Wydicks plain english for lawyersnow in its fifth editionhas been a favorite of law students, legal writing teachers, lawyers, and judges for over 25 years. Although plain language is a familiar idea, many organizations dont use it as often as they should. The column is the longestrunning legal writing column in any journal. Plain english is writing that is clear, concise, and easily understood by the target audience. Plain english movement, the the plain english movement. Tiersma states in the plain english movement, that one of the first key struggles. Garner provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. Soa is designing and writing software applications in such a way that distinct software modules can be integrated seamlessly with high degree of reusability.
Plain english establishes your credibility because it tells the reader that you speak a language that they already know and understand. Nov 24, 2010 plain writing should be seen as an essential part of open government. Research paper for plain english in legal writing plain english in legal. Students also gain experience working with clients and explaining the rationale for recommended stylistic changes. Plain english writing software for writers grammar. Perhaps no single work has done more to improve the writing of lawyers and law students and to promote the modern trend. Its not cat sat on the mat or janet and john writing. If we cannot understand the documents, we cannot exercise our rights and we cannot take responsibility. May 30, 2019 the plain english movement grew up in response to the ridiculously obscure legalistic writing in government documents. Its a movement that started many years ago and, perhaps surprisingly, made.
The plain language movement in legal writing involves an effort to avoid complex language and terminology in legal documents, to make legal writing more understandable and accessible. The intellectual foundation for the course is derived from the plain english movement. Legal documents usually set out our rights and responsibilities. Last week cynthia talked about international plain language day and the global movement to improve the use of plain language in government and legal writing. Doctor, come on, i need that to be in plain english. As to the use of scriveners language staked out our territory. Rocket lawyer is committed to making the law simpler, more affordable, and available to everyone.
Flesch, through his writings and speeches, advocated a return to phonics. A text with exercises chicago guides to writing, editing, and our role. Nolo has an extensive library of legal articlesall for free. Writing in plain english, robert eagleson, 1998 10. Since the publication of mellinkoffs 1963 language of the law, the movement for plain english in u. In legal writing, david mellinkoff, a professor at the ucla school of law, is widely credited with singlehandedly launching the plain english movement in american law with the 1963 publication of the language of the law. Thats why it is also called fleschkincaid grade level readability test. In his january 21, 2009 memorandum on transparency and open government, president obama made a commitment to establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Mar 01, 2012 for many years, the plain or standard english movement has sought to eliminate legalese. Test your grammar and punctuation in one of our style quizzes.
In the spirit of this goal, weve created the plain language legal dictionary. Doc research essay for plain english in legal writing june. Garners legal writing in plain english has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges. The plain english approach to business writing legal writing in plain english, second edition. This is not to say that writing legal documents in plain language is easy. In 1977, new york state passed laws requiring plain english in. Contract law, contract lawyers, plain english mark cohen. In his book writing for dollars, writing to please. A contract shouldnt require a latinenglish dictionary to understand it. Software to edit your legal documents your plain english. Plain language in nonenglish speaking and multilingual countries catherine rawson just fix the english 25 christopher williams progetto chiaro.
Plain language also called plain writing or plain english is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it the plain writing act of 2010 defines plain. David mellinkoffs book, the language of the law, pointed out the many absurdities of traditional legalese. The emphasis shifted from information to communication. Most of the people restrict soa as writing clientserver software webservices. Garners legal writing in plain english has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for.
This week, as a followup to international plain language day, i would like to take a look at new zealands approach to using plain english in the countrys laws. The case for plain language in business, government, and law, joseph kimble cites a number of them. We can also provide professional online training in plain english for business via zoom or ms teams. The plain english movement started with organizations like the national. Steinberg the plain english experience in new york carl felsenfeld analyzing the various approaches of plain language laws betsy a. Raised in austria, rudolph flesch studied law and earned a ph. Keep your writing skills sharp with our tips, tools and quizzes. This video will introduce you to the idea of using plain language, it will define what it means to write in plain language, it will give you a brief history of the plain language movement and. See how we translated a longer linguistic nightmare. As one of the leading commentators and supporters of the plain language movement. I wish these software agreements would be in plain english, rather than this legalese gobbledygook. Flesch grade level readability formula improves upon the flesch reading ease readability formula.
One of the goals of the movement is to reduce reliance on terms of art, words that have a specific meaning within the context of the law, but that may carry a. A letter to a client concerning a property purchase. See how plain english can transform overly complex text with our. Plain language makes it easier for everyone to understand and use health information.
May, 2020 the plain language action and information network plain is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communications from government. For another thing, a body of literature has grown up around the plainlanguage movement. First lets say what plain english isnt and destroy some of the myths about it. You are hereby notified that a default judgment has been entered. The plain english movement grew up in response to the ridiculously obscure legalistic writing in government documents.
In short, you should always aim for clarity, readability, and brevity. Learn to write your legal documents in clear english by using stylewriter on your contracts. In 1977, new york state passed laws requiring plain english in consumer. On a more practical level, richard wydicks plain english for lawyers has been widely used to teach law students the art of legal writing. About the movement and legal writing ann arbor in 1990 seemed like a good place and good time to act, because michigan is the home of the first plain english committee of any state bar association. What do you call a dense, overly lengthy contract that is loaded with legal. See how plain english can transform overly complex text with our short sample edits. Plain english wins every which way 1987 66 michigan bar journal. The paper analyzes why most lawyers continue to write in complex language rather than simple english. Bwc470 plain english writing skills business writing. We can also provide professional online training in plain english for business via. Readers want an effortless, readable and clear writing style.
A lawyers guide to writing legal writing, plain english. There are a variety of books, articles, videos, and journals that provide different perspectives on the value of plain language in areas as diverse as science, government regulation, and law. Curriculum department of english dietrich college of. Law is only one aspect of the plain legal language movement. Legal writing and analysis may indeed involve terms of art, such as plaintiff and hearsay. In 1977, new york became the first state to pass legislation requiring plain english in consumer contracts and leases. Much more exciting than the title suggests, it leads the. The plain english movement encourages businesses and lawyers to use plain english in their documents. The plain english movement concentrated on a different issue. This is how the plainlegallanguage movements present it find, read.
Writing in plain english linkedin learning, formerly. Full conference program 011009 plain english foundation. The plain english movement in the united states carl felsenfeldt nature of the plain english movement one of the dominant events between 1975 and today in united states consumer law was the birth of. Sure, readability formulae have their place in plain language. This is shown by the fact that in most english speaking countries, the legal profession no longer argues that it is impossible for a document to be. Legalese definitely has no place in non legal writing. The plain english writing skills course is responding to the movement in law, business, government, medicine, finance, and academics to simplify contracts, reports, legal documents, research. Rudolph flesch, an author, writing consultant, and the supporter of plain english movement, is the coauthor of this formula along with john p. This paper tells army lawyers about the plain english movement in legal writing.
This is the key quality of the plain english movement and, in all probability, the reason for its warm reception. This traditional style of legal writing is notorious for its unnecessarily complex words, legal jargon, and convoluted sentences that can obscure meaning and create ambiguity. Experts and authorities on good writing have a name for this style. Plain english is impossible because legal writing includes so many terms of art. Mar 04, 2020 university and college websites are struggling to learn the lessons of writing in plain english by evelyn wolf march 4, 2020 november 9, 2016 categories news in its largest ever study, visiblethread identifies that 99% of university and college websites do not meet target readability standards. This is a distinction often used by authors writing about law and language. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In fact, theres generally no reason to use latin terms or formal legal language legalese at all. A lawyers guide to writing plain english, plain language. Its reputation for obscurity and needless legalese is widespread. It provided a mechanism whereby information that starts here could actually go there.
They get a sense of the bigger picture of plain legallanguage writing, rather than just a readability score. The excuse that legal writing has to be complex to avoid. Rudolph flesch, an author, writing consultant, and a supporter of the plain english movement, developed this formula in 1948. Find useful writing tips and fresh points of view from todays plain language innovators. He is a leading voice in the international plainlanguage movement. The main goal in writing is to put your message across clearly and concisely. We strive to make it accessible to everyoneto help people find answers to their everyday legal and business questions. A plain english handbook for people drafting security disclosure documents.
There is a serious question whether legalese should even be used in legal writing. Plain english writing by professional business writers. Sep 12, 2017 words of tradition and ultimate legal significance simply are given a different weight in view of the plain language movement in legal circles. Structuring a plain english document nz law society. Steinberg the plain english movement in australia and the united kingdom robert d. Use plain english in legal writing advice given by a. Aug 15, 20 this video will introduce you to the idea of using plain language, it will define what it means to write in plain language, it will give you a brief history of the plain language movement and. University and college websites are struggling to learn plain. Primarily concerned with the way you make your statements of facts and statements of the 6. Mowat, a plain language handbook for legal writers, toronto, carswell, 1999, pp. We hope everyone stays safe and healthy in the meantime, and that we all continue to do our bit to help bring the current situation to a swift and happy conclusion. The case for plain language in business, government, and law.
The involvement of a legal counsel should be necessary only to give an impartial view, oversee the legal consequences, to clarify that certain phrases are normal or to confirm that indeed they reflect the parties. Richard wydick notes this problem, above, when referring to legal discourse. Writing for dollars, writing to please editorsoftware. Almost anything from leaflets and letters to legal documents can be. Lines should be convincing and positive to make an impression and hook the recipient to consider or act on the plan. A comparison of bills this project of the plain writing association uses proofreading marks and sidebyside comparisons to show how the various versions of the major plain writing bills of the last few years evolved into the plain writing act of 2010. Due to these grave and unprecedented times, weve had to scale back our operations a little. It describes what plain english means and how the movement has generated support and opposition among lawyers. The use of plain english lowers costs, improves productivity, increases credibility and reduces misunderstandings.
The movement to use plain english in law rather than legalese has been around since the 1950s when stuart chase addressed the issue in the power of words 1953. Its a collection of over a thousand common legal terms defined in simple, everyday language. Plain english home inspection agreement internachi. Search results new zealand page 2 in custodia legis. Mar 19, 2018 while its not apparent that contract attorneys and negotiators have taken george orwells writing rules entirely to heart, there is hope that plain and accessible contract language is the. It is possible to use plain english in legal documents. Eagleson, plain english a boon for lawyers 1991 the second draft legal writing institute p 12. The plain english story, the plain english campaign, 1993 12. He founded the plain english campaign in 1979, and in 1994 he cofounded plain language commission.
Plain english is a style of writing that enables the reader to understand the message the first time they read it. A guide for implementing plain language in your content qordoba. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading writing for dollars, writing to please. The plain english movement and traditional legal writing instruction. Where the plain language movement has really succeeded is in its debate with the legal profession about whether plain language is accurate, certain, and precise. The uk law society and the american bar association now recommend all legal writing should be in plain english. The involvement of a legal counsel should be necessary only to give an. Also in 1979, the nsw society of editors was formed. For one thing, plain language has come to signify the kind of fundamental change in attitude and practice thats needed to finally break the cycle of poor legal writing. Laypeople have often criticized or ridiculed this style of writing, finding it difficult to read and comprehend. While its not apparent that contract attorneys and negotiators have taken george orwells writing rules entirely to heart, there is hope that plain and accessible contract language is the. Some customers have even signed plainlanguage contracts without a single change. Learn to write your legal documents in clear english by using stylewriter on your contracts, agreements and letters to your clients.
The result is a writing style that has, according to one critic, four outstanding characteristics. Long, flowing sentences and passive voice can be occasionally useful, such as in legal writing or to shake up the rhythm of your paragraph, but they shouldnt have a large presence in your content. This highly practical workshop will provide you with the skills to write in plain, professional english that engages customers and reflects your brands tone of voice. The gains from clarity, gordon mills and mark duckworth 11. It uses short, clear sentences and everyday words without unnecessary jargon. Plain english at a glance 65 the sec s plain english.
1292 34 1261 1533 1601 380 89 1426 1348 252 1122 1492 1166 420 718 238 1068 485 1192 1542 501 545 1509 1470 189 790 87 917 1064 1377 1170 577 557 790 1450 187 722 854 965 614 713