Point Taken - How to Write Like the World's Best Judges by Ross Guberman

Author:Ross Guberman [Guberman, Ross]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 26187081
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2015-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

Try these techniques on your analyses as well:

• When analogizing, home in on key facts that link the cases while avoiding extraneous facts.

• When distinguishing, avoid getting bogged down; focus on the key points of difference, and omit extraneous facts.

• Whether you are analogizing or distinguishing, favor merged snippets and single-sentence quotations in parentheticals over block quotes regurgitated from the case you’re analyzing.

• Use parentheticals for apt single-sentence quotations. Otherwise, use them to explain why a case is on point—or not. Begin with a participial phrase describing exactly what the court did and why. Because parentheticals can be hard to read, make sure that yours follow parallel structure.

• If you must use a block quote, don’t just dump the quote and run; use the lead-in sentence to tell the reader what the quote has to say about the point you’re making, and why the reader should care. Think of it as introducing a stranger to a friend.

• Don’t be afraid of the occasional footnote to discuss arguments and authorities that do not warrant treatment in the text but that might still interest the reader. For example, a footnote can be a great place to acknowledge the history of a law, to distinguish a line of cases, or to incorporate a policy argument.

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