Free supplement: How to Write about Law: Legal Writing for Law School & Law Reviews

“complex interrelated factors seem to make this conflict intractable”.
1) avoid words like “may” “seem” and “appear”. Those words are almost always misused. I didn’t write about “may” “seem” and “appear” in my book because it is such a basic error. “May” “seem” and “appear” make for weak and unorganized writing. They are sophist terms. Do you really think your reader or the rest of the world generally is less intelligent than you and unable to discern your brilliant solution to this supposedly intractable gordian knot? Is it wise to tell your reader you think you are smarter than everyone else?  Is your revelation, your blindingly insightful, penetrating, and clear resolution of such a terribly intractable problem really all that good? Do you really think yourself smarter than others? Do you want to present yourself that way?

2) Be critical of your own writing: if the conflict is “intractable” why are you even bothering to try to address it?

3) While a number of factors might together form a complex, no single factor can by definition be complex, since anything complex is composed of two or more elements.

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Are you Certain that it only “seems” so? Can you prove whether or not something “seems” so?
Almost always “seems” and “appears” are used to “hedge” one’s argument; they APPEAR to give an air of sophistication but almost never have any substance to them and often mask disorganization. “Perhaps” and “may” are also “weasel words” which weaken your writing by making you look indecisive or even pretentious.

If you are uncertain of your own views why are you bothering to write them down? How could I possibly accept your opinions, or even figure out what they are, if they are weakly expressed using weasel words like “perhaps” “may” “seems” “appears” and their ilk.

I would strongly advise not using “may” “seem” or “appear” at all. I would also avoid “perhaps” and “may”. These words almost always weaken your writing. By avoiding those words you are forced to take a stand, to figure out what really IS the case and then to present it. Legal writing is not about posing a bunch of questions and then leaving them unanswered. “It might be this but then again it might be that/I’m not sure/It just depends” is a great way to get a bad grade.

Take a position and then argue it – and part of your argument is factual support (footnotes). Being forced to be unambiguous also forces you to be organized. Finally, “may” “seem” and “appear” just about always result in wordy verbiage leading to tldr; “too long. did not read.”

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