Tips to become a better writer

[Legally_Chase]

Hello, 

I completed my undergraduate in a discipline which essentially had very few written assignments (research papers etc.). Due to this, my writing skills are lacking and the overwhelming advice across these forums is that being a better writer helps when it comes to being a law student. 

I aim to dedicate more time this summer to become a better writer and would appreciate any advice! 

Thanks to everyone in advance for their help. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Legally_Chase

[Hegdis]

The absolute best way to improve writing is to read. Read novels, read investigative journalist pieces, read essays on topics that interest you. Notice how ideas are introduced and layered, note the precise nature of the language, note the pace, the cadence. 
 

Do not talk “up” when you write. You can be more formal, sure. But don’t start inserting long words or lofty phrases to mask your anxiety that you won’t sound important or confident enough. Good writing is concise and easy to follow. 

[LMP]

You'll almost certianly have a class dedicated to legal writing. But I can understand why you might feel worried about starting with a disadvantage.

The good news is, most people are bad writers. Even the ones who have been scribbling away all through undergrad. Which means you may be better positioned than you think, as removing bad writing habits is going to be the challenge for most people. 

As for what you can do, I have always found it most helpful to read examples of great writing. In particular seek out any works that distill information in a succinct way. Even better if the matieral being explained is something you know well. In my opinion this is one of most important and challenging skills to learn. 

[GreyDude]

Since I have spent a couple of decades teaching students how to write essays (and marking thousands of them), I think I might be able to offer some advice here. It's important to remember from the outset that writing is not just a skill that helps us do well in school; it helps us much more generally. Among other things, my opinion, the better a writer you are the more likely you are to be a clear thinker. In something like law I have no doubt that this is helpful, but I think it goes well beyond that.

So here are some thoughts, for what it's worth, which I am offering in the order they come to me:

1) Yes, work on it over the summer. But that won't be enough. Becoming a better writer is a lifetime project involving your relationship with words, ideas, language, and literature. If you're very fortunate, you will never be as good a writer now as the one you might become later.

2) The more you love to do it, the more you will learn to be good at it. And the better you get at it the more you will learn to love it. This is pretty much a universal rule of human endeavour. So don't let writing remain a strictly instrumental activity: let it be an expression of who you are, even when it is being used to serve a specific function. Learn to love the process!

3) Read. Read a lot. Reading is the best way to learn to write. Pay attention to what you're reading. Take reading notes to understand difficult texts; write personal reflections on what you have read in your notebooks. Interact with the ideas or the characters or the language or whatever you like or hate about the thing you're reading.

4) Just in case I wasn't clear, READ A LOT.

5) Learn to make your ideas clear, and make it an important part of your process. When writing an essay, in particular, try to produce text that one of your peers could readily understand without needing to have studied your subject (this might not apply to highly technical work). As you are writing, ask yourself if you are saying what you intend to say, the way you intend to say it, and whether that hypothetical peer would understand. Heck, show it to a peer and ask them if they understand. If they don't, see if you can find out why, and whether it's a writing problem or a subject matter problem.

6) Don't be afraid to rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I mean, how often is the first draft the one you want to go with? Also, it's never a bad idea to start with an outline, no matter how rough or rudimentary.

7) If you are writing an essay, make sure you have a clear research question. The question is what drives the whole project. It's what you are trying to figure out. If you know what your question is, you'll stay focused. If not, you won't.

8 ) I like to say that you should never use a $25 word when there is a perfectly good $1 word lying around that means the same thing. Good writing is about communication, after all, and the more "expensive" word is less likely to be readily understood. Also, the more 'academic' the language, the more likely it is that you might miss a nuance of the term and ending up saying something you don't intend.

9) Don't be too proud to use grammar and spelling checkers like Antidote or Grammarly and so on.

10) The best writing is not often in the form of a numbered list. Don't write things in that format. It's bad.

All this was mainly about clarity and style. There is also the issue of doing good research and ensuring that the ideas in your text hang together well (see above: 'research question'), the issue of logical validity, and the issue of aesthetic beauty. These, too, are things you can build up just by frequently reading and writing (and practising associated things like researching).

Good writing can certainly be learned. I have seen many students start from being poor writers only to become strong ones. But in my opinion this is a lifestyle thing, not a summer project. How good a writer you are is an expression of your relationship with language and the various forms of literature, as well as a matter of regular practice. It won't just help you get good grades, it will help you become a better thinker.

Edited April 17, 2023 by GreyDude
rewrite, rewrite, rewrite ... also, for some reason, "8)" turned into sunglasses face. so I added a space. Weird glitch.

[Legally_Chase]

5 hours ago, Hegdis said:

The absolute best way to improve writing is to read. Read novels, read investigative journalist pieces, read essays on topics that interest you. Notice how ideas are introduced and layered, note the precise nature of the language, note the pace, the cadence. 
 

Do not talk “up” when you write. You can be more formal, sure. But don’t start inserting long words or lofty phrases to mask your anxiety that you won’t sound important or confident enough. Good writing is concise and easy to follow. 

Thanks a lot. This is good to know because one of my goals this year was to read a lot and I have a pretty long list to go before law school starts. Good to know I am on the right track.

 

5 hours ago, LMP said:

You'll almost certianly have a class dedicated to legal writing. But I can understand why you might feel worried about starting with a disadvantage.

The good news is, most people are bad writers. Even the ones who have been scribbling away all through undergrad. Which means you may be better positioned than you think, as removing bad writing habits is going to be the challenge for most people. 

As for what you can do, I have always found it most helpful to read examples of great writing. In particular seek out any works that distill information in a succinct way. Even better if the matieral being explained is something you know well. In my opinion this is one of most important and challenging skills to learn. 

Yeah, I have read that everyone does the legal writing class but I was just nervous about already being behind. I will take your advice on reading examples of great writing. Some professors at the law school I am attending have done research on very interesting and cool topics, I'm going to make sure I read a few of their articles. 

5 hours ago, GreyDude said:

Since I have spent a couple of decades teaching students how to write essays (and marking thousands of them), I think I might be able to offer some advice here. It's important to remember from the outset that writing is not just a skill that helps us do well in school; it helps us much more generally. Among other things, my opinion, the better a writer you are the more likely you are to be a clear thinker. In something like law I have no doubt that this is helpful, but I think it goes well beyond that.

So here are some thoughts, for what it's worth, which I am offering in the order they come to me:

1) Yes, work on it over the summer. But that won't be enough. Becoming a better writer is a lifetime project involving your relationship with words, ideas, language, and literature. If you're very fortunate, you will never be as good a writer now as the one you might become later.

2) The more you love to do it, the more you will learn to be good at it. And the better you get at it the more you will learn to love it. This is pretty much a universal rule of human endeavour. So don't let writing remain a strictly instrumental activity: let it be an expression of who you are, even when it is being used to serve a specific function. Learn to love the process!

3) Read. Read a lot. Reading is the best way to learn to write. Pay attention to what you're reading. Take reading notes to understand difficult texts; write personal reflections on what you have read in your notebooks. Interact with the ideas or the characters or the language or whatever you like or hate about the thing you're reading.

4) Just in case I wasn't clear, READ A LOT.

5) Learn to make your ideas clear, and make it an important part of your process. When writing an essay, in particular, try to produce text that one of your peers could readily understand without needing to have studied your subject (this might not apply to highly technical work). As you are writing, ask yourself if you are saying what you intend to say, the way you intend to say it, and whether that hypothetical peer would understand. Heck, show it to a peer and ask them if they understand. If they don't, see if you can find out why, and whether it's a writing problem or a subject matter problem.

6) Don't be afraid to rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I mean, how often is the first draft the one you want to go with? Also, it's never a bad idea to start with an outline, no matter how rough or rudimentary.

7) If you are writing an essay, make sure you have a clear research question. The question is what drives the whole project. It's what you are trying to figure out. If you know what your question is, you'll stay focused. If not, you won't.

8 ) I like to say that you should never use a $25 word when there is a perfectly good $1 word lying around that means the same thing. Good writing is about communication, after all, and the more "expensive" word is less likely to be readily understood. Also, the more 'academic' the language, the more likely it is that you might miss a nuance of the term and ending up saying something you don't intend.

9) Don't be too proud to use grammar and spelling checkers like Antidote or Grammarly and so on.

10) The best writing is not often in the form of a numbered list. Don't write things in that format. It's bad.

All this was mainly about clarity and style. There is also the issue of doing good research and ensuring that the ideas in your text hang together well (see above: 'research question'), the issue of logical validity, and the issue of aesthetic beauty. These, too, are things you can build up just by frequently reading and writing (and practising associated things like researching).

Good writing can certainly be learned. I have seen many students start from being poor writers only to become strong ones. But in my opinion this is a lifestyle thing, not a summer project. How good a writer you are is an expression of your relationship with language and the various forms of literature, as well as a matter of regular practice. It won't just help you get good grades, it will help you become a better thinker.

Thank you very much so taking the time to provide so much insight. I really appreciate it a lot. I'm going to definitely pin this and read it several times to get better at writing and continue learning from my work. 

[WhoKnows]

There's a weird tension in this question because a lot of what it means to be a good writer completely shifts when you leave academia, and you have 3 years left. There are certainly constants, but the "why" behind your writing will change overnight. With that in mind, here's a few tips I'd suggest - ones I need to practice daily, because I am not, IMO, a naturally good writer. 

1. Know your audience, and how they are assessing you. Your writing will need to change based on whether you are writing to show someone what you know vs. writing to provide something valuable to a reader. 

2. If you're not an outline writer, that's okay. There are many, many people who think and write at the same time. They use writing as a major part of their thinking process. If that's you, go with it, and learn to edit well. If an outline is required to be turned in, you won't be first to write the paper and then the outline.

3. There are a lot of writing "rules" that don't matter, and if followed to the letter result in a nearly unreadable, stilted mess. Don't get hung up on them, but also see number 1, above. 

4. No amount of good writing can overcome a lack of knowledge and understanding of the material. Not in the real world anyway. Deep knowledge can overcome bad writing. The best writing I do is about subjects I could teach. Do the work to get there. 

5. Read. Preferably the work of good (not necessarily popular) writers. 

I'll note as usual that a fair amount of my approach to writing is informed by Larry McEnerney's work. Some of the above is closely related. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by WhoKnows

[GreyDude]

There's also The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, which is a classic for a reason though as always your mileage may vary:

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/The-Elements-of-Style-William-Strunk/9780205309023-item.html

Edited April 18, 2023 by GreyDude

[Legally_Chase]

2 hours ago, WhoKnows said:

There's a weird tension in this question because a lot of what it means to be a good writer completely shifts when you leave academia, and you have 3 years left. There are certainly constants, but the "why" behind your writing will change overnight. With that in mind, here's a few tips I'd suggest - ones I need to practice daily, because I am not, IMO, a naturally good writer. 

1. Know your audience, and how they are assessing you. Your writing will need to change based on whether you are writing to show someone what you know vs. writing to provide something valuable to a reader. 

2. If you're not an outline writer, that's okay. There are many, many people who think and write at the same time. They use writing as a major part of their thinking process. If that's you, go with it, and learn to edit well. If an outline is required to be turned in, you won't be first to write the paper and then the outline.

3. There are a lot of writing "rules" that don't matter, and if followed to the letter result in a nearly unreadable, stilted mess. Don't get hung up on them, but also see number 1, above. 

4. No amount of good writing can overcome a lack of knowledge and understanding of the material. Not in the real world anyway. Deep knowledge can overcome bad writing. The best writing I do is about subjects I could teach. Do the work to get there. 

5. Read. Preferably the work of good (not necessarily popular) writers. 

I'll note as usual that a fair amount of my approach to writing is informed by Larry McEnerney's work. Some of the above is closely related. 

Thank you very much for your advice. It also never really clicked with me but in the past I have certainly written my best work on topics which I found to be of interest and one's which I was more informed on. I will definitely check out Larry McEnerney's work. 

[Turtles]

The one time I was explicitly commended on my writing in law school was when I wrote a 5-page paper in one sitting over the course of a bottle of wine. The only thing particularly different about what I wrote was that my introduction was a joke and my conclusion was a metaphor. 

If writing a policy paper, it may be advisable to adapt the French philosopher method, i.e., drink a lot and don't take it too seriously.