I agree with most of your material, but many of these are quite simply not redundancies, or at the very least are not adequately cabined as such. Contemplate the convoluted and redundant nature of the typical modern will, a. Nevertheless, many traditional legal phrases are meaninglessly redundant and can be. Regulation eu a form of secondary legislation produced by the european union. More often, however, the phrases weigh down our writing with unnecessary words. Writing concisely and avoiding redundancy writing commons. Words and phrases guide act parliamentary counsels office. Redundant, expendable, and incomparable words and phrases. The job, rather than the employee, becomes redundant. Redundant words, or pleonasms, are a misery for many writers. The origin of the doublingand sometimes even triplingoften lies in the transition from use of one language for legal purposes to use of another for the same purposes, as from a germanic anglosaxon or old english term to a romance latin or law. They bloat writing an obstacle if your word count is limited.
Clear and accurate writing is essential to a legal career. Conciseness 5 exercise 2 shorten the following sentences by omitting redundancies and expletive constructions. These are a pair or string of words with similar meanings. A lawyer can often improve his or her writing considerably just by paring unnecessary words. This employee termination letter redundancy is designed to be used by an employer to terminate an employee for redundancy. If you say redundant words like pin number, atm machine, or pdf format, people may be laughing at you. Having an understanding of whats being said in court helps our clients confidence and comfort level. Redundant words and phrases editing and writing services. Work with your tutor as you complete this exercise.
Practice if possible, avoid using the word or phrase. British slang is a fountain of beautiful words that we dont normally use in america. A summary section, which includes a summary of your most significant skills and experience, may be helpful if you have a complex resume with substantial previous experience in one or more fields. Using unnecessary words doesnt just make your press release, article, blog, email, etc. Use redundant phrases sparingly or omit in business correspondence, articles, and other written documents. The nature of legal language this material may be used for educational or academic purposes if cited or. When the common law was transplanted to america, the writing style of the old. Terrified by redundant tautologies nevertheless, every legal writing here.
Fix the following sentences by removing or rewording redundant phrases. In the employment law of the uk, certain rights accrue to someone who is made redundant, i. Exercise 21 edit the following sentences for wordiness. This year, the volcano came alive as if it were angry and the eruption lasted for days, which numbered quite a few. The nature of legal language this material may be used. Current status quo is not always redundant, at least not when comparing a previous status quo to the current one. Redundant phrase replacements guide to concise writing.
In most occasions though, especially when a person is being redundant without realizing it, its bad. Topic sentences and transitions handout columbia law school. But there are still legal phrases that baffle nonlawyers. Do lawyers use phrases such as hereby and party of the first part simply because these terms have become reflexive pavlovian legal language. Do not use redundant legal phrases 17 chapter 3 use base verbs, not nominalizations 23 chapter 4 prefer the active voice 27 the difference between active and passive voice 27 the passive can create ambiguity 30 chapter 5 use short sentences 33 chapter 6 arrange your words with care 41 avoid wide gaps between the subject, the verb, and the object 41.
Jan 10, 2020 notifying employees of their layoff or termination is considered to be one of the most difficult tasks in business. The explanations in this guide are not intended to be straight alternatives. Redundant words have become so common they are easy to miss. A word which adds nothing extra to a sentence is called a pleonasm. Effective business writing eliminates excessive words. Redundant, expendable, and incomparable words and phrases published on by oxford university press. A word which merely repeats the meaning of another word in an expression is called a tautology. Nevertheless, many traditional legal phrases are meaninglessly redundant and can be deleted. Try using these simpler, concise alternatives to redundant phrases. Not only is the process riddled with potential legal landmines, but delivering what is often lifechanging news to a colleague unearths feelings of guilt, anxiety, and even panic. Definitions and discussions of redundancy in language.
This is a partial list of these legal latin terms, which are wholly or substantially drawn from latin. Professor of law, indiana university maurer school of law bloomington. The nature of legal language this material may be used for. Then, look at each of them and determine which ones are needed and which ones you can throw out. A major problem with much writing is wordinessusing several words when one will do. Antiredundancy in law is perhaps most visible in terms of anti. Glossary of legal terms and phrases the inner temple library. Red book a familiar name for the family court practice, an authoritative guide to practice and procedure in the family courts of england and wales found in room h of the inner temple library, filed under f. Below you will see some redundant phrases and why they are repetitive. Heres our list of our top 100 favorite british slang words and phrases. The peace conduct which tends to annoy all citizens, including unnecessary and distracting. Some are hilarious, some are rude and some are interesting. Redundancy being dismissed from a job because it no longer exists.
This dictionary of terms and legal definitions related to hazardous, medical and solid waste is a reference document developed by the new york state division of criminal justice services, office of justice systems analysis with partial funding by the departmnt of justice, bureau of justice statistics. In fact, scholars will say that with writing and law, the brief with less used words, will always be the strongest. How 2 write good indiana university maurer school of law. Building his own motorcycle, which would belong to him, quentin looked forward to the day when he would be old enough to drive it. Legal writing is legendarily redundant, with timehonored phrases such as these. Top 100 most beautiful british slang words and phrases. A legal doublet is a standardized phrase used frequently in english legal language consisting of two or more words that are near synonyms. The nature of legal language this material may be used for educational or academic purposes if cited or referred to as. If so, it no longer is meaningless and should remain in your document. This post presents more than 400 common redundancies. These are both cases of redundant words and can be omitted. The a to z guide to legal phrases plain english campaign. A f l r continued absolutely essential absolutely necessary.
We were told, after the fact, that the company would not give any money to the fire victims. Also see using appropriate words in the countys plainlanguage writing guide. The example showed before is just one example, but there are dozens of redundant phrases that people use constantly without realizing. Another common form of legalese which can easily be simplified is redundant synonyms. Continue with this article to see how you can improve your legal writing. A good exercise to try is to go through the first draft of your next paper and circle every adverb that you spot. Arrest to deprive a person of his liberty by legal authority.
In specific contexts, some of these phrases may serve a purpose. Not only does the use of redundant synonyms take up additional space, but it may confuse the reader. Our concern here is with eliminating needless repetition redundant expressions that make writing longer, not better. Have a friend or teacher read a few pieces of your writing and underline redundant phrases. Following are some of the common redundancies in english.
Once each time is not enough state bar of michigan. Largest being in the superlative form, indicates the biggest in size that has been and always will be, so ever does not add any meaning, only irritation although that might be my personal experience. If the employer is terminating the employee for another reason, such as poor performance, use our employee termination letter general redundancy occurs when the employees job no longer needs to be done by anyone. A legal doublet is a standardized phrase used frequently in english legal language consisting. Listed below are a few redundant expressions commonly used. Redundant acronym phrases a redundant acronym phrase rap is a phrase containing an acronym plus a word or phrase such that, when the acronym is expanded, the phrase would contain a redundancy. As you know, in the legal field, unnecessary and redundant language is strongly discouraged. Examples of common redundant synonyms in legal writing. While this is a good rule of thumb, beware that redundancies can sometimes be terms of art such as in statue, contract, or common law and should not be deleted. Dec 27, 2012 unfortunately, a lot of writers have a tendency to use redundant phrases that bog down their writing. Novice legal writers may feel tempted to use complex words and. Phrases with absolutely no meaning whatsoever and the clearest sign of the bad legal writer is the use of totally meaningless and usually pompous phrases i would like to point out that chester v. Redundant words and phrases make your sentences sound repetitive, so do your best to avoid using them. Its hard for all of us to spot our own verbal tics.