LEGAL WRITING

STUDY NOTES 9

Accuracy

Choose the right word, not its second cousin. Mark Twain

1. Accuracy in information.

Accuracy, or precision, is understood as exactness in the information provided in

the legal document.

The legal writer must be scrupulously exact about the facts, the proceedings, legal
rules, and case precedents cited in the legal documents. This is also an ethical duty. Rule
10.02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility states:

A lawyer shall not knowingly misquote or misrepresent the contents

of a paper, the language or the argument of opposing counsel, or the text of a
decision or authority, or knowingly cite as law a provision already rendered
inoperative by repeal or amendment, or assert as a fact that which has not
been proved.

The need for accuracy especially applies to case citation and quotations. Incorrect
citations can impair a writers credibility and call an arguments validity to question.
1Honesty might be the best policy but in research it is the only one.

2. Accuracy in the choice of words.

Accuracy also pertains to choice of the exact word or words for the idea that the
writer aims to convey to the reader. Words must fit the idea, like clothes to a well-dressed
man, as someone had said. The word must not have any other meaning except the
meaning intended by the writer.

Avoid any word that does not command instant understanding. Your words should
be transparent vehicles that let the reader see your ideas without straining to grasp the
meaning. 2

3. Use a thesaurus or dictionary when in doubt.

When in doubt, use a thesaurus or a dictionary, a writers best friends.

4. Avoid malapropisms.

Malapropisms are words used incorrectly that produce a humorous effect.

EXAMPLES

1 Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style 8.1 at 105 (2002); Garner, The Winning
Brief, 2d Ed., 359
2 James W. McElhaney, Writing to the Ear, ABA J., Dec. 1995, at 74,76; Garner, The Winning Brief, 2d
Ed., 176
 Plaintiff has worked very hard to establish its name and reputation in the
business community and, as a result of its efforts, has a stable [staple] of
repeat customers, many of whom have been customers for several years.

By submitting the pleading too late, the lawyer ran afoul of the Statute of
Lamentations [Limitations].

5 Avoid inelegant variation.

The original phrase is elegant variation, coined by Henry Watson Fowler

(Modern English Usage) to refer to the unnecessary use of synonyms to mean a single
thing. The word elegant then had a pejorative connotation of precious over-refinement,
which it has since lost.

EXAMPLES

Most employers agree, but some proprietors have taken a contrary view

The court made an implicit finding, but the implied conclusion. . .

One who prepares a will must ensure that the testament covers all
contingencies.

A common type of inelegant variation is the penchant of using synonyms for

the word allege when summarizing the factual allegations of one party.

EXAMPLE Petitioner John Cortez alleges.He states further. He avers

furthermore Moreover, petitioner asserts .Further asseverating,
petitioner points to

The above example could be avoided by simply using allege once, followed
by all the allegations of the other party.

EXAMPLE Petitioner John Cortez alleges the following: (enumerate all the
important allegations).

6. Precision in crafting allegations in pleadings.

In one case, 3 the Supreme Court was faced with the issue of what to make out of a
complaint which was styled unlawful detainer but which lacked supporting allegations,
thus:

3. That on April 1, 1958, defendants entered upon said land Lot "F"
constructed their residential house thereon and up to date remain in possession
thereof, unlawfully withholding the possession of the same from the plaintiffs;
4. That the reasonable rental for said Lot is P20.00 per month;
5. That on December 28, 1962, plaintiffs demanded of defendants to
vacate the premises and to pay the rentals in arrears but then defendants failed
to do so; that defendants' possession thus became clearly unlawful after said
demand;

3 Sarona v. Carillo, 27 March 1968

2
 The Supreme Court noted a lack of precision-tooling in the complaint. Defendants'
alleged entry into the land was not characterized whether legal or illegal. It did not say
how defendants entered the land and constructed their residential house thereon. It was
silent, too, whether possession became legal before plaintiffs made the demand to vacate
and to pay rentals.