The research discussed includes findings about the safety of plain language, efficiencies found in the use of plain language, and judicial and client attitudes to the use of plain language. The active voice eliminates confusion by forcing you to name the actor in a sentence. Plain language also called plain writing or plain english is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or. May, 2020 the plain language action and information network plain is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communications from government.
A contract should be in plain english, meaning that the language used is simple and clear. Principles and practice, edited by erwin steinberg, 1991 9. Writing laws in plain english in new zealand in custodia legis. Next, we discuss writing principles, starting at the word level and moving up through paragraphs and sections. We believe that using plain language saves federal agencies time and money and provides better service to the american public. Drafting and interpretation of statutes plain language. We specialise in seminars and workshops on the techniques for drafting legal documents that are both readerfriendly and legally precise. Plain language and writing for the web pptx, based on principles, but with a web focus. In this blogpost, divyaish srivastva, student, shri hcpg college, varanasi, writes about the meaning of drafting, what is a draft, principles that govern drafting, the dos and donts which need to be followed while drafting.
Some of the guidance in the manual includes the following. On the contrary, with the partial exception of canada, in the northern hemisphere most. The key things to check to support these principles are set out in items 6 and 7 of the plain language checklist. Each contract drafter should write a contract with only a few main drafting principles in mind. In this blogpost, divyaish srivastva, student, shri hcpg college, varanasi, writes about the meaning of drafting, what is a draft, principles that govern drafting, the dos and donts which need to be followed while drafting meaning of drafting. A conversion to plain language is a costeffective move. Those who advocate the use of plain language in legislative drafting are making one very large and i say, unwise assumption.
Learn about upcoming events and get the latest news from the federal plain language community. Estoppel an equitable concept that prevents a party from raising an. Read the powerful transformation of an actual mcc piece using plain language principles. Plain english is simple, restrictive language, and takes away the skills of the drafter. Now that readability scores are easy to obtain by using computerized grammar and style checking software. The contract should be consistent as regards style, structure, terminology and level of detail. We tailor our seminars to the needs of the particular client. Most people only remember onethird of the training ideas and put even fewer into practice. Drafting a whole new law has got its own set of problems, the most prominent being giving rise to litigations. Basic principles, such as make sentences simple and logical. Guidelines for drafting plainlanguage jury instructions basic principles 1. Drafting legal documents principles and practices american casebook barbara child on. Scientists and medical writers are trained to publish scientific papers and communicate with peers who share their knowledge, prerequisites, terminology, and communication style.
In addition to professors kimble and pinker, the following resources support the changes i made all these materialsex cept for garners aba journal article, avail. Its hallmarks are clarity, brevity, precision and above all, readability. Cae, cax computeraided engineering is the use of information technology for supporting engineers in tasks such as analysis, simulation, design, manufacture, planning, diagnosis and repair. Modernising construction contracts drafting a plea for. The plain language action and information network develops and maintains the. Plain offers a variety of introductory classes on plain language. The following guidelines can assist in drafting documents in plain language. Plain english writing software for writers grammar checker.
Lawyers often find drafting a contract in plain language more challenging than drafting one in a more traditional legal style. We may not require a new law, if the housekeeping is done properly, on a yearly basis. Recommendation 20173 plain language in regulatory drafting identifies tools and techniques agencies have used successfully to write regulatory documents including rulemaking preambles and guidance documents using plain language, proposes best practices for agencies in structuring their internal drafting processes, and suggests ways agencies can best use trainings and. As part of our effort to help agencies produce clear, enforceable regulatory documents, the office of the federal register, national archives and records administration, presents this guide to legal writing. The oigs office of general counsel regularly assesses standard form documents, such as freedom of information act foia and giglio response letters, to improve them from a plain language perspective. Legalese versus plain language by peter butt legal english has traditionally been a special variety of english. A few principles of good organization apply universally. In addition to plain language parliamentary drafting office guidelines, many modern legal.
You may use these materials as the basis of your own class. Guide to legislation and legislative process in british columbia august 20 part 2. We did not find any comparable plain language drafting guidelines published by any of the construction contracts drafting bodies. Arrangement headings purpose clause definitions ambiguity principles of clear writing cross references punctuation. Communicating your points clearly so that the reader can accurately interpret your meaning is the most important task in writing. Principles of legislative drafting 3 2 every word has meaning this principle assumes that every word of an enactment is intended to have legal effect. Plain english for drafting statutes and rules lexisnexis. Guidelines for drafting plainlanguage jury instructions. Plain english for drafting statutes and rules robert j.
Legislation will not say anything that it has already said. Plain language in regulatory drafting administrative. The article concludes that, in the light of this research, there is no good reason to avoid using plain language in propertyrelated statutes and documents. State your major points first before going into details. Principles of plain language pptx, our original plain language class. Remember who your audience is lay people, with varying degrees of education and language skills. In legal sense drafting means preparing of legal document. Joseph kimble, emeritus professor at wmucooley law school, has been writing on the topic for more than 30 years. A communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended audience can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information. Computeraided designprinciples and terminology wikiversity. The plain language action and information network develops and maintains the content of this site with support from the general services administration. Guidelines for drafting plain language jury instructions basic principles 1. My principal reservation is that while many of the issues that arise in contract drafting fall within the orbit of plainenglish principles as broadly conceived, many others do not. Subscribe the plain language action and information network develops and maintains the content of this site with support from the general services administration.
Plain language also has in common with information design both a broad and a. The specialized language of the legal profession1 language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon2 the language used by lawyers that is difficult for. We can understand that draft means description of the fact in legal language. Consideration a common law concept which requires in essence that a promise be part of an. This week, as a followup to international plain language day, i would like to take a look at new zealands approach to using plain english in the countrys laws. Legislation contain ing general principles about the interpretation. The study is based on the plain language guide published by the department of justice of hong kong in 2012, with the goal of helping the current legislation to comply with the guidelines.
This paper proposes law drafting techniques, especially in chinese, that aim to enhance the fluency and readability of hong kong bilingual legislation. Plain language is clear, concise, organized, and appropriate for the intended audience. Moreover, south africa had even chosen to write its constitution in 1996 it came into force a year later according to the precepts of plain language williams 2009a. Last week cynthia talked about international plain language day and the global. A drafter may use vague terms but should be conscious how and when to use them, and. Mysterious in form and expression, it is larded with lawlatin and normanfrench, heavily dependent on the past, and unashamedly archaic. The drafting style will have to be adapted accordingly. The fundamentals of design drafting a students guide. It is particularly important in law, commerce, and government. Top 10 principles for plain language national archives. Principles of clear drafting parliamentary counsel office. The passive voice makes sentences longer and roundabout. A guide to legislation and legislative process in british.
Dod plain language washington headquarters services. Regardless of the sizeor natureof your business, the principles in this brochure will go a long way toward helping you keep data secure. Teaching commercial lawyers language aspects of drafting. Limit each paragraph to one idea and keep it short. From the above meaning of drafting we can say drafting is skilled job. International plain language federation when drafting a plain language text, there are 5 general areas to consider. Meaning of drafting drafting is a science and can be acquired only by long practice.
Overall, the language of of the law is definitely better than it was twenty or thirty years ago. Plain english editing software means writers constantly learn ways to improve their style. Basic principles of contract drafting course materials chris goddard, with amy fellner and rueann ormand. General writing principles applicable to contract drafting. Without this process, no one would know what the laws of a country are. The plain language action and information network plain is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communications from government. We follow principles of writing documents with principles of writing for the web. General writing principles applicable to contract drafting section d. However, in discussing plain language in legislative drafting, i fear that we are effectively talking in the dark. Writing in plain language millennium challenge corporation. Plain language documents are typically 40% shorter than the original, and printing, paper, and translations costs are lowered because there are fewer words and fewer pages. The push towards plain language drafting is, of course, nothing new. We can design seminars for large and small groups, for one hour, for several hours, or for a whole day.
There is software to help anyone write in plain english. The content presented in the fundamentals of design drafting text is written to assist students in learning and developing a core knowledge of designdrafting and skillbuilding procedures. Drafting plain language summaries of clinical trial results can be a complicated process for life science professionals. For decades, agencies have worked to make regulatory requirements more comprehensible to regulatory stakeholders and the public at large, including by using plain language or plain writing. In practice, this means remedies other than plain compensation e. The term cadd is sometimes used and it stands for computeraided drafting and design. Reed dickerson, the universally acclaimed patriarch of legal drafting, views the study of drafting as essentially jurisprudential. Yet more clients and regulators are increasingly demanding contracts that are plain, clear and simple. The chapter titled principles of clear drafting provides a good insight into the approach and practices of the pco in relation to using plain language tools in legislation. Plain english in contracts simple and clear weagree. Antiquated words flourish words such as herein, therein. Making regulations readable from the office of the federal register, national archives and records administration drafting legal documents from the office of the federal register, national archives and records administration. Next the legal team started drawing up the contract, beginning.
Short sentences in contracts are easier to read tips and tricks. Drafting a document in plain english takes a lot of skill. Plain language documents also reduce the burden on your support staff because you have. Last week cynthia talked about international plain language day and the global movement to improve the use of plain language in government and legal writing. Nov 17, 2016 the push for plain language drafting is, of course, nothing new. The millennium challenge corporation mcc is an innovative and independent us foreign aid agency created by the us congress in 2004, that. We conclude with a short discussion of testing techniques. Passive verbs have a form of the verb to be plus the past. For example, the question of whether the traditional recital of consideration. Whether the reader predominantly speaks first, second or third language of the language in which the document is drafted will influence how easily the document is understood.
Drafting is a science and can be acquired only by long practice. As a general principle, it is best to avoid latinisms, particularly in a. I became familiar with this topic during my previous work at a new. Print it, pin it on your board and use the alternatives in everyday communication.
Drafting contracts in language thats clear, precise and unambiguous has immediate and longterm benefits for both clients and lawyers. Investment management, the offices of public affairs and general. In simple terms, drafting refers to the act of writing legal documents. Drafting legal documents, principles of clear writing. It provides an industry perspective of the basic concepts and principles. The chapter titled principles of clear drafting provides a good insight into the.
I relied on several noted authorities in making the plainlanguage changes to your contract. Dod has organized a committee of plain language points of contact from different components and organizations within dod to. Writing laws in plain english in new zealand in custodia. A draft document is understood only by the person having proper knowledge in legal language. The drafting and interpretation of statutes is very important. Nov 18, 2002 i summarize some plain language principles plan, design, organize, write clearly and test the document i also list a plain language vocabulary.
The use of readability tests in the plain language process is a controversial topic. The eight plain language rules exercises to illustrate plain language principles when drafting legislation what is legalese. Drafting legal documents principles and practices american casebook. This construction makes clear to the reader who is to perform the duty. Some businesses may have the expertise inhouse to implement an appropriate plan. In the literature of legislative drafting, the debate arguably is encompassed in a question of whether the goal of drafting is clarity or accuracy. Plain english writing software for writers grammar.
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