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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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Guberman, Ross
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Oxford University Press, [2014]
Edition:2nd ed
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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