished? was net Gieuly stated, {he pertcipial phrase becar-e a dangling medifiee. ‘The modifier modified nothing since obviously it was fot the “door” that finished washing tho dishes. Better: “Having finished washing the dishes, Martha clased the door \V. AVOID THE AMBIGUOUS PRONOUN REFERENCE A. Concept Carsloss uso of pronouns ean result in ambiguity probleme, This occurs when the writer allows multiple curren os cua antecodenta as possible references to single pronoun. Pronouns, when not placed properly, can point to i= wrong, noun thereby. changing the meaning of the Mintence, eg, Your skis wil surely benefit your friends Sobe aure to use them.” The antecedent of them” may be “kills or frends,” making the sente.ce ambiguous How to avold ambiguous pronoun reference 1. ‘To avoid confusion, one must rephrase the sentence to dearly identify the antecedent. For example ocr: Robert father wil se hiscar forthe pine. Ia ot clearly stated here if whose car “ll be used) Better: Roberts father will use Roberts ear for the picnic. (i refering > Robert, ot) Robert father will use the latter's ar forthe pieni. (refering tothe father) 2 Deinonstrative pronouns such a this, that, these, {hee them should only be used when the antecedent is definitly established, For example Poor: Repressed jeclousy and hatred among brothers and sisters is counterprouctve. You must get rid of. them. (se them’ refs to jealousy and hatred or to the siblings? Better: Repressed jeuoury and ‘utred among siblings ia counterproduetive You must get rid of these feelings. ‘Sometimes the use of demonstrative proaouns in inherently ambiguous because the antecedent is not given but assumed,Py Loa wars compen Based Approach For example: Poor: That és what Ihave boon waiting to hear from you, (What does that refer to?) Better: ‘That pnrace “love thy neighbor” ie what I have doom wailing to hear from 20 VL PUNCTUATIONS MUST AVOID, NOT CAUSE AM3I- curry Punctuotions are mar in writen communication used two help the reader better understand the matecial. One such tive isto lisinate ambiguity, Rekloss use of punctuation ean Inave sbeurd rorulte ‘The coral comma’ which is used before the enjunetion land of or in list of three of move items, is a casein point. ‘Without the serial comme, the Governor and the President become eo-teschers the author in this statement: “The rer ‘gratefully acknot ledges the invaluable help of his co-teachers in th State University, the Honorable Governor and the President ofthe Republic ofthe Philippines.” Wore, the santones implies that the Philippine president 28 provincial governor at the seme time. The ambiguity can be cured by putting a serial fovnma after “governor,” et, "the Honorable Governor, and the President ofthe Republi of the Phifppines.” ‘The following sentence in embiguoue- “I cook banana, carrot, ube and chocolate cokes." The reader would not know it three or four eakes are being talked about. Putting a comma ter “ube,” indieates thatthe “ub,” and “chocolate” cakes are Separate (On the other hand, reckless use ofthe serial comma also results in ambiguity, ef, "The writer gratefully acknowledges the insaluabl> help of his mother, the Honorable Provincial Governor Elsie Explera, and the Presiden ofthe Republic of the Philippines” Here, the author unwittingiy made t appear that ‘the lady Governor is his mother when such isnot the case. ald the “fr comma” “Harvard comma termina! spurte paps ii is lew cunprenit = ‘To avoid both cass fom occurring, the sentence has tobe rephrased to avoid listing the items in an ambiguous manner. Por example, after “mother,” put the conjunction “as well a” es hitmother aswell asthe Honorable Provincial Governor Elsie Boplora..” ‘VIL, RULES IN CLEAR WRITING A. Be clear on your point Good legal writing, a8 in all good communication fr ‘that matter, requires that dhe author must have a point, land is clear about it, Writers who aro not sure what they trant to sayeannot be understood. Their werk appears to Tamble, withthe reader not knowing where he or she is honded “There oro three ways to know when one is unsure of his or her point a) hy over-descrbing the background to ‘what one wants to sab) by being unsure whether one {s for or against a certain topic; and e) having too many points within one work. 1B. Make sure sour point is communicated at once ‘As important as having a pont, isto go direct to the point in one's paper. There is 80 use heving a log introduction and then stating one's point near the end. By thistim: the reader i either tired or puzzled not knowing, ‘where the material is headed. C. Have a structure. This is wivere you put your data, ‘analysis and argument "The inieodetion, for example, must alrendy contain sssummary or abstract of your work. The background must tly be short overview of Uh problem or legal conecpts to be discussed, Extending an explanation ofthe background tll ire the reader, and will give an impresion thatthe ackground is already the main concept discussed by the paper. The facts of particular ease under study mast ‘nly cite relevant detail. Putting in more will make the eating tedious, The analysis will disess the writer's farguments, Here, Uhe writer will cite facts, proof and {vidence supjsrting his position He may leo cite countor- ‘roofs against his postion, and discuss bow these would10a. wan competne Ba Approach {all short of the writer's arguments I'he analysis covers ‘many areas that may be broken into sub-parts, and each the paper must ond with a nals ‘This cannot be overemphasized. Nomobservance ‘of the rules on grammar subjects the writer to a whole Tot of aecuentions: from being slopyy and le=y to being tunedueated, and worte, someone who writes non- sensical’y ‘Grammatical rules shall be treated in a separate chapter, Be previse Know the exact meaning ofthe term, Ifthe term is scientific or lagal and has technical meaning, know both {ts ordinary and technical meaning. Never use a term ‘because it “sounds” right, particularly when you are not ‘sure ofits definition, To be sure eonsut the dictionary. Also, avai legalese. A separate chapter is devoted to legalese Be Consistent ‘Are my tenses consistently present, or consistently inthe past? From whose mint of view am T coming from? Who are my istented readers? Be logical and elear in your argument ‘As a writer, one must be clear beforehand whether one is describing or arguing. I: the paper argues on Something, it i must be made clear beforehand. ‘The thesis statement must be stated from the very beginning ta puide the readers what the writer is arguing for oF ‘against. Unless the writer ie elear with what he oF she intends todo, the paper wil nt be clear t the readers, ales on argumentation (and “persuasiveness") on paper willbe diseussed separately. CHAPTER IV PERSUASIVENESS “Tfyou wish to win a man over to your ideas, frst make ‘him your friend.” ~ Abrahem Lincoln Purpose: ‘Tobe able to write persuasively by using any ofthe four modes ‘of legal reasoning” a) re-based reasoring; b) ancogieel (and the founteranalagieal reasoning) ©) poiey-tnsed reasoning; and d) she narrative restoning 1 PERSUASION ‘Persuasion is process where people are guided towards the adoption of an idea or course of action. In legal writing fn peesuasive document attempts to influence the deciding suthority to favorably decide the casein favor of ones client. ‘The deciding authority i wevally the judge. However, he may also be the arbiter Gin sn arbitration disput), comrisioner, Fearing officer, mediator or che other party tothe dispte ‘MODES OF LEGAL REASONING Reasoning is the process of drawing conclusions trom, facts or evidence. To reach the desired conclusion, arguments sand proofs may be used, ‘There are four modes of legal reasoning: rule-based reasoning; bl analogical (andthe eounter-enalogical reasoning "poly hese! reasoning, and d) the narrative reasoning. A. Rule-based reasoning nrule-based reasoning, the conclusion is reached by ‘anolyzing and applying the law, rule or legel principlePy cal wars competency Bue Appr Example ‘The law says: a contract is annullable where one of the parties is incapable of giving consent to a contract! ‘Albert yes soventeen when he signed the contract. ‘Therefore, Albert should not be bound by the contract boeause he signed it whon he was a minor. B. Analogical (and, by extension, the “counter-analo- ‘Fleal”) reasoning ‘There are throe possi types of analogical argu- rent: 1. Arguing from precedent. This typeof analogical argument happens. when the concusion is reached by showing inlarities betwee the cave decided by the Supreme ‘Court and the ease ofthe client. This is usually achieved Ipyinvoking the doctvine of sare decisis” "The lawyer reasons by showing that there is dirvet factual similarity between Use caso decided upon by the high court and his client’ esse. If the Supreme Court fecided the ease this way, then tho eliont’s case mus be ‘Seeded thia way du to the similarities of facts. To put eanversely, my client's cate shouldbe decided in "his manner" because afterall, the Supreme Court in cas of Similar facts also decided ints manner.” Exampl In the ease in question, Mario was sixteen when be signed the contract in 2009, However he lied bout hi age by misrepreventing himself to be 20, In a case of similar facts, Mercado v. Espiritu? the Supreme Court declared tthe deed of sale valid, and eanot be annulled inspite the GR OODE, Ar. 1900 saan: long ent are wale oa labia, ea ugh thre ay hve been no age erro tion) ‘Flutie ne of the pron cape of ging emo # ena A TBO dering ante pve coment toa cont) Uneancy ted ior Sloe deen pita mower” Sandy tho eco an ar To sia sie lr ee cine a when rt a ce a erupt ape ss Rare em ct oe tl tae owormmen lane, 40. Sam, curren = ‘PERSUASIVENESS fact that two of the four parties were minors, The reason {their misrepresentation about thelr age amounted to ‘ctoppel They cannot be made to benefit from their bad faith. 2. Argument ofeamelegl application. Analogical reasoning ‘nny aloo be used to sbow similarities that if Une law ‘plies one area, itmay be understood to apply to other ‘Thnlar areas. In @cace that attompls to impose damages tn the seller of immovable or real property for failing to Aisclose « major defect ofthe property, the lawyer mit ‘argue that the law has imposed such duty an sellers of ‘potvonal property a8 well He might argue that rule for ‘eal and personal properties are the same a. Mutatia Mutandie ‘Mautatis mutandis is en example of argument sing the same logal application. This happens when tne compares mukiple situations having multiple Veriables where some variables remain constant, While others are allowed tobe changed. For example, the injunction in the ten commandments "Thou shalt fot covet thy neighbor's wif will apply mutatis mutandis to"thy neighbe:s husband” as wel Article 111 of The Law ofthe Sea” states: “The right of ot puisuit shall apply mutatis mutandis’ {o violations in the exclusive economic zone oF fon the continental chef, inemding safety zones ‘round continental shel! installations, of the laws find regulatinn= af the coastai State applicable in feordance with this Convention to the exclusive ‘comomie zone-or-the continental shelf, including ‘such safety zones.” 8. Argument using common sense anclocy. Analogical ‘arguments may be used by staring with something that everyone accepts, “Fay rl of eqiy which eer dino sepeestation condi a te peen ming an revels en Gig ae a SIONEEaRNa per vin led ren Spent, 200.675. arte nce chang bon ad ‘SSEP Contin in Foals ne Lew oe Se) ARTICLE 1 Seton 2A comprtener-Based Approach ‘Bxample: ‘A person might argue that death penalty must be restored because the body of society is just hike the body of ‘t person. Ifa man has severe tooth ache, the logical way {sto extract the tooth, A heinous riminal i just like the ad tooth. b Counter analogical reasoning Cociter-analogical reasoning is tho opposite of analogical reason. While the later concludes by pointing out the similarities, counter-analogical reasoning concludes by pointing out. relevant ‘differences between the case and the client's facts. CCounteranalogial reasoning is usually use’ to ebunk or destzey the other partys prior use of ‘analogies by stating thatthe ease cited ‘tnd the client’ situation are actually different, th 23 fo common conchision ean be inferred from bots situations. Example ‘The opponent might vse counteranalogical reasoning by saying that in Ube Mercado v. Expirite Cave, the minor's representation misled the other party for afterall, the minors had passed the age Of puberty and truly Jeoked like adults. While in the other case, even if Mario, the see, lied abpat bis age, there is r> wav the buyer could be misled Dpeauve tne aro Is a baby faced sixton year old "That the seller has not passed the age of puberty, ‘and neither does he look ike an adult. Thus, there fare no factual similarities in both cases. In the tooth-extraction ease as an analogy why death sentence should be imposed, the opposing party who is against death penalty mgt reason {sing counter analogy by saying satiricelly that if “ny tach aches, I may have it pulled, such that if ‘my head aches, { may havo it ext” This is another ‘way of teling Uat Usere are not enough similarities teen toot extrction and death penalty to curren a PRSUASIVIONSS Poliey-based reasoning Polic-based reasoning reaches conclusion by connecting the fats of the case to the state's exiting policy, Les what would be “best” for the eocicty at large Publi policy ic "recognised or established hy the State fn determining what acta are unlawful a3 [they arel ‘deemed injurious tothe public or contrary tothe public food Thus, un agreement is agaist publi palicy i it feSnjurious tothe interacts of the publie, contravenes fame established interest of society, violates some public tates, againet good mora, tends to interfere withthe Dbl: welfare or enfoty, op iit is atwar with the interests ‘society anv isin cone withthe morals ofthe time.” Bxample: ‘Mario should not be bound by the contract. Young peop!s whose minds and morala are not yet fully formed. ould not suffer from the harmful eansequences of those Seta which they themselves could not fully consent to. He ‘not yet mature enough to consider the fll eonsequences ‘this decisions He deservesto be protected, not punished. Narrative reasoning Narrative reasoning the conclusion by telling @ story thas shows the coatet, description and perspective ‘had appeals to commonly-held ideas of justice, merey or fairness. xample: [Narrative where there is possibilty of undue iniuence: Mario should not be Bound by the controct the signed becouse Joey, the car-dealer for 25 Soares prcewred Marin, discouraged him from Zalling his parents ask for advice and telling him that another buye> was looking atthe ear tt that very moment. Joy lowered his voice, (ids "Pl fll you wohat Tit do" “PU give you 0 Beaman Oty Dan, 17 HER Jane 11857 ‘Soniakoy Comin, 9672.a _LeoaL warTne A competeney Bos Apa ‘onus of P5,000 on tp of your selling price, if you will allow me to facilitate the sale of your ‘arto the buyer. This Bonus i a secret betseen Tin da dean wads, Lean Wr Proce, Antes Or ston, hap a ond Ben, 10, CHAPTER V FALLACY “A person should refrin from at those things tha take him towards fallacy, misery, ignorance and degradation.” = Atharva Veda quote Purposes: "To recognise the diferent classe of formal and informal fallacies. To avoid using fallacies in ones documents and pleading. 1. CONCEPT Fallacy is sm error in reasoning. A lawyer spends a lot of time arguing and reaconig for his client. Ths, iis vital that the knows the priseiplnofsound reasoning toavod fallacies. He must alo be able %o spot fallacy in others. Errors in reasoning ‘Keeps us from striving atthe truth. One's thinking is slanted find displaced, Worse, he would not know it. Tt takes skill to ‘wade Ghrough layers of arguments and pinpoint fallacies. A” {analytical mind is one of trut's allies, and falsehood’ fos. 1 MAINTYPES Fallacy may be: A. Formal fallacy it an invalid argument, an erroneous Inference. Tes an error in eduetive reasoning where the ‘onclusion doesnot necessarily fllow from the premises. B. Informal fallacy c= inductive fallary ‘8 am error in reasoning ina form which doesnot fllow the traditional formal sructures of logic.Acompetncy Buse App IIL, DEDUCTION Deduction ia to reason from general principles (or truth) tw partiular instances of that truth Example All cata are mortal (angjor premise) Srila ina eat, (minor premite) ‘Therefore, Smila is mortal, (conclusion) Fora deductive argument tobe valid, it mustbe absolutely established that bath major and minor promise are true. Ifthe premises are true, the conchuson is valid. If Smilla isa eat, then it is mortal, Dut i Srila io not eat, but a call phone ‘rand (making the statement “Smila is a cat” fale), the. the ‘onelusion is invalid ‘all members of the gor participated in the mauling” 1and*Pinoisa member of tse gang," are true, then the conelusion “Pino is gulty of maniing” is true. IV. DEDUCTIVE FALLACY ‘Otherwise called “formal” or “logical” fallacy, deductive fallacy presents an error in deductive reasoning, in that the ‘onclision arived at is logically lawed or absurd. There are ‘several typae of deductive fallacy. The three main types are Giscusted below: the fallacy ofthe ile major, the fallacy of the ili minor and the fallacy of tse undistributed middle. A. Fallacy of the licit major ‘This fallacy happers when the majr term (predicate of he major premise) i particular” (or nc: distributed") in the major term, but is “universal” istributed") in the conclusion, A simple way to understand this fallacy is: Some students of what schoo! deink alebol; therefore, all. studenta in that school drink alcohol some students" is particular in the premige but universal in the conclusion). ‘This is fallacious becavse no universal conchusion can be inferred from a particslar premise. Otherwise, one Decomes guilty of hasty generalization. curren v ® FALLACY Bxamples Al Bicolanos are Filipinos, (rue. Here, “Bieolanos” is ‘universal bat “Filipinos” are particular. The reason is while “all” Biolanos are Filipinos ‘nly some Filipinos are Biolanos. Thus “Filipino,” which ta the “major term” ie used in a “partcslar’, moc) Beslanos are rot Cebuanos. (true. Both “Bicelang” and Cebuano” are univertls. This premise may be restated a ‘No Bicolana is Cebuano, No Cebuano is Bieolano”) ‘Therefore, Cebuanos are not Filipinos (The conclusion is false, The reason isthe Fallacy of the Met Majer, which made the major tarm (which war “particular” in the major promise, et, Filipina) a “universal” in the conclusion *NotFilipinoe” are universal beeause it may be restated as "No Gebuano is Filipino” or ‘or conversely: No Filipino is Cebuano.” The ‘nelusion making the major term universal (eg. Filipino) ie fallacious ‘All Catholics are Christians Catholics are not Protestants. ‘Therefore, Protestants are not Christians. (Th fallacy i ‘elfexplanatory, since Protetants ar lik wise Christians: "Cesiatians” ia particular (undistributed) in the major premise but tuniversa! (distributed) in the. conclusion ‘Tous the fallacy) ‘UP law students are excllent students. ‘San Beda students are not UP students ‘Therefore, San Bada students are not exollnt students (Obviously fallacy. Many times, San Beda students had exealle.) Fallacy of the Mlicit Minor allay of illicit minor happens when the minor term (the predicate in the minor premise) is particularACompetney Bae Approach (or undistributed) in the minor premise but becomes ‘universal (or distributed) in the eandusion. ‘The basis (minor term) being particular, cannot sustain a universal cmnelusion, hence the fallacy. Examples: A Lawyers are bar passers. Al lawyers are professionals. (Here, “professional” the ‘minor term is parteular or distributed ‘Therefor, all professionals are bar passer, (In the con= clusion, “professional” is universal ‘A niversal conclusion was arrived at from a particular ‘premise. Thisis a fallacy since not al profes- sionals are bar passers) ‘The fallacy is more egregious in the following: All criminals deserve t be punished. ‘All eriminals deserve another chance, ‘Therefore, al of those deserving another chance, deserve tobe punished. Fallacy of the undistributed middle Fallacy of the undisiributed middle occurs wise the ridalo torm (the term that appears in both major and ‘minor promise) remeins paricclar (undistebuted) in both premices Becmplos Allcriminals have tattoos, Jonlino has a tattoo, ‘Therefore, Jonlino ie a criminal. (This is fallacy since ‘ot all persons with tattoos are eriminal ‘Tattoo in both major and minor premise is particular, thus iteannot be univerealized in the conclusion that just because Joalino has tattoo he is necessarily a criminal) ‘Allcommunits are atheists, cuarneny ” FALLACY ‘Lsino ia an atheist. ‘Trerafore, Lusino is communist. INFORMAL FALLACY formal fallacy i an error in reasoning occurring within non-traditional forms of inference. Informal fallacies are also Known as semiformal, quasi formal or inductive fallacies. |. TYPES OF INFORMAL F/LLACY ‘The following i 1. Ad Hominem — from Latin “argument fo the man,” fan argument releting @ person's views by aacking or Abusing his personality, character, mative, intentions, ‘oaliieativns te, es oprcod to providing evidence why the views are incorrect list of common intra: fllacies: example: What. Lolin testified in court should not be believed. ARer all he ina known communist sympathize. “The form followed by argumentum ad hominem is vosually: Mr. A makes a claim or assertion. (Mr. Batiacks onthe person of Mi A. "Therefore, Mr A's elaim or aaserton ie ils. ‘This is flacious because the person may (oF may not) have a boaring on Use truth of is assertions. The truth of Mr. A's assertion should be subjected to tests ‘other than a mere attack on the personality character or ‘motivation of Mr. A, the claimant. 2 Ad Hominem Tv Quogue — from Latin “yo too” argues that a person's claim is flse because itis inconsistent ‘vith what that persons earlier statement or action. Bxample: Antonina teaches the message of love and peace. ‘Yot sho does not practice it. [have seen her berate her studente, eRe, Dona of Philp, Bara and Nabe Books 1981.aca wRITING A compteny Based Appiah ‘Bronne'spro-divoree stance should be rejected. After all, she was an antidiorce activist just a year ago. ‘This fallacious bocause Evonne may have changed {inthe meantime. The validity ofthe claim should be tested bya riteriacther than the claimant’ view or charactor Appeal to Authority —happensin any ofthetwo instances: ‘8) when one appeals to authority (or custom, tradition, Insttation oF book) in order to gain acceptance of a point tissue: oF 1b) when one appeals to the feclings of reverence or respect ce have of those in authority ar those who are famous Appt to authority is mown by other names: fellecy of argumentum ad verecundiam, argument authority, fargument to veneration, fallacious appeal to authority, ‘miouse of authority, irrelevant authority, questionabl authority, inappropriate thority. Bxamples “L bliove that tho statement ‘you cannot legislate ‘morality’ is true, beeavse President Eisenhower said it” TusoMaskinoLastringent beause Ms. my favorite movie star, seat. Jose: Thelieve, just lke there in the U.S. that abortion fi logal and moral within the frst six mothe. A person must have the right to decide what to do ‘with her body ony: Thoga disagree. Our university's top lady science profestor holds that orton ia immoral Jose: Why? Is she an expert on morality or law? Zeny: She's an expert on marine worms. Appeal to Belief — algo known as appeal to popularity, {is the argument Uhat because many people believe in claim, that claim must be tru tis fallacious in tha jst because many (or mast) people hold a belief to be true, uch believers are not an evidence that tho claim put forward is indeed true. Example: During Cail’ timo, mest believed the ‘sun révolwed around the earth. And just because the majority believed in it does not mean iis true. Appeal to Common Practice — argues that if most people do an act, it must be morally correct. This is fallactous in ‘hat just because something is commonly practiced, this oes not necessarily m=ke an act moral ‘The belief ie fallacious in Uaat mumerial majority ‘lone cannot be a. gauge for an act’s mora!y. For Instance: if an island has 10 people, of which 6 are non- thieves while 4 are thieves In this set-up, to be a non ‘hie “moral” because they are the majority. Tn ease a ‘pide hits the inland and eile 3 of the non.-thieve, the ‘thieves would now become the majority. Clearly their number alone would not make thievery moral Beamples: [paid the oficial because anyway most people do it noveadays Since everyboly eae sccepts money from po n elections, Ihave no choice bu to accept Appeol to Consequences ofa Belief — argues that belief ig true ifit lends to desirable consequences. Conversely, a belie is fale i i lends to undesirable consequences. ‘This fallacy is otherwise known as Use ergumentuom ad onsequentiam or argument tothe eonsequences. ‘The argument i fallacious in that the consequences of belief could not be a determinant at to the truth oF falsity of the elit Example: I my belief that Jose Rizal “ie allve™ makes me this belief in n way maka it true that Jobe Rizal [My belie that every time I wear a rod shirt I will pass an examination, has no bearing on my octuallyLeGAL warm company Bed Approach passing the examination. It may be thet I prepared for the exam. Appeal to Bmotion ~ doliberately generates feelings in people so thet they will actin a certain way. Appeal to ‘emotion assumes that trth comes with good flings and falsehood with bad feeling, if it feels bad it must b> wrong. This becomes fallacious when a person bases his conclusions on emotion rather than lie Commonly used by politicians, cult leaders and advertisers, the fallacy ‘had become a tool for manipulation to control bshavior Example: Our sofa with electronic massager wil soothe your stress everytimo you wateh TV. ‘Thus, "Sofa Cun ‘Maseage”is what you and busy family needs hese day, ‘the Ponton people inthe mountains of Patalangen are raiding our wa:ebouse. They are training children to ‘become armies. How bad ean you feo! reading the news cach day. you vote for me Twill make reading the news wire. You will read how I would eradieate these peop Appeal to Fear — alto called argumentum ad baculum, farques that a belief ie true, or at least actod on, not because there is a “rational reason" to believe (evidence) iis true, hut because of external fuctors auch as fear, hharn or threat. Here, a conclusion is formed on the basis offear and not evidence, Example: Ifyou do not pass on thie Jetter to six of your fries, sn unforesen calamity wil befall upon you. 1 need to have my application acted upon by ‘Wednesday. Alter that, Iwill have to consult my uncle ‘wha works is Maneatis, ‘Talking back against your father might diminish your allowance! Appeal to Fattery — argues that there are persons who fare at conclusions, or act iis a certain way, when {atered, The arjumont is fallacious in that the basis of 10. n. 12. od S ‘one's conclusions isnot “rational reason” or evidence but _ fatery. Example ‘You look younger today, and your face is smoother. By the way, did you rceve our letier of solicitation? ‘Your mind does nt deser obo in this small town, but in the Hague, How far are you now in editing my ‘thesis? Appeal to Novelty — argues that a thing or idea is ‘secsearily beter simply because itis new. One is novel, therefore good. The argument is fallacious i that the baie of one's conclusion is the thing’s nowness, not its eri Bxampl "This books the latest, threfore you must buy it It is useful for your teaching as it ia the latest edition whereas the former edition was written three years ago ‘Appeal to Pity — aleo called ergumentum ad miserico. ‘diam, argues that some persons conclude or make deci- sone solely on pity, and not on evidence. The argument is fallacious in thatthe basis of e's 2csision is pty and nat Example Sir, I received a grade of 5. Is dhere something we ‘can do? Iam graduating and my aling mother is arning. living as laundsywoman. My father has asthma and ‘Cannot do his sual chores, Appeal to Poputarity — angues chat a claim or iden is tre simply Decase more people are inlined to accept Such claim or ides. The argument is fallacious in thet tho basis of one's conclusion or decision isnot evidence but an external factor whichis widespread acceptance ofa belie. Beam: ‘To my beloved Filipinos: ['m running. Afterall, 1 received a milion signatures that urged me to run for ‘fis Ite the ilo tho province.18. “A Competency Baned Approach When the law on violonee against women. and children was passed, I questioned what about the rights ‘of battered husbends? But then I realized most lawyers and professionals did not object to the Inw. Tm thinking, ‘maybe I was wrong Appect to Ridicule — argues that ridicule, or the idea of bing laughed at, may sve as basa for ones decisions ‘The argument is fallacious in that ideale and nat reason ‘orevidence become she support why one thinks or acts in seertain we: Example: You should not wear those pants. Only people plucked from the'50's wear thet, ‘Your argument, just lke your shirt reminds me of restaurant table cover Appeat to Spite~ argusthat spite, orate, may substitute ‘reason incoming up ts onelusion. ei fallacious in that ‘8 purely subjective emotion — spite — takea precedence ‘over objective evidence in coming up with a decivion Example A: DB: “Remember when we were kid how Reggie ncuscd you of stealing his ards? A: “Asamater offact, do. Iwill no! attand hie wedding then” Appeat to Praiition ~ i the opposite of appeal to novelty. ‘Appeal to tradition argues chat the idea ia necessarily better simply because itis older, more “tested” and “trie?” because it had boon used years-over It is fallacious Decause age per se does not necessarily qualify an idea to be botter. Older isnot necessarily better Example: ‘We have to go to the cemetery on Novembe~2, nat 1. Aft all, people inthis town had been doing that since as Jong as ean romamber. inc othe sam tah ing th ac fe a ak ann ‘hear ptm vere ran eftbcaut at snmp ee oe, “PaNIacy Ofcourse, ar. -versaral court system is beter than ‘some inquisitorial eystom’ they have in France. We have always used the adversarial system sinco the Spanish era and nobody questioned its efficacy. 16. Banduoigon — argues that rejection (or a threat of rfection) may influence one's decisions or conclusions. tis fallacious in that solid ar objetive evidence takes 2 backseat over peer-pressure. ‘The bandwagon tale, also called agumentum ad ‘numerum, believes in: "if many esiove ao, shi 0." Example: ‘A: “IT can hop it go for fish and vegetables.” FR: “Why that’s fod for oles" ‘You better shape up, or else people wll think you are undisciplined” 17. Begging the Question — is fallacy where the conclusion ig assumod in the premises. Also called petitioprinipt (assuming the initial point), is fallacios in that the ‘conclusion to be proved is assured imply or explicitly in the premise, Seldem is anyone gonug to simply place the conclusion word-for-word inta the premises, ‘According te Paul Herrick “seldom is anyone going: ta simply place the conelision word-for-word into the premises. Rather, an anguer might use phraseology that ‘onoeals te fact that the eonelusion ie masquerading as a ‘premise. The conclusion is rephrased to look different nd {s Uhen placed inthe premises.” Bxample: ‘She's @ lover of musle Aer all she plays the piano everday he nt ie cet nan in tri a oerwoe Tis opyme theA conpetney Based Approach ‘You better follow what I say beenuee I tld you so. 1m your father, and you beter follow mo. ‘He is mad right now, because I could see that he is really angry. Thnow that your decision is not illegal or immoral, ‘My proofs tis nt prohibited by law. 18, Biased Sample — is committed when a conclusion is taken from a sarsple, which in turn wa taken from a clearly Dilated source Bxample: fone wants to find out whether Filipinos are fond of eating vegetables would have a biased conclusion ithe sample was cakon during a mecting of vegetarians and animal rights netivists, 19. Burden of Proof ~ also called argumentum ad ignoran: tim, it argues that something is trae becatse no one has proved it to be false, or arguing that something i false because no one has proved it to be true. Tue argument ies Wp of canoes re ud aaa. Random Sample: Thine» emp BEERS Soh Syl che rns sche inet cr er ee So ace men fh ton es ty water dee ‘anda spe tn ory ducleSratied Samples Tiss sample it {then y ene he ewig sep =) Troan tt gpl sabre) are ‘emi Tae amber naborsincahtrato sell nd Arena, ‘Semple nn Pon ech stam in eet prope asa Tis mtd fe ‘eealy an wel when dain with sesiel populates, For cramp sp ‘Sl nan an intone how abe etn wha aadctin prs a ‘ould be gol ote arated sample sng womens aes he is takin ery important wen making prc, A Sinn codon sly oe ‘mpl ita es aty Ganereltion (etn the uml iy ‘alto oe tps an ear plato) orm sed Spe ican the ‘pls wiley nod stances fe ene pid Gare en pdr sk orpssretaacievasedwaple al Las ail November 342009 2 4s fallcious in that lack of evidenco on, say, sie “A” is talon ns prt or evidence that side "Ba tr. Example: Heaven exists. ARer all, no one hes proved it doos not exist Heaven doesnot exist. Aer all, no one has nroved it cits, {Tm innocent, not a robber or thief, No one has presented evidence that I stole or robbed. Circumstantial Ad Hominem — attacks any person's claim hy saying itis done out ofself'nterest. The 97 zu- ‘ment is fallacious in that instead of hearing reason and tabjetive evidenes, the arguer assumes that te other yar~ {is motivated by his personal intarets, such as promot ig his business, religion, honor or political afiliston. A persoa!s background may not have a hearing on the trait Walue of what he ie saying Example: Of course Martina is against ervety to animals ‘Afterall she isa vegelarian, and muiniaine a lueraive pet shor business, ‘The jg ie dead-tet against granting annulments orimposing death He iva lay minister, ands expected to hold such views. Composition — "The fallacy of composition argues that what is trse Iembers of the Boy Seoute.) False Dilemma — aleo called black and shite fallacy, appent when oe rps tht tere cud ny be foe choices forthe problem, or when one attempts to make the middle point between two ex:remes as one of the fextremes. Tze argument is fallacious in that there may bbe more than two cholces involved in the problom, or ‘the middle point may act be the other e=sreme of the continu, Bxample: ‘ther hes a communist or secretly religious |Lam sorry you are homosexual. You would have been a decent person. curren y « PaLiacy ‘You are no longer visting me. It seems you do not love me, Either you go to chureh, or I will think you are an atheist. 5. Gamblers Fallacy — slso called Monte Carlo fallacy, argues that since, for example, a penny has fallen tails ten times in a row then it wil fall heads the eleventh time, or fan airline has not had an acident for te past ten years, itis soon due for an accident. The argument is fallacious in that it rejects the aszuraption in probability theory that each evenc is independent of its previous hhappening* Brample (Medical joke) Ym sure you wil survive. Medical Iiterature says that 10% survive in this ness. So far Thhave 9 patients and they did not survive. You are my 10th, s0 you will survive. 28. Genetic Fallacy — aleo called reductive or nothing but Fallacy, argues thatthe origin of thing is dential with that from which it originates. The argument is fallacious in that the product or consequence of a thing is not necessarily the same as that from which it came from. Example: His a criminals son. He must have criminal genes, cor worse, a nothing but a criminal himself Peuple from that section of the ity are notorious lek-pockets and drug adits. Ths, aware of hi pines. She will 0, 21, Guile by Association — also called the bad company fallacy o¢ ~ompany that you keep fallacy, argues that {fea should not be accopted simply beerixe among those ‘who accept the idea are people one docs not like. The {ngument is fallacious in thatthe truth ofan idea isnot ‘determined by the character ofthese wh accept it. Gree A les, Denar of hp, Baro & Nee Bons, 1981.28, Lupo HIRING Acamteney Bund Appench Bxample: T dont like that movi. It is the favorite of my dhusband’s ex girlfriend. 1 feel uncomfortable explaining biblical verses to you in the park. When T vas younger, religious debaters Tegularly quote Bible verses in this park and ecream to ‘one another. Hasty Generalization — also called fallacy of hasty induetion, oosura whoa gencral statement js asserted ‘which in based on Limited information, inadequate (vidence or unrepresentative sampling’ The argument i fallacious because not enough suppor is given to base the tonelusion on. [aa court setting, not enough offered to support desision. Example ‘A foreign actress checked in hotel in Manila found cockroaches, In the press interview, she concluded that the Philippines ie full of eockroaches. A State vice president was in an elementary school and wanted to help a 12 yearold boy spell “potato” When. {he vice president wrate“potatoo,” he got a rounding from the madia who thereafter concluded, hased on a ingle boohoo, thatthe vie-prenideu i w dummy in spel Ignoring a Common Cause ~ also called the fallacy of ‘questionable cause, happens when a conclusion is made {hat A couses B simply because A and B are regularly fssociated or connected. The argument is fallacious in that it ignores tue peaslblity thas there might be a third factor that caused both A and B. That A'nced not be the case of B See Confusing Couse end Bifet Example “Jerry noticed that everytime his bestfriend Marvin 00s with him to the golf course, he wins. Jerry attributed Bis luck to Marvin, Td Tim ne mans o thi lacy am) alloy of Inuit tate ‘Pac inant Sop) Lasgo s Cont nat Instin 30, a. (Joke) Julia's hushed loves to rink coffe with her. ‘After his death, Julia would suffer headaches everytime the drinks coffee, She attributed this to her missing her husband, having aseecated coffee with him, In fact it fas the spoon which Juli regularly forgets to take out From the eup that eausos her migraine. Midate Ground — also called the fallacy of moderation tthe golden mean fallacy it happens when the arguer Sissumes that the mean (or middle position) between {bro extreme position must be the correct position. The “argument is fallacious because it doesnot fll: tbat the tmean is always the correct position Bxample Spliting the middl> is a common strategy in dation, Sometimes it helps to have the partes settle ‘athe middle. However, this is nt always trse as the ‘examples below wil show: ‘You want to ell your new laptop for P40, 50000. Joey, a graduate student, desperately wants t0 buy a laptop but only has P500.00 in his pocket. If you really want to ely Joey, as you said, why are you unwilling to obalfhalf Between hteracy and literacy, the best isto be somewhere in the middle. (A patent absurdity!) Misleading Vivicness — ooeus when a person decided hase on a few drsinatc or wnotional events rathor than. fom the evalence presented, The argument i fallacious in ‘hat just because an event is vivid, doesnot always make ithe basis for one's decisions. Fxample: Her husband, when he was alive, used to say that small fish is especially rich n_ protein. Now that he's {gone, she buys aothing but small fish, in pie scientific Evidence that fsb, whether big or smal, are equally rich ‘sources of protein {iow sorcone who does nat ent eg, despite the fact that eggs are among the most nutritious of feeds, He aid, when he was a chil, he was punished while esting3, am a, cas. wana Aconpeteney Boel Apron an egy that he fell to the floor. Now he will not have anything to do with eggs. Personal Attack — lao called ad hominem abusive, the fallacy of personal attack happens when abusive remarks against the speaker take the place of objective evidence. Example: 1 eannot believe what vou have to say, young man, tome more Hee. Look atthe dermatologists face. Te’ ful ef pimples. How can we believe what he has to aay? Poisoning the Well — happens won ono diseradits what a “speaker vil have to say in the future by givngin advance sn unfavorable information about the speaker. Exaile ‘The gel aa pathological lar Do not believe a single word from her He has had six filed relationships in the past. You ray be the 7h Avoid him, Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc — \terally: ‘ator this, therefore because of this” argues that just because event ‘Aoowurred ahead of time, event A was the eause of event B ‘Sxample: ‘Marin does not sond her applications to courier A. [Bverytime she does, she gots rejected. Everytime Jim wears red, he passes an exam. “Red” contributed to his pasting the exam, Gonorally, superstitious belies aro examples of the post hoe ergo prpter hoe fallacy. Questionable Cause — argues that because two things are astociatod on a regular basis, one is the cause of the ‘other, While the two events in post foe fallacy come one after the other, in questionable cause they go together. PALLACY Exam ‘A failed B. After all they were seon together and ‘arguing about shor the night before. Red Herring — happens when a topic frig to the isto fauddenly introduced in order to divert attention from ‘tho original issue. Example: ‘tier a senator's talk, a scudent asked: “Senator, don’t you think its high time that we passa law making ‘education compulsory to all children below 187" ‘The ‘senator cuttingly replied, "You know, we already have too ‘any laws regulating this and tbat Besides, the parents fare to Blame for producing loo many children they ean il ‘ford to wend to school.” ‘A city hagainad pushed for the passe of @ law ‘eulating the dumping of waste on city rivers. Sue his calleague cut him snd said: “These multi-nation ‘corporations are rally out to control the world.” Another ‘tid: “Tremember who cleaned our rivers whra T was a id. We used to swim and each fish there” 1. Relativst Pallory — cccurs when a person dicmisses ‘claim by saying Uhal while he claim may be true for ‘ther people, it may not work for him. The argument is fallacious in that cbjctive evidence may be by-passed in order to suit one's whims. eample ‘Ahealthy non-smoking hifety {tes not work for me. Contrary to evidence, I still maintain that cating ‘pork fat boiled in acy satee and black beans is one of ‘mankind's great pleasures. suit others, bt Slippery Slope — argues that once a person allows an fen fo happen, antler event will inevitably fellow. ‘The argument is fallacious in that thers is no objective ‘evidence. to. suxmest that the socond evidence will ocessarily fallow.40. a. compete ased Apeech Brample: You know young ladies. Once you allow your boyfriend to toach you! beyond the elbow, there ia no stopping ater that. Do not give in. If you do, you will find squatters xcupyiing each and every inch of your property. ‘Spec:at Pleading — argues that rales 0: principles only ‘apply to athers hut nat * onoself without giving relevant reason (or relevant difference) why Le should be exempt. ‘This fallacy is plain cate of imposing double standard. Example ‘Be careful young man. If you do something legal, ‘you will be arrest~2. I my ease, T have my batéo=y of lawyers to back me up. ‘You must not drink. It is not good for you health Don't mind us, We are used t this, Spotlight — occurs when one assumes that those who ‘ocoive the most media attention are representatives of the group to which they belong. The arguments fallacious in that those wine receive the most media attention are tuo ueuisiurly represetative ofthe whole. Ths fallacy ‘is similar to hasty generalization. Beale: es often in the news that this and that celebrity had divorced and married several times, I guess actors and ‘ectresses ure naturally promiscuous. Romblon_ people are often featured winning in track and feld events Indeed, Romblon people are great runners. Maye iia i ther genes. ‘Straw man — Tho straw mon fallacy presents an ‘opponents portion in m weak or absurd way so that it ‘can casily he refed. The argument is fallacious in that ‘one deliberately misrepresents or does not include the ‘strong points in the others pesition thereby giving the Impression thatthe arguer’ points are stron. a Basuople: ‘Supporters of the new reproductive bill encourage contraceptives. Contraceptives cause abortion, and abor- ‘ion ia Kling. Thus, we must oppose the bil (This is fallacious in that not all contraceptives caus abortion) ‘Two Wrongs Make a Right — argues that if the other party did illegal things, then it s okay for one to make ‘an illegal activity. The argumont i fallacious in thet an ‘unlawfUl act done by another has no bearing on whatever ‘act one choocss fur onesel Example: Bribing officals to win casos is okay. Aer all, Mr ‘Aa farous lawyer, does it 1 have ro qualms receiving clcton money trom candidates. Everyone's doing it; and it is nat the eandi- dates’ money to start with,CHAPTER VI ‘THE ACTIVE VOICE “The habitual use ofthe active voio, however, makes for forcible toring. Ths is true not only in narrative principally concerned ‘ith ation, tin writing of ay kind. Many a tame sentence ‘of descrintion or exposition can be made lely and emphatic thy subattuting «transitive in the active vote for some such (perfunctory expression as theres, or could be heard.” William Strunk and EB. White, The Elements of Site Purpose: Write in the active voice, as a rule. Avoid, or at least minimize the use of nominalization, participle, auxiliaries or conditionals, Prefer positive over negative forms. L_ ACTIVEVOIcE A. Conexpt ‘An active voice” engages the reader with movement and action, "he sentences sound and fel lke the subject ‘roduens the action. In passive voice, the subject becomes racied upon.” In the active voice the subject of the sentence does the aeting, in a passive voice the subject of the original sentence is cing acted upon. Rxamples: 1. Active sentences. The subjects produce the action. Passive: “The Sound of Music’ was son by Mario” Active: “Mario saw the ‘Sound of Music” pp Mi an and I Wh, Te enn Se he Lm, conereny ‘TE ACTIVE VOICE, Passive: A sudden interest in paychology dawned ‘Active: got interested in peycholony. Passive: "Tho caris driven by David. ‘Active: David drives the ca. 2, Active description. Here, the vprbs activate the des- ‘cription. Passive: ‘The room was filled by his anger. “Active: Hi anger Bled the wom. Passive: Ho talked nervously. Active: He stuttered. ‘Active and passive voices may be exprewed in David drove the ca. David drives the car. The car wil be driven by David, | David wil rive the car. IThe car nas been driven by|David has driven the ear? David. "Tie car had been driven by|David had driven the ear: David E IThe car will have bee driven| Davi will have driven tho Pest ee B, The Active Voice is more forceful and concise ‘Although the two mean the same, the active voice is more direct ans vigorous; the passive voice is longer and Teo forcsful Three words, “was driven by.” is needed to aE tee ering at ce ye ror He “pre iw nating acon empl rine oh ecarence some spat ston cave Beamp he dred ef oA eal Pere ‘Fiae petit eee exponen sn on sop bef fate event or ction ample She il ave ord by omanLacaL waInING ACampetnt Base Appa ‘express an action in the latter while only one és needed TFarives"in the former. ‘The regular use ofthe setive voice makes for a more forceful writing, not only in sentences where the actor curren vt a -mEACHVE VOICE improvements made on the patented invention to the original inventar? Or must the inventor disclose future Improvements tothe ofie? Or is the obligation mutual fon the licensing office and inventor? oes the obvious “doing” (ce, the subjee: is a person) but ‘The ambiguity as to who is obliged to diselose to likewise in narrative descriptions involving non-human whom creates a fertile ground fora cour ease to ensue. SS Fee ee ee ee ea ree esa ees ee ere eee Passive atic ‘is invention.” aa eee (maine ae toa eh ee eee ee a oe om ee et ta ve ete [esis eae Tae ee eS eee a ees anol ae fore yee amin Hare . Forman th tor the Aton ad sh Obs twas noting before she was vers|Sh= soon repented hel rey tha ast chat alweede In order to develop the habit using the active voice, lhad. ee ee uve the fallowing guide question: “Who is doing what and a oa {o whom First tate the stor, then the actin using the Strongest word that fits what you want wba. Las, state {he object to whom the ation e drcted ©. The Active ie more definite healt ave ies mre categoria the Metity f Example: wactor being always present, eg. David had driven the ‘ar’ or David immediately recived the package.” Passive Passive: aterloeutory orders may stil be mediied by ‘wige on the other hand has more chanese of becoming the courts. cmbigvous; the writer ean easily hide the identify of the Actives Courts can modify its interlocutory orders Seto, eg.,“The car had been driven” or "The package was "roediately received." By whom? In this patent license provision Passicsi There were no euthortios cited by the court initejudgenent. Active: The uur cited no authori in ite judgment, eet ee ee i eee toe ee ae tion that are mace herefler shall prorpily be Fant Nee valine ac cosas disclosed, and failure to do so shall be deemed Ais re a ‘amateria breach of this license agreement” eo ‘Active: Mr, Perez suggested thot Julia ask the con- It may be asked: Who must diseloco improvements, ee aiea ser wa Se ee prea eats ca, Nota bene: Wateh out for statements beginning with: aa “ere infare/raatvere” or “it idwas” These sn ig Sm ea WP Rent S19 Langman ae sre unually passive or else wordy. Again, “ea Wk, lan Bagh Lay (Cron bedi focus onthe “tetoraction-bject rule o mas Pr. DO. ia {your sentences brie.boa wRITING ‘nCampetney Raed prc “Ikis hoped that the delay in ‘restated inactive form “We hope that you were not inconvenienced by the ("may thus be 1H, USES OF THE PASSIVE VOICE | When the thing done it mere important to know than the oer, Example: ‘The subpoena was served on January 4, 2007. “My mother wa bitten by a dog. ‘My grandmother was hur in that bus ealision. 2 When the setor is unknown the passive ix the normal construction, Example: XY pawnshop was rubbed last wook. ‘The plants were cut lastnight. 8. Foremphasis, the pasive t wed tthe end ofa sentence Beample: ‘As Manny Reyes walked past the door, he was nabbed by journalists TIL MINIMIZE NOMINALIZATIONS Nominatisetions are veros used as nowns. They are called “buried verbs” that is, base verbs converted to nouns that not only hide the action but make one's writing abstract and verbose Verbs Appreciate [Donates =I [provides supp=st [Supports fn eonspira [Conspiring in ecpordance (with our rales) ling (tour rales) |in proximity (with each other) [proximate (to each other) [afraid o the exposure (Lam) in reeipt [received iis at) in violation of tho rles| is nc) vicTaton the rales “tion,” “ane” “al” Try,” “ancy. “ity? that vers used to convey (eg, appreciates) is replaced by an abstrac‘io (eg. in appreciation), resulting to a slower and ‘weaker prac. Habitual ue of nominalisations attracts surplus ua unnecessary words. For example, why write: “Please make a summary why you are interpeeing an ‘objection tothe plaintiffs motion.” when you can state: * nou lst maria why you set tothe pnts ‘or beter stil “Please summarize your objections to the plaintiffs ‘The viatement: “Our cient hopes that you are considering the poss bility of reconsidering your decision.” may be restated: Our client hopes that you will reconsider your decision.” or better sil: “Our cient hopes you will change your decision.”OAL wrens ‘AConptene Base Aproeh ‘The statement: “My sisters are in accord with your proposal, but Ait is your desire to sustain a delay our femily will not hesitate to decide to take stand opposite to yours.” may be written “My sisters agree with you, butifyou intend to cause delay ou family wil oppose vos.” Unearthing those buried verbs results in quicker and tighter language. Thess verbs are usually buried in preposi- tional phrases and to uncover them, the prepositional phrase are necessarily deleted, Bxample: Before ‘The city provided assistance tothe flood vietims. After ‘The city assisted the foo vitims, Before have a elit that fr every drop of rin that {alls.a flower grows After believe for every drop of rain that falls Slower grows [At tne center of law is people of flesh and bones that ac. "They are not just fuzzy figures of abstractions. Complainants ‘complain or demand, not file complaint or make demands, Defendants answered ar cour-erelaimed, not interpased answer or raised their counterclaim. Judges rule, not uct make ‘ruling. Unions strike (past tense struck), not held a strike, Ofcourse, not all nominalizations are bed. One or two in 1 page might ad varity to the writing and eut sie monotone. What one must avoid is their habitual use, for they dilute rather than give vigor to one's writing. /. UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPLES ‘A participle is a vorb ucod as an adjective or noun. Tt is sometimes called a “Verbal,” meaning a noun or adjective ‘ru AGTvE VOICE {ormedfrom a verb. As adjectives they are used to describe ‘nouns, et, the erying lady, mangled composition, inereting amo, surprising experience, surprised guetta” AS nouns, participles are called gerund which are verbs endingin "ing? And used as subjects or object in. kentance. A. Usoof participles ‘The present participle indicates « continuing action for state. Tends with “ing” and uetd withthe ver fo be. Example: Sho wn tolking. They were playing, I have been eating ‘The past participle is used with the verb “have” to form past tenses. Example: “We have walked” “She has sung” “The dog has eaten.” BR. Minimize the use of participles when you can One can minimize nominalization by avoiding participles. The past participles above for instance ean be converted to: "We walled,” and “She sang.""The dog ate” PREFER THE POSITIVE FORM. Sentences in the positive are more direct and definite, Ihonce are better ~eceived by the reador. The use of negatives, partieclarly double negatives, ean be distracting, aside from the fact that it takes more wars to express a negative idea as the examples below show. As a rule, ite better to phrase one's ideas in positive form. Use the negative only when denying, land not when asserting. Negative Postie aid not fallow rules dincbayed was not present abet [not guilty innocent could not remember oxgot ot oo man ew not un-Christian [christian ot invalid valid ot unlike ke [dd not show diatifuction | satisfieda OAL WRITING ‘Accompetene Has Approach VL. MINIMIZE AUXILIARIES OF CONDITIONALS Ausiliarie or “helping verbs” aid in expressing the tense, mood’ or vie of another verb, eg, may, might, can, could, toould, should, ought. They express uncertainty and make ‘one's prose weak, It is suggested to reserve susiliarie in case ‘ofral uncertainty. Poor: Dial 122 if'you might like to order the books. Beiter: ial 122 yu wish to order the books. Poor: Bar candidates may be ranked by their communica- tion sills etter: ar candidates are ranked by their communication rE ‘You can make it Bates You wil make it "ik sic manner in hich he ino conn expe by er in sted whee coal roman CHAPTER VII LEGALESE “Most legal writing is atrorious” ~ Judge Mark P. Painter, Lagas Writing 201 “Gobbledygook* may indicate «failure ts think clearly, contempt forone' ents, or nore probably a mixture of both. A system that ‘cantor won't communite ke nota safe basis for a democracy.” — Michael Shanks, National Consimer Counel, gland Purpose: ‘To writo using minimum legalese. Tobe able to convert legalese to simpler forma ane expressions. 1 LEGALESE egalese — alo called the “traditional” legal writing style, is one that use abetrase legal veabulary making legal writing ‘or speaking dillealt for non-lawyers to understand. Legalese Cloaks the real message under the layers of long sentences, ‘multiple modifying phrases, abstract Lerminoloyy and needless Jargon. Many people, lawyers among them, believe that legal ‘writing must involve legalese In its defense, they say: 1. Legalese is more precise and less_ambiguows than plain modern Eupish; as auch itis more resistant to ‘misintorpretation when read by other legal professionals. Tar dy ron native ofthe puting ature}competency Band Ape 2 Legale — inthe sense of using igh levels of abstraction Covers all contingencies and covers the lawyer in cases of unexpected aitacks, 8. Lawyers, judges and even clients prefer it Aadvocstes forthe use of plain language disagree Legatese has more cireualoeutions and tends to be more abstract hence more ambiguous than plain standard English. Gonvoluted: “Whereunder the party of the first jart ‘pays and indemnifies the party of the second part pursuant t the third clause of the ab.ve mentioned parcgraph”| Better: “The first party agrees to poy the second party ‘porsuant te the third clause ofthe above paragraph * (or third clause of paragraph 2) "That Iogelese must cover “all contingencies” opponents say that no document ean possibly cover all ‘ontingencies; rather, lawyers should cover only is reasonably expected. Word in attempting to cover “all” contingencies: nte-nvptial agreement) “Bach party shall ave the right “dispose ofsny or all of his or her separete property by inervivos or testamentary t-ansfer inluding by will, rust or giftor by any other disposition.” etter: Bach party may dispose of his or her separato ‘roperty inter vivas or mortiseausa without prior ‘onsent ofthe other” ‘The argument that lawyers, judges even clients prefer wordy, areane and pompous language is debatable. True, «aces ‘of outdated even ornate language (eg. “/fent sayeth naughe™ {or “end? or nothing further”) is stil used. But the recent trend {sor plain English, Bxamples oflegalese and their simpler enunterparts™ Fea ere, Let Language Pisin ond Simple, Mowat Bar Bl ain, rt carrer vt « TRCALESE Legalese Suggested “replacements” ‘iaage number of [many ‘enumber of lsome or soveral or many (or lmething more precicelike “| persons," ete coord ve) ive accord respect to lrespedt ‘squire act. ‘ditional more ditionally 0 adjacent 10 Clo or ear advert to ention [fords on ‘sforementioned len best omit ambit Fans and all zi proximately ascertain assist [at present nove atthe place where ‘at the provent tune [now {this pint intima ow or current st this wor currently tempt (ord ly Ineeause ofthe foc that [because za Forme —fston cease and desiet sop. ‘reumstances in which —|when or where ogi faware of or know = conceal ‘concerning the matter of Tebout lage ‘onsersus ofepinion leonsensus ‘onsequence result [eontiguows to to ‘demonstrate =| desive wantteGALS 7 that individual person inquire ask. is able to ean is binding on binds is desirous of want is dipositive af disposes of ‘unable to leant thas beon determined omit Ht would argue that ‘i isapparent tha seal tr amt aliogether) itis clear that lcleaiy (or omit altogether) | i ‘tshould be noted that lomie : Tecate na methodol method modi leben =e negatively aff not notwithstanding ull and void [objective oun al observe shtsin acco ea on the par of lrguable thatit could. belargue it i fansved that owing the fat thet ‘in case in which [when or where period of time ‘in aceurdance with [oy or under ‘in greement with [agree _ ey [in hasty manner hastily asl ‘inloge proximity near. ‘inlight ofthe fact that [because or given that incre to Io ‘in point of fact Tact or omit aliogether) in reference to bout fin gar Jabout. itor bat the course of [during law the event that when uy indicate or Say OF Fate of speed eed