By Michelle Richards
“Good writing, especially good persuasive writing, draws the reader in. Most legal writing, by contrast, is repulsive.”
—Neil Skene
When I first ran across this quote in a daily calendar on my desk, I had to smile. There is truth in both the underlying meaning of the quote, as well as its literal reading, and I felt compelled to share it with my students.
They, too, tend to laugh when they read it because most, if not all, have had the experience of writing a paper that qualifies as “repulsive.” In truth, after practicing law for almost 20 years and teaching legal writing to both first-year law students and upperclassmen for more than 10 years, I have read more than my fair share of “repulsive” writing. In that time, I have also been able to determine what distinguishes good legal writing from that other kind. As I tell my students on a frequent basis, it is not enough to know the law. Rather, the greatest skill a lawyer must have is the ability to effectively communicate their analysis in writing. One of the greatest tools of effective communication is the topic sentence.
They, too, tend to laugh when they read it because most, if not all, have had the experience of writing a paper that qualifies as “repulsive.” In truth, after practicing law for almost 20 years and teaching legal writing to both first-year law students and upperclassmen for more than 10 years, I have read more than my fair share of “repulsive” writing. In that time, I have also been able to determine what distinguishes good legal writing from that other kind. As I tell my students on a frequent basis, it is not enough to know the law. Rather, the greatest skill a lawyer must have is the ability to effectively communicate their analysis in writing. One of the greatest tools of effective communication is the topic sentence.
A topic sentence is an extremely useful tool of writing that assists both the writer and reader. A topic sentence conveys the main idea of a paragraph and is usually found at the beginning of that paragraph. It is a little like a summary of the contents of a particular paragraph and serves two practical purposes for the writer and the reader. First, it is a useful tool for organizing writing and assists the writer in structuring their writing. For the reader, it helps them become aware of the general idea or topic of a paragraph so that the remainder of the paragraph is read with some context.
A brief or document written without topic sentences tends to be confusing and/or very hard to read. Absent topic sentences, the writer tends to drift from paragraph to paragraph with little more than the occasional transitional phrase to link the ideas together. Worse yet, the reader is often forced to read over a paragraph several times in order to determine the overall idea the paragraph was written to convey. If the idea is not readily apparent, this experience becomes frustrating very quickly for the reader, and the paragraph, if not the entire document, may be disregarded by the reader.
Compare the following examples:
Example 1:
In Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc., 26 Wisc. 2d 683, 686 (1965), the plaintiff argued that he was reasonably induced to perform certain acts to his detriment by the defendants’ representations to provide a grocery store franchise for plaintiff to operate. Although there was no formal, written agreement between the parties, plaintiffs sued to enforce the promise arguing that they would have never acted to their detriment but for defendants’ promise. Id. The court adopted the doctrine of promissory estoppel to enforce defendants’ promise, holding that injustice would result if plaintiffs were not granted some relief. Id. at 699.
Example 2:
The doctrine of promissory estoppel is an equitable remedy courts have used to enforce an otherwise unenforceable promise. In Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc., 26 Wisc. 2d 683, 686 (1965), the plaintiff argued that he was reasonably induced to perform certain acts to his detriment by the defendants’ representations to provide a grocery store franchise for plaintiff to operate. Although there was no formal, written agreement between the parties, plaintiffs sued to enforce the promise arguing that they would have never acted to their detriment but for defendants’ promise. Id. The court adopted the doctrine of promissory estoppel to enforce defendants’ promise, holding that injustice would result if plaintiffs were not granted some relief. Id. at 699.
The difference between the two paragraphs is that Example 2 has a topic sentence to start the paragraph that provides the main purpose of the paragraph. Example 1 does not have a topic sentence. As a result, in
Example 1, the reader is blindly forced to read the entire paragraph in order to understand the purpose for which the writer has offered the paragraph. In that instance, the reader may wonder why they are reading about Hoffman v. Red Owl or might not appreciate that the case involves promissory estoppel. The topic sentence in Example 2 helps the reader quickly discern the purpose and provides context for the rest of the paragraph.
In the beginning, legal writers often struggle with how to write a good topic sentence. Giving a nod to an article written by Anne Enquist, director of the Legal Writing program at Seattle University, I often tell students to put in a “placeholder” sentence at the beginning of each paragraph. A placeholder makes a basic effort to organize the paragraph without much detail. A placeholder for the Hoffman paragraph above would sound something like this:
One case that explains promissory estoppel is Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc., 26 Wisc. 2d 683 (1965).
This sentence really doesn’t tell the reader more than a basic topic for the paragraph, but it does begin the process of serving as a topic sentence. This is helpful during the drafting process because the writer can begin the process of organization, but doesn’t have to land on a specific topic until the paragraph has been fully written. The process of writing will then allow the writer to develop his/her reasons for the paragraph and be more prepared to write a topic sentence that will really help the reader understand the paragraph. In that way, the writing becomes more purposeful and organized.
There are several other things a legal writer can do to assure that the writing he/she is doing uses topic sentences improve coherency and clarity:
1. Remove all topic sentences and place on a separate sheet of paper. Read each paragraph and write down next to it the overall idea of the paragraph. Compare what you wrote to what your topic sentence is. Are they close? If so, minor editing required. Completely different or not helpful? Work on a better topic sentence to convey the subject of the paragraph.
2. Read the sheet of paper upon which you have placed your topic sentences in order. Do they provide a skeletal framework for your overall paper? Do they convey a logical progression in thought? If elements or steps are missing, you either haven’t included that idea in a topic sentence or you are missing a section of analysis in your brief. The reader should be able to basically understand your entire document just by reading topic sentences.
3. Are the topic sentences direct and simply written or do they contain multiple clauses? Remove all or most of the clauses so that the sentence is targeted and easy to follow.
4. Does your topic sentence contain a quote? If so, it probably doesn’t capture the entire subject of your paragraph. The topic sentence must reflect the contents of the paragraph you wrote. If you are including a quote, it is highly unlikely that someone else’s past statement reflects the subject of a paragraph you just wrote.
5. Can one particular topic sentence be used as a topic sentence for multiple paragraphs in your document? If so, you probably have a placeholder as opposed to a topic sentence. Change your placeholder into something more descriptive of that particular paragraph.
Topic sentences are an essential element of legal writing. Inclusion of topic sentences will make your writing clear and coherent and the reader will understand your points without having to work very hard. As legal analysis is only appreciated when it is communicated effectively, topic sentences give the legal writer an opportunity to draw the reader in.
