Point made : how to write like the nation's top advocates /
"With Point Made, legal writing expert Ross Guberman throws a life preserver to attorneys, who are under more pressure than ever to craft compelling prose. What is the best way to open a motion or brief? How can you build winning headings? How can you weave together a persuasive tale when the r...
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Format: | Book |
Language: | English |
Published: |
New York :
Oxford University Press,
[2014]
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Edition: | 2nd ed |
Subjects: | |
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Table of Contents:
- Preface to the second edition
- Acknowledgments for the first edition
- I. The theme. 1. Brass tacks : explain "who, what, when, where, why, how"
- 2. The short list : number your path to victory
- 3. Why should I care? : give the court a reason to want to find for you
- 4. Flashpoint : draw a line in the sand
- II. The tale. 5. Panoramic shot : set the stage and sound your theme
- 6. Show, not tell : let choice details speak for themselves
- 7. Once upon a time : replace dates with phrases that convey a sense of time
- 8. Headliners : use headings to break up your fact section and to add persuasive effect
- 9. Back to life : center technical matter on people or entities
- 10. Poker face : concede bad facts, but put them in context
- 11. End with a bang : leave the court with a final image or thought
- III. The meat. 12. Russian doll : nest your headings and subheadings
- 13. Heads I win, tails you lose : argue in the alternative
- 14. Sneak preview : include an umbrella paragraph before your headings and subheadings
- 15. With you in spirit : start each paragraph by answering a question that you expect the court to have
- 16. Sound off : start the paragraphs with numbered reason
- 17. Long in the tooth : say "me too"
- 18. Peas in a pod : link your party with the party in the cited case
- 19. Mince their words : merge pithy quoted phrases into a sentence about your own case
- 20. One up : claim that the case you're citing applies even more to your own dispute
- 21. Interception : claim that a case your opponent cites helps you alone
- 22. Rebound : "re-analogize" after the other side tries to distinguish
- 23. Not here, not now : lead with the key difference between your opponent's case and your own
- 24. One fell swoop : distinguish a line of cases all at once
- 25. Not so fast : show that the case does not apply as broadly as your opponent suggests
- 26. Authority problems : suggest that the case deserves little respect
- 27. Ping me : introduce your parentheticals with parallel participles
- 28. Speak for yourself : include a single-sentence quotation
- 29. Hybrid model : combine participles and quotations
- 30. Lead 'em on : introduce block quotations by explaining how they support your argument
- 31. Race to the bottom : use footnotes only in moderation to address related side points and to add support
- IV. The words. 32. Zingers : colorful words
- 33. What a breeze : confident tone
- 34. Manner of speaking : figures of speech
- 35. That reminds me : examples and analogies
- 36. The starting gate : the one-syllable opener
- 37. Size matters : the pithy sentence
- 38. Freight train : the balanced, elegant long sentence
- 39. Leading parts : two sentences joined as one
- 40. Talk to yourself : the rhetorical question
- 41. Parallel lives : the parallel construction
- 42. A dash of style : the dash
- 43. Good bedfellows : the semicolon
- 44. Magician's mark : the colon
- 45. Take me by the hand : logical connectors
- 46. Bridge the gap : linked paragraphs
- 47. Join my tale : tables and charts
- 48. Bullet proof : bullet points and lists
- V. The close. 49. Parting thought : end the argument with a provocative
- 50. Wrap-up : recast your main points in a separate conclusion
- VI. Appendices