A writing exercise

“Omit needless words.”

Strunk & White.

Honored by lawyers mainly in the breach.

Court rules setting page and/or word limits leave two choices: comply or seek exception.

Most judges grudgingly allow exceptions, but a word overrun is usually a mistake.

Before seeking exception, mercilessly prune the grammatical underbrush with a red pen. One can omit surprising numbers of needless words from already well-written legal documents, resulting in minimal legalese, easier reading, and more persuasive and precise writing — guaranteed.

I think of this because I toiled all week preparing a motion subject to a 7,000-word limit. Initially a bit pudgy at 7,027, the motion weighed a slim 6,629 an hour or two later (5.6% reduction).

I cut no ideas, arguments, or citations, but used aggressive “omit needless words” editing.

Sure, I could have quit at 7,000, but I wouldn’t have written as well, would I?

See excellent examples of transformative legal word-chopping at The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog: “Reminder: Omit Needless Words”

UPDATE: I just rewrote this post, dropping from 194 words to 162. This would make a great teaching game. Kind of a reverse Scrabble, using words instead of letters, with low score winning.

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