Legal and business writing require a blend of precision, clarity, persuasion, and organization. With so many necessary elements, most legal and business documents are long and require more structure—for writers and readers—than a typical document. For writers, structure helps you maintain focus while crafting document content; for readers, structure guides them through the document and helps them see logical connections. Structure supports understanding, so finding ways to easily implement and adhere to structure will help you improve substance.

Business and legal documents must be precise, clear, and carefully structured because they serve as legal records, define relationships, and document important decisions. But writing in these fields is rarely done alone. A combination of authors, resources, and tools contribute to the final document. Subtle adjustments can change meaning or transform a good piece into an exceptional one. Tracking the evolution of a document and the source of changes is important to understand how and why the document changed so you can make sure it doesn’t drift from its goals.

Something feels off about your new robot co-worker—besides the fact that your co-worker is a robot. This robot produces grammatically correct text at lightning speed. The writing seems natural, not robotic. It’s impressive, but is this text good and should you adopt it as your own?

When you’re writing for work, it can be tempting to show off. Big words and elaborate details make us feel confident, certain that they make us seem smart and impressive. In reality, overly complex writing can make your work hard to understand, or worse, too much of a bother to read. Author and writing teacher Erin Lebacqz investigates what can go wrong when we write for ego rather than expression, and how to keep our words simple and clear.

Lawyers encounter hypothetical scenarios and conditional situations daily, so they must consider what might happen or what could have happened. Two powerful tools help lawyers write about hypotheticals with precision and clarity: the subjunctive mood and conditional phrasing.

Intensifiers are like vitamins— they’re meant to strengthen but become poisonous when you exceed the recommended dose. Let’s save you from your childhood writing (and chewable vitamin) mistakes.

Intensifiers are words or expressions designed to intensify the words around them, but often have the opposite effect. They are usually adjectives and adverbs, and they are particularly bad when used to modify absolute words. Common intensifiers include very, really, incredibly, and extremely.

Legal writing challenged me. I was already a good writer: I obtained my bachelor's degree in English literature, and I had written more academic papers than the average college student. I thought I’d earned my right to proclaim mastery. However, legal writing was radically the opposite of everything I learned in my B.A. program—so much so, that it leveled the playing field and catapulted me to the starting line again with everyone else. The literary world is all about creative freedom and self-expression through liberal use of writing devices like metaphors, allegory, etc. In contrast, legal writing is technical or business writing where clarity of thought and economy of words is key. To master legal writing, I had to unlearn deeply instilled and contrary habits.

In sales and marketing you’re advised not to talk past the point of the sale. That means when the buyer says yes, you stop trying to sell them. Continuing to talk may turn your yes into a no. This is also good advice for writing: Once you’ve made your point, stop.

Though much writing advice focuses on how to cut to the point, little advice discusses how to stop once you’ve reached it. Yet restraint will make your sentences powerful and your documents readable.

Writers slow down their sentences with unnecessary words that delay the point. They may do this because middle school English teachers told them to use transitions; they read great 19th century writers renowned for languid and balanced sentences; or they’re trying to sound sophisticated by relying on industry clichés. Your readers won’t care why you write as you do—they will only care that they must read it. So do them a favor and cut the clutter.

One of the most difficult parts of writing is figuring out which information is necessary to convey, and which is excess background information that detracts from the overall idea you’re trying to convey. Take a journey with author and nonfiction book coach Anne Janzer as she explores which facts you need to pack, and which you can leave behind.