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    Legal writing for legal readers : predictive writing for first-year students / Mary Beth Beazley, Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Monte Smith, Visiting Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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    • Title:Legal writing for legal readers : predictive writing for first-year students / Mary Beth Beazley, Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Monte Smith, Visiting Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
    •    
    • Author/Creator:Beazley, Mary Beth, 1957- author.
    • Other Contributors/Collections:Smith, Monte G., author.
    • Published/Created:New York : Wolters Kluwer, [2019]

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    • Library of Congress Subjects:Legal composition.
      Law--United States--Language.
    • Edition:Second edition.
    • Description:xx, 275 pages : illustrations, map ; 26 cm
    • Series:Aspen coursebook series.
    • Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
    • ISBN:9781454896357 paperback
      1454896353 paperback
    • Contents:Machine generated contents note: Simple Sample Office Memo
      A. What Is the Law?
      B. Where Rules Apply: Jurisdiction
      A. Judicial Opinion Example
      B. Why Lawyers Read Judicial Opinions
      1. It Starts with a Problem
      2. Sample Problem
      3. Why the Facts Matter
      4. Now, You Try It: an Exercise
      A. Elements of a Judicial Opinion
      1. Caption
      2. Citation
      3. Parties
      4. Prior Proceedings
      5. Facts
      6. Issues
      7. Holding
      8. Rule
      9. Reasoning
      10. Policy
      11. Disposition
      12. Dicta
      B. Labeling Exercise
      A. Divide and Conquer: Identifying Relationships Between and Within Rules
      B. Identifying Controversies
      C. Some Rule-Outlining Exercises
      Hierarchy and Rule Synthesis
      A. What Is Legal Authority?
      1. Primary Authority
      2. Mandatory Authority
      a. Issues of federal law
      b. Issues of state law
      3. Secondary Authority
      4. Persuasive Authority
      5. How Persuasive Is That Persuasive Authority?
      6. Nonprecedential Authority and Its Persuasive Value
      7. Two Other Important Considerations
      B. Where Do I Find Legal Authority?
      1. Rules from Statutes
      2. Rules from Cases; Synthesizing Rules by Looking at Facts
      3. Synthesizing by Looking at How Authorities Have Articulated the Rule
      C. Rule Synthesis Exercise
      Planning and Recording Research
      A. Framing the Research Question
      1. Relevance of the Facts
      2. Relevance of the Legal Issues
      3. Relevance of the Sources
      4. What Is a Case That Is "On All Fours"?
      B. Executing a Research Plan
      C. Summary of Basic Research Strategy
      D. Creating a Research Log
      1. Why Create a Research Log?
      2. What Should the Research Log Include?
      a. Research record
      b. Research results chart
      E. Am I Done With the First Stage of My Research of a Legal Issue?
      A. What Does Plain Meaning Mean?
      B. Finding Definitions in Statutory and Case Law
      C. Gaining Clearer Understanding of the Meaning of a Statute by Observing How Courts Have Applied It
      D. How Legislative History May Enlighten You
      E. Looking for Interpretations of Analogous Statutes or Statutory Language
      F. Considering Policy to Clarify the Meaning of a Statute
      G. Summary
      A. Structure of Legal Analysis
      B. Beginning with an Outline
      1. Finding Structure
      2. Using the Phrases-That-Pay to Organize an Analysis
      3. Using the Outline of Phrases-That-Pay to Help You Identify Authorities
      A. Deciding How Much Attention Each Sub-issue Demands
      1. When to Ignore an Issue
      2. When to Tell Readers About an Issue
      3. When to Clarify an Issue
      4. When to Prove the Outcome of a Legal Issue
      B. Using Private Memos to Quiet Your Inner Demons and Prevent Writer's Block
      C. Drafting the Discussion Section
      1. State Your Issue as a Conclusion
      2. Articulate the Rule
      3. Explain the Rule
      4. Apply the Rule to the Facts
      5. Connection-Conclusion
      D. Summing It All Up
      E. Exercise: Labeling the Parts of a CREXAC Unit of Discourse
      A. Case Descriptions
      1. Elements of a Description
      a. relevant issue
      b. disposition
      c. facts
      d. reasoning
      2. Writing Succinct Case Descriptions
      a. Focus
      b. Using language effectively
      c. Verb tense in case descriptions
      3. Writing Effective Parenthetical Descriptions
      4. Making Case Descriptions Accurate
      B. Using Quotations Effectively
      1. Insufficient Context
      2. Too Much Quoted Language
      C. Counteranalysis
      D. Don't Forget to Summarize
      E. Using Nonmandatory and Nonprecedential Authority
      1. Using Nonprecedential Authority
      2. "Justifying" Your Use of Nonmandatory Authority
      F. Conclusion
      Applying Rules to Facts and Using Analogies and Distinctions
      A. Organizing the Application
      B. Analogies and Distinctions
      C. Counteranalysis
      D. Conclusion
      A. Caption
      B. Question(s) Presented
      C. Brief Answer
      D. Optional Component: Applicable Enacted Law
      E. Statement of Facts
      1. Providing Appropriate Detail
      2. Provide Sufficient Context
      3. Using an Effective Organizing Principle
      4. Be Accurate
      F. Discussion
      G. Conclusion
      H. Annotated Sample Memorandum
      Including Context Cues for Legal Readers
      A. Umbrella
      1. What's Already Happened: The Legal Backstory
      2. What's Coming Next: The Roadmap
      B. Using Headings Effectively in a Legal Memorandum
      1. When to Include Headings
      2. How to Write a Heading in a Research Memorandum
      3. Sentence Heading
      C. Annotated Sample Memorandum
      Citation Form
      A. Effective Citations
      1. When to Cite
      2. Distinguishing Between Authorities and Sources
      3. Where to Cite
      4. Using Effective Sentence Structures to Accommodate Citation Form
      5. Avoiding String Citations
      6. Cases That Cite Other Cases
      7. Importance of Pinpoint Citations
      8. Summary
      B. How to Cite
      1. Long-Form Case Citation
      2. Short-Form Case Citation
      3. Citing Nonmajority Opinions
      4. Statutory Citations
      C. Conclusion
      A. Level of Detail
      1. Where the Writer's Needs and Readers' Needs Diverge
      2. As Usual, Begin with a Conclusion
      3. Formal Opinion Letter Exception
      4. Special Considerations for E-mail
      B. Level of Sophistication
      C. Tone and Emotional Content
      1. Communicating Your Professionalism
      a. Professional care and competence
      b. Civility
      2. Setting a Tone
      D. Summary
      Clarity, Precision, Simplicity, and Everything Else that Makes Legal Writing Readable
      A. What Do You Mean, Exactly?
      1. Identifying the Actor
      2. Identifying the Action
      B. Keep (or Make) It Simple
      1. Size Matters
      2. Unparalleled Simplicity
      3. Making Effective Transitions
      C. We'll Call It "Usage"
      1. Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers
      2. Point of View and Positions of Emphasis in a Sentence
      D. Common Errors
      1. Semicolons
      2. Commas
      3. Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation
      4. More Guidance on Common Writing Issues.
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