Break your material into short sentences
Express only one idea in each sentence. Long, complicated sentences often mean that you aren’t clear about what you want to say. Shorter sentences are also better for conveying complex information; they break the information up into smaller, easier-to-process units.
Sentences loaded with dependent clauses and exceptions confuse the reader by losing the main point in a forest of words. Resist the temptation to put everything in one sentence; break up your idea into its parts and make each one the subject of its own sentence.
| Don’t say | Say |
|---|---|
| For good reasons, the Secretary may grant extensions of time in 30-day increments for filing of the lease and all required bonds, provided that additional extension requests are submitted and approved before the expiration of the original 30 days or the previously granted extension. | We may extend the time you have to file the lease and required bonds. Each extension will be for 30 days. To get an extension, you must write to us explaining why you need more time. We must receive your extension request in time to approve it before your current deadline or extension expires. |
Complexity is the greatest enemy of clear communication. You may need to be especially inventive to translate complicated provisions into more manageable language. In the following example, we have made an “if” clause into a separate sentence. By beginning the first sentence with “suppose” (that is, “if”) and the second sentence with “in this case” (that is, “then”) we have preserved the relationship between the two.
| Don’t say | Say |
|---|---|
If you take less than your entitled share of production for any month, but you pay royalties on the full volume of your entitled share in accordance with the provisions of this section, you will owe no additional royalty for that lease for prior periods when you later take more than your entitled share to balance your account. This also applies when the other participants pay you money to balance your account. |
Suppose that one month you pay royalties on your full share of production but take less than your entitled share. In this case, you may balance your account in one of the following ways without having to pay more royalty. You may either:
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Sources
- Garner, Bryan A., Legal Writing in Plain English, 2001, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 19-21.
- Kimble, Joseph, Guiding Principles for Restyling the Civil Rules, 2005, US Courts, Washington, DC, p. xvii. http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Prelim_draft_proposed_pt1.pdf.
- Kimble, Joseph, Lifting the Fog of Legalese, 2006, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC, p. 96.
- Murawski, Thomas A., Writing Readable Regulations, 1999, Carolina Academic Press Durham, NC, p. 77.
- Office of the Federal Register, Document Drafting Handbook, 1998, MMR-5. http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/write/handbook/ddh.pdf.
- Redish, Janice C., How to Write Regulations and Other Legal Documents in Clear English, 1991, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC, pp. 29-32
- Securities and Exchange Commission, Plain English Handbook, 1998, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC, p. 28.