Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. Part I. Why lawyers write poorly
5. 1. Does bad writing really matter? 3
6. 2. Don’t make it like it was 12
7. Part II. The process of writing
8. 3. Ten Steps to Writing 37
9. 4. Of Dawdlers and Scrawlers, Pacers, and Plungers: Getting Started and Overcoming Blocks 52
10. 5. The Mechanics of Getting It Down: From Quill Pens to Computers 59
11. 6. Lessons from a Writing Audit 64
12. 7. Lawyers as Publishers: Words Are Their Product 71
13. Part III. Managing your prose
14. 8. Writing the Lead 79
15. 9. Form, Structure, and Organization 88
16. 10. Wrong Words, Long Sentences, and Other Mister Meaners 107
17. 11. Revising Your Prose 153
18. 12. Making Your Writing Memorable 176
19. Notes 199
20. Usage notes 209
21. An editing checklist 229
22. Editing exercises 237
23. Suggested revisions to editing exercises 241
24. Reference works 249
25. Acknowledgments 257
26. About the authors 267
27. Index 269