There's no such thing as being too authoritative with your writing, and that's a very common problem for writing students. Trying to avoid sounding too authoritative leads to a lot of passive construction and wordiness.

If you're intentionally trying to leave it open for interpretation, then your construction is superior to the other in my opinion.

Do you find that such writing is due more to a lack of confidence or a lack of writing skills?

I haven't read the thread. Has the differentiation between legal writing and other forms of writing been taken insto consideration? Or is Jenson not focusing solely on the writing he is required to do for his classwork?

This thread is a free-for-all.

I do a lot of writing for work, narrative reports, supplements, evidence, warrant applications, but I do very little writing at home. the planet is probably 95% of my off duty writing, and that's mostly just bs posts like this one.

Not sure, actually. Varies from case to case.

That's a good point. Legal writing is, by nature, crap.

LMAO You try underlining endless pages with a four colored pen for 3 years and see how much people like your writing.

Do a stint in the Army and then get hired by a Defense Contractor. You'll get to write more than you ever thought you could. *grin*

It took me quite a while to get out of the Army style of writing (Bottom line up front, inverted pyramid, any document with more than 10% passive voice was an automatic fail for a school paper.)

But, that being said, it taught me that tight, concise writing was much more effective at getting a point across for a business paper.

And it doesn't hurt to get to the point in fiction either. No one's going to sit through a chapter about playing Bridge these days. Fleming could get away with it in "Moonraker", but no editor is going to settle for it today.

lol...got my fill in the Navy. Must pay pretty well though, huh

I'm part of a film production crew and obviously we have to be create stories to film, and its fun especially when its a comedy. I like writing a story, reading it, cracking up, giving it to other people to read, and then they crack up. Makes you feel good.

I once had a short play produced in Pittsburgh and I sat in the back and could see several people actually laughing until they were wiping their eyes. It was an awesome feeling.

Which is exactly why all the schools are focusing heavily on cleaning it up through mandatory writing classes and requirements.

And our professors are required to rip us apart, and they don't hold back. I know this all too well.

Classic example of bad legal writing: