Module for LegWri

Group 4 Here, using the connec;ve “yet”, it shows the

opposite of what the first example conveys. It
Chapter 11. shows that The deceased was quire rich,
Wri-ng Clearly probably a billionaire, but he was too s;ngy
to give only his maid 50,000php. From a
I. RIGHT CONNECTIVES positve image, the deceased acquires a
nega;ve one.
When you put together several sentences
or ideas to deliver one message, you need T h e fo l l o w i n g a r e c o m m o n l y u s e d
coupling mechanisms to ;e these ideas connec;ves in legal wri;ng:
together. These are called connec%ves or
transitory devices. CONNEC FUNCTION EXAMPLES
In spoken language, the listener usually TIVES
succeeds in ge@ng the connec;ons between
And Connects two Defendant refused to
the speaker’s ideas because the laDer gets an ideas of the same acknowledge his
assist in clarifying his meaning from his kind. debt and he would
gestures, expression of the face, tone of his not pay it.
voice, or from his pauses – these are not Besides, Adds another Plain;ff called by
available in wriDen language. You need the further thought to the phone. Besides, he
help of connec;ves to link your ideas one more, in first (they could wrote him a leDer
aHer another and present a unified thought. addi-on be used
interchangeably) Tom tes;fied that he
killed john.
For example:
Furthermore, he
admiDed that the
The deceased was rich. She le@ 50,000php witness was also
to het maid in her will. involved.

Q: How will you emphasize further that the

deceased was rich?
A: The deceased was rich, Indeed, she le@
50,000php to her maid in her will.

The message brought about by the

connec;ve “indeed” is that the deceased
must have been really rich. Thus, the second
sentence affirms the claim of the first
sentence.

Q: how will a connec;ve reverse the posi;ve

thought to a nega;ve one?
A: The deceased was rich. Yet, she le@
50,000php to her maid in her will.
First, Arranges ideas in First, he introduced For Adds an The senate to
next, order himslelf to her, next, example illustra;on to an compel a person in
then, he dated her, then, , for idea an inves;ga;on in
finally, he proposed to her, instance aid of legisla;on is
meanw finally, he married not absolute. For
hile, her instance, if there is
later, no rela;on regarding
since Steve raped juana. legisla;on is
then Meanwhile, his involved, then the
accomplice joe sat senate inquiry itself
on the guDer as is void.
lookout.
Therefor Connects an idea The accused acted in
e, so, with another that self-defense.
He lost the trial court
hence, follows from it. Therefore, he is not
case. Later, he filed
consequ guilty.
an appeal before the
ently,
CA
accordin
But, Connects two John said he was gly
s-ll, contras;ng ideas. adopted but there’s
however They could, as a no document to
II. ABSTRACT VERSUS CONCRETE
, on the rule, be used support his claim
other interchangeably WRITING
hand, but seems to fit Tom claims that wil
yet, certain contributed to the Abstrac-on
nonthel combina;ons of murder. On the Execessive use of big, general words like
ess contras;ng ideas. other hand, wil equality, jus;ce, grave abuse of discre;on,
denied the claim executory, or jurisdic;on, etc. Can result in
saying he was just a
abstrac-onism.
bystander.
An abstrac-on is any word that applies to
He was religous. Yet, a large class of things rather than to any
he commiDed single, concrete object, or idea. Too many
suicide. abstract words make for vagueness. Good
Indeed, Connects the first Elec;on is vital on wri-ng is specific; it makes things real.
as a idea with a the democra;c
maWer second one that process. In fact, it is Concrete
of fact, points it up; the a common feature Concrete words are words that stand
second idea shared by another
for real things, things that appeal in one way
affirms or democra;c states in
supports the the world. or another to the senses. “Structure” is a
validity of the general term than “house”, “house” is more
first idea. general than “shed” and “shed” is more
general than “a dilapidated liDle shack with
makeshiH walls and a cardboard roof.”
Use concrete words as much as
possible. If you are wri;ng an essay on an
abstract subject, pin it down quickly with
specific examples that illustrate exactly what most readers get lost in or are confused of
you mean. these descrip;on in lengthy ar;cles.
The par;es have names like Juan De La
Cruz, Maria Clara, San Miguel Corpora;on, or
Example: Arellano University would be beDer to use
throughout your discussions especially when
Although no formal agreement is the case reaches a higher court and the
necessary to establish a conspiracy and said par;es begin to assume cumbersome and
conspiracy may be inferred from circumstances confusing descrip;ons like “plain;ff-
aWending the commission of the crime, yet a p p e l l a n t ”, “ d e f e n d a n t - a p p e l l e e ”,
conspiracy like any other ingredient of the
“defendant-pe;;oner ”, or “plain;ff-
offense must be established by clear and
convincing evidence. There must be evidence of respondent”.
inten-onal par-cipa-on in the transac-on with
a view to the furtherance of the common design IV. HEADINGS
and purpose. (People vs Agda , 111 SCRA 330)
When the paper is long and abound in a
The reader would probably be able to variety of topics, it would help to use
understand beDer the abstract principle headings. Headings help readers detect the
stated above if it could be translated into an turns that discussions make as they shiH from
actual example. Thus – one topic to another.

True, in conspiracy the prosecutor does Two kinds of headings

not have to present proof that the conspirators
held a conference, sat around a table, agreed on
their evil plot to commit the crime, and sealed 1. General
their agreement with a wriWen contract. S-ll, Provides some kind of signposts that
the prosecutor must show concert of ac-on point out to the reader the grounds he is
among them. Evidence that a group of armed about to cover in his reading. (Ex: “statement
men barged into a bank at the waive of the of the case”, “statement of the facts”, “issues
leader’s hand, with some staying outside as presented”, “assignment of errors”,
lookouts, with others emptying the tellers cash
“conclusion”, “relief”). General headings are
boxes, and with all depar-ng in deliberate haste
at a command, clearly shows their concerted essen;al to trial memoranda, briefs on
ac-on and unity of purpose, the ingredients of appeal, and pe;;ons for review. It is as
conspiracy. important as floor numbers are on elevators.
General Headings help you get quickly to the
III. SUBSTITUTE NAMES por;on of a substan;al legal work that you
want to read or go to.
Iden;fying the par;es based on their 2. Specific
posi;ons in the case, such as “complainant”, ADempts to capture a few words the
“accused”, “defendant”, “pe;;oner”, etc. essence of a par;cular argument or
oHen results in the confusion and the need discussion. They are like newspaper
to return to the statement of the case to be headlines that pinpoint the exact thought of
reminded on who is who. Unfortunately, a topic presented. For example,
a discussion that argues the point that the
prosecu;on has failed to prove damage in an Take these examples:
estafa case, the writer could place the
following heading at the middle of the page, P e % % o n e r Respondent court
properly underlined or put in bold type: respec4ully submits gravely abused its
1. The Element of Damage thats respondent discre-on. (6 as
Or, to use specific headings that also sum up court gravely against 10 words)
the point in each argument: abused its
I. discre-on. (Since
THE BANK SUFFERS NO DAMAGE FROM ITS pe;;oner filed the
TRANSACTION WITH THE ACCUSED pleading, it would be
superfluous for him
Chapter 12.
to iden;fy himself as
WRITING LEGALESE the party making the
submission;
Another reason why ordinary pepole find it “respechully ”is a
hard to understand legal wri;ng is the good word but when
tendency of many lawyer to use peculiarly it is thrown in as a
legalese language. Some argue that injec;ng maDer of form, the
legal jargons is the tradi;onal way of wri;ng sincerity is gone.)
and any other method would violate tradi;on
and diminsih the awe and mystery to which Even a cursory Sec-on 32 did not
lawyers are en;tled. However, now, legal perusal of Sec%on a u t h o r i z e
clichès belongs to a bygone era. Modern legal 21 will readily respondent court to
wri;ng demands simplicity, clarity and reveal (this might issue a writ of
accuracy. sound like, “if you execu-on in cases
have the brains, the covered by it. (18
Legal Clichès meaing of the law against 37)
should be clear to
AdmiDedly, some lawyers are notorious for you aHer a casual
copying words or phrases, which they deem reading”) that
profound or which give a sense of nothing therein was
importance to what they write. But, in truth, men%oned or
these legal clichès have become hackneyed i m p l i e d l y sta te d
and weak through much repe;;on and about the authority
worst, they sound so unnatural and of respondent court
preten;ous, if not arrogant to non-lawyers. to issue a writ of
Ask yourself the ques;on. Would you use this execu%on in cases
kind of language when wri;ng to your covered by the said
mother or to your friends? If you would not, rule.
why use them in your pleadings? The judges
and your clients to whom you usually address
yourself are your elders or friends.
Suffice it to state P l a i n - ff w a s i n The facts in the The facts are not
(this might like, estoppels. (4 against instant case (this disputed.
“With your level of 9) phrase is
intelligence, it would superfluous if you
be be definietely are discussing no
useless to say other case) are not
more”) that plain%ff disputed.
was in estoppels. The par-es in the The par-es have
case at bench (same a g r e e d to
Preambles like the above legal clichès get in effect as in instant” arbitra-on.
the way and do not add to the meaning of case) have agreed to
the main message of the sentence. S;ll, if arbitra-on.
your purpose is to write something about
The requirements The requirements
what you did in the case or pass judgment
are, to wit: are as follows:
upon the other’s point of view rather than
just show how his view lacks merit, it is your He le@ for Manila. He le@ for Manila.
choice. Arriving thereat, he Arriving there, he
phoned his dad. phoned his dad.
There was no denial Although he H e w ro te h e r a H e w ro te h e r a
of the acts of admiWed the sexual leWer, a copy of leWer, copy enclosed
intercourse having intercourse, Ignacio which is aWached as Annex A.
taken place, but the would insist that hereto as Annex A.
accused would insist Ruby freely agreed The accused The accused
that complainant to it, she being his stopped the tricycle stopped the tricycle
did so willingly the sweetheart. (19 and alighted and alighted from it.
explana-on, against 33) therefrom. He He then dragged her
according to him, forthwith dragged to the tricycle.
being that she was her to the tricycle.
his sweetheart.
Comes n o w Pe - - o n e r, b y
pe--oner, through counsel, states:
Old English
t h e u n d e rs i g n e d
Many prefer, despite the language revolu;on
counsel, unto this
that drives a changing world, to s;ck to old
Honorable Court,
English usages. That is to be respected. But if
most respeciully
you are the kind that would want to address
states:
young readers as well, you might consider
the following sugges;ons:

In the case at bar, H e r e , t h e c o u r t

the court declined declined to apply
to apply the rule. the rule.
SOUNDING FORMAL • They have ceased to have a specific
meaning.
• Legal wri;ng should not be made up
exclusively of big, formal words. EXAMPLE

• Do not use polysyllabic words like The steak is good (tasty, tender, fresh)The
“accompanied” instead of “went word “crazy” has different shades: insane,
with”, or “informed” instead of “told” mad, luna;c, unbalanced, psychopathic,
cracked, irra;onal, etc.
just to sound more dignified.

EXAMPLES: • Do not dwell on cheap language when

the thesaurus offers you riches that
The Accused was in Blando had a gun.
possession of a gun. you ca use.

This is indubitable T h i s is SELF PRAISE

proof of Soberano’s u n q u e s ; o n a b l e
criminal intent. proof of Soberano’s • Many judges and lawyers tend to add
criminal intent. remarks in their decisions or
Any pronouncement Anything the court pleadings about how diligently they
of the court will only says will only be have worked on their cases.
be advisory. advisory.
• In these modern days, judges and
He consumed his He ate his lunch.
lawyers might want to consider
lunch
edi;ng out such remarks since they
• As a rule, when you can choose divert aDen;on from the main
between an easy, familiar expression message of the sentence.
and one that seems more “dignified,” EXAMPLE
the easier word is the beDer choice if
it means exactly the same thing.
A me;culous The record shows
• WARNING: you need to guard against scru;ny of the that defendant
evidence of record offered convincing
the tempta;on of trying to sound
[it is like saying, proof of his claim.
dignified.
“take note that I am (11 as against 17
• TIP: serious and thoughhul wri;ng me;culous in my words)
work”] shows that
will have natural dignity.
defendant offered
convincing proof of
CHEAP WORDS his claim.
• Some words are so familiar that they
have become the equivalent of a large
number of other words.
In our considered The defendant acted case and put them in correct sequence.
opinion [“you must i n b a d fa i t h . ( 6 Iden;fy the issues that have to be resolved
know that we against 10) and rough out the arguments that support
carefully weighed your thesis.
everything before
3. Do the write-up. Introduce the issues
forming this
opinion”], the by providing the background facts that are
defendant acted in needed to understand those issues. You
bad faith. prevent a misunderstanding with your client
when you summarize for him the facts on
which you rely in rendering your opinion.

SENENCE-LENGTH VARIETY
If you want your wri;ng to be easier on the
inner ear and interes;ng, the important, the
important to remember is to capture in
wri;ng the basic rhythm of speech by varying
your sentence length.
Chapter 13
Wri-ng Legal Opinions
Before rushing into an opinion, you have to
keep the following in mind:
1. Ascertain the purpose for which your
client seeks your opinion.
• Do not seDle for hypothe;cal
ques;on.
• Try to get your client’s trust.
• Refrain from giving opinion that
would that might be wrong.
2. Do pre-work. Get all the facts you
need for forming a competent opinion. A
wrongful factual premise will naturally
produce a wrong legal diagnosis. Go over the
materials you got from your client, ascertain
the legal dispute involved, and put down in
wri;ng the principal issue it produces. Next,
make a summary of the relevant facts of the