Are Judges Using Gender-Neutral Language?
Are judges using gender-neutral language in their opinions? My recent study showed that they are. I used 1965 as a benchmark year because it predated twentieth-century feminists' call for...
View ArticleSuggestions for Writing with Gender-Neutral Pronouns
A writer who wants to avoid gender bias can adopt "gender-neutral language" (sometimes called "gender-inclusive language" or "nonsexist language"). Some people object to gender-neutral...
View ArticleSuggestions for Brief Writing from Kentucky Supreme Court Justices
The Kentucky Supreme Court held oral arguments at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law this week. During a Question and Answer period, the justices gave the students this...
View ArticleMore Suggestions for Writing Gender-Neutral Pronouns
Previously, I posted some suggestions for avoiding generic masculine pronouns. Here are some less common ways to avoid them. I'll use the same gender-biased sentence, "A lawyer should frame his...
View ArticleSuggestions for Using Gender-Neutral Nouns
I define a sexist noun as one that unnecessarily calls attention to a person's sex. Why is that a problem? It's because the noun suggests without basis that a person's sex is relevant to the...
View ArticleLanguage Quirks in Legal Writing — "This" Without a Clear Antecedent
Recently, a thread on the legal writing professors' listserv discussed students' increasing use of "this" where the word has no clear antecedent. A pronoun must have an antecedent - that...
View ArticleSarah Palin's Language in the VP Debate
Sarah Palin's language in the vice presidential debate is a natural topic for this blog, which covers both women and language.Palin's answers were sprinkled with folksy colloquialisms - phrases like...
View ArticleSupreme Court Declines to Hear Bowen Case
Last week, The United States Supreme Court acted in a case concerning women and language. Bowen v. Cheuvront, 77 U.S. Law Week 3101 (Oct. 20, 2008). The case involved the alleged rape of Bethany...
View ArticleActive and Passive Voice
George Orwell advised writers to avoid using the passive voice unnecessarily; see my article, Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter for Lawyers, on his advice to writers. Many...
View ArticleThe Rhetoric of Obama's Election-Night Speech
It was a pleasure to hear president-elect Barack Obama's eloquent speech on election night. Its success was due partly to its effective rhetorical devices.Its language flowed in pleasing euphony. Obama...
View ArticleDon't Misuse "As Such"
The phrase as such is sometimes misused as an all-purpose (but grammatically incorrect) transitional phrase. Such is a pronoun that must have an identifiable antecedent. If it doesn't have one, its use...
View ArticleDon’t Misuse “Begs the Question”
Lately, people have been misusing the phrase begs the question. Begging the question is a logical fallacy in which one assumes the truth of the very point to be proven. For example, it is begging...
View ArticleThe Rhetoric of President Obama's Inauguration Speech
In keeping with Obama's usual style, his inaugural address made effective use of rhetorical devices and figures of speech. He employed metaphor in reminding listeners that some inaugurations have...
View ArticleMore about President Obama's Rhetoric
On the legal writing listserv, two issues were raised about President Obama's inaugural address. The first was an objection to the passive voice in the final sentence of this passage: "The...
View ArticleGuidelines for Writing Issue Statements
Recently, I examined issue statements (sometimes called "Questions Presented") in briefs filed in six states' highest courts. I found that lawyers use a variety of formats for writing them. For...
View ArticleMore Guidelines for Writing Issue Statements
Here are two more guidelines based on my review of issue statements from lawyers' briefs:3. Unless the question is purely one of law or court rules direct otherwise, it is effective to include some...
View ArticleMore about Issue Statements
My fifth suggestion for issue statements concerns their format. Most individual issues in my study consisted of a single "sentence." These appeared in three basic formats:...
View ArticleIssue Statements: Conclusion
Here are more suggestions based on my study of lawyers' issue statements: 6. A brief's credibility is enhanced where the total number of issues is restricted to a manageable few. Judges don't...
View ArticleObama's Word Choice: "Stand with"
President Obama recently chastised investment funds that would not compromise to keep Chrysler out of bankruptcy. "I don't stand with them," he said. "I stand with Chrysler's employees and their...
View ArticlePresident Obama's Speech at Notre Dame
Lately, I've been researching Abraham Lincoln as a writer.I've also noticed how President Obama has drawn implicit parallels between Lincoln and himself, for example, by opening his campaign in...
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