Oregon judges and their lawyer staff, 50-year OSB Licensees, and Active Pro Bono OSB Licensees—please call the OSB CLE Service Center at (503) 431-6413 or toll-free at (800) 452-8260, ext. 413, to register.
Everyone is pressed for time and prefers communications that are brief. Lengthy explanatory details defeat this purpose. Yet a common trap when editing for conciseness is to unintentionally alter the meaning of the communication. Learn how to walk the line between making your writing shorter and ensuring that the substance is unaffected. The end result? Maintaining the interest of your readers.
Clarity
Examine how you can explain legal concepts in a crystal-clear fashion, especially to readers who are unfamiliar with a particular practice area. Bridge this gap in knowledge by exploring strategies that revolve around “knowing your audience.” These strategies include:
• Providing sufficient context when describing a legal concept.
• Adjusting terminology based on a reader’s background knowledge.
• Delivering “familiar information” before “unfamiliar information.”
• Using examples to make writing more vivid.
• Beginning explanations with the conclusion or main point.
Conciseness
Save words with these three steps for writing concisely:
1. Omitting unnecessary words.
2. Reducing syllable count.
3. Shortening verbose phrases.
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Please note that it may take up to 30 days after you complete this seminar for it to appear on your online MCLE Compliance Report at www.osbar.org.