Dismiss Those Sixth-Grade Hobgoblins

Judith D. Fischer, 1789

Abstract

Legal writers may have internalized false rules about writing. For example, they may believe the myths that a sentence cannot begin with a conjunction, that it is incorrect to split a compound verb or an infinitive, that a word should not be repeated in the same sentence or paragraph, and that one-sentence paragraphs are always incorrect. Writers should dismiss these hobgoblins when they are obstacles to writing clear, idiomatic English.