英语语法：213 Simplify Your Writing

Grammar Girl here.

Today’s topic is readability.  And just to mix things up, I’m bringing in Adam Freedman to host today’s show.  Adam is the author of The Party of the First Part, a witty¹, entertaining book about legalese that goes on sale September 4. 

I figure if Adam can make legal documents readable, then he must be on to something.   Adam?

Thanks Grammar Girl!
 
“I love being a writer,” a novelist once said.  “What I can’t stand is the paperwork(1).”  It’s an amusing quip, but there’s also a real truth to it.  The decidedly un-glamorous task of formatting² documents is an essential part of good writing. This is especially true of legal documents which, if not watched very carefully, can spiral out of control until you find yourself expunging³ an aforementioned lis pendens that you didn’t even know you had.

The best writers (including legal writers) follow these rules for producing readable documents.

Use a Table of Contents

First, use a table of contents for documents longer than about 10 pages.  Whether it’s a book or a legal “brief,” reading a thick document is kind of like taking a trip – you want to have a map.  A table of contents helps prepare the reader for the journey ahead.  

Use Serif Fonts and Ample White Space

Next, use an eye-friendly font and ample white space between blocks of text.  Don’t overwhelm the reader with pages of dense⁴, single-spaced text in a swirly⁵, fussy⁶, hard-to-read font.  Choose a clean serif typeface, like Times New Roman, for printed documents  Serifs, by the way, are those little decorative⁷ embellishments you see on the top and bottom of letters. Fonts that don’t have these little do-dads – like Arial – are called sans-serif and they work better for online text (2).

Whatever font you use, avoid setting text in ALL CAPS.  The uniform size makes it notoriously difficult to read, and online it is considered the equivalent of shouting. 

These formatting tips may seem trivial at first, but they really aren’t.  Like bad grammar, bad presentation can distract the reader or – even worse – cause the reader to give up on your document altogether.

Divide the Document Into Sections

Next point: break up your text into manageable chunks⁸ by using short sections or sub-dividing longer sections.  You should group related material together and order your sections in a logical sequence. Typically, you’ll want to put the general before the specific, and the more-important before the less-important.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a booklet about the rules of the road.  You might want to start with the bit about “red means stop and green means go” before tackling, say, the parking regulations of Tuscaloosa.  Somewhere in the booklet, you’ll probably have a section on driving with children.  But since that’s a big topic, you’ll want to divide that section into sub-sections, like

 

Use of child seats
Children and airbags
Leaving children unattended in cars 

[A hint on that last sub-section-- don’t.]

Use Headings and Other “Signposts”

OK, now that you’ve got sections, you need section headings.  Headings should use straightforward⁹ language; this is not the time to show off your wit.  For example, in your hypothetical booklet about the rules of the road, that section on child safety should probably have a heading called “Driving with Children” rather than “Mommy on Board!” or something equally, er, cute.

Finally, even with headings and sub-headings, you’ll still want to use transitional sentences as “signposts” for the reader.

Keep Sentences Short

Speaking of sentences, keep yours as short as possible.  Like this.  Actually, they don’t need to be that short, but a good rule of thumb is to keep your average sentence length to 20 words or fewer.

Long sentences afflict¹⁰ legal and technical writing, partly because writers tend to cram¹¹ lots of conditions and qualifiers into their sentences.  When you feel this temptation, consider turning the sentence into a numbered or bulleted list.  Here’s an example of an over-stuffed sentence from a typical insurance policy:

 

The due observance and fulfillment of the terms so far as they relate to anything to be done or complied with by the Insured and the truth of the statements and answers in the [Application] shall be conditions precedent¹² to any liability of the Company to make any payment under this Policy.

Wow.  That sentence is trying to do a lot, but unfortunately, it ends up doing nothing – because nobody can understand it.  Here’s a better way to convey the same information:

We will only make a payment under this policy if
1. You have followed the terms of the policy; and
2. The statements and answers in your application are true.3

One final point, particularly for the lawyers in the audience, is to avoid unnecessary jargon¹³ in your writing. You may enjoy words like herewith, witnesseth, and arguendo for their “ye olde” flavor, but don’t put them in documents that you expect other people to read.

And if you’re wondering what to do with all that leftover¹⁴ legalese, you can always send it to me.  At my website,。。。we’re holding a contest for the best example of bad legalese.  It’s called the Golden Gobbledygook Award.  Winners will receive a copy of Grammar Girl’s new audiobook Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to Clean Up Your Writing as well as my own book, The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese.

That’s it for readability.  As legal writing instructor¹⁵ Joe Kimble likes to tell his students — Go Forth¹⁶ and Simplify.

Thanks, Adam. Again, his website is partyofthefirstpart.com.

That's all.

People are joining the Flickr group and uploading their grammar catastrophe¹⁷ photos; you can see the recent entries in the sidebar of the Grammar Girl section of QuickAndDirtyTips.com, where you can also find my contact information and a transcript¹⁸ of this podcast. You'll also see the Mighty¹⁹ Mommy's page where she has a great show this week about choosing a pet when you have children in the house.

Thanks for listening.

 

1 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

2 formatting   

n.格式化v.使格式化( format的现在分词 )；规定…的格式（或形状、大小、比例等）；安排…的格局（或规格）；设计…的版面

参考例句：

• Select the block of text and-click and choose Default Formatting. 选择目标文字块，点击鼠标右键，选择默认格式。 来自互联网
• There are emerging conventions about the content and formatting of documentation strings. 这里介绍文档字符串的概念和格式。 来自互联网

3 expunging   

v.擦掉( expunge的现在分词 )；除去；删去；消除

参考例句：

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 swirly   

成涡旋形的

参考例句：

• There is now a black swirly animation when a spell is resisted. 当法术被抵抗的时候有一个黑色旋涡形的效果。 来自互联网

6 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

7 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

8 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

9 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

10 afflict   

vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨

参考例句：

• I wish you wouldn't afflict me with your constant complains.我希望你不要总是抱怨而使我苦恼。
• There are many illnesses,which afflict old people.有许多疾病困扰着老年人。

11 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

14 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

15 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

18 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

19 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。