Writing Tips to Make You a Better Writer | Wordrake

Gary Kinder

WordRake founder Gary Kinder has taught over 1,000 writing programs for AMLAW 100 firms, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. He’s also a New York Times bestselling author. As a writing expert and coach, Gary was inspired to create WordRake when he noticed a pattern in writing errors that he thought he could address with technology. In 2012, Gary and his team of engineers created WordRake editing software to help writers produce clear, concise, and effective prose.

The Worst Writing Advice You Ever Got

“Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.”

How to Confound Judges, Clients, and Colleagues

Pepper your briefs, letters, emails, and memoranda with extraneous names, dates, and numbers.

Never Confuse a Fact...

. . . with a Relevant Fact.

How to Irritate Clients (Part 3 of 3)

State the obvious.

How to Irritate Clients (Part 2 of 3)

Introduce your research.

How to Irritate Clients (Part 1 of 3)

Explain to them how you organized your memorandum.

One Question Few Lawyers Ask

Why should I remove unnecessary words?

If You're Doing This, Your Documents Are Too Long

While conducting over one hundred private writing tutorials with professionals, I have found many who try to communicate clearly by writing the “short, declarative sentences” our middle school teachers taught us to write. (See Writing Tip “Of Lawyers, Sharks, and Hemingway.”) Ironically, they clutter these short declarative sentences with “transitions” that overlap and thicken their sentences, making their writing even more difficult to read.

One Easy Way to Weaken Your Point

Use the word “indicate,” as in:

The Best Way to Open a Client Letter (Part 3 of 3)

The Third Sentence – Your Recommendation

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