It’s the beginning of another academic year, and therefore it’s a good time to discuss the mechanics of writing and research. These are topics I cover briefly with students who take seminar classes from me, but I thought they might be useful to a broader audience. In a series of a few posts, I’m going to cover three topics about writing — organization, paragraphs, and persuasion — and one about research: hitting the books.

1. Organization

Lawyers, judges, clients — pretty much everyone who is not reading while sitting on a beach — are busy people. They have limited time. Very limited time. It’s crucial that you give them some sort of sense immediately (1) why you are writing to them, and (2) what your message is. This applies to memos, letters, briefs, complaints, law review articles, essay exams, letters to the editor, even (or most especially) emails. Business documents often do this with an “executive summary,” but most of the executive summaries I see are mealy-mouthed mush. Be clear and concise; time is most definitely not on your side. You do not want your reader to get to the second paragraph and be wondering, “Who is this idiot and what is he/she prattling on about?”

This means that you must get to the point immediately. A MEMO/BRIEF/EXAM IS NOT A MYSTERY NOVEL.