Part 3 of 7—Get some references

Once you’ve admitted you have room to improve your writing—that you still have things to learn—start learning. A great way to learn about writing is to consult the experts. When you have a question about writing, don’t rely on half-remembered “rules” from high school English class. Look it up. But where?

The Internet works, and here are two websites I like:

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

But if you’re serious about legal writing, you should own some reference books, and here are three I recommend:

• The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style, by Bryan A. Garner
• The Texas Law Review Manual on Usage and Style
• Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer, by Anne Enquist & Laurel Currie Oates

The idea is to have reliable references handy to answer questions: Do I need to capitalize appellant? How do I use the dash? Am I using shall (or which or ensure or infer or comprise) correctly? Plus, you inevitably increase your writing IQ whenever you serendipitously stumble upon an interesting entry.

Professional writers consult writing references, and you should, too.

Next: Read the best books