Fighting the Fog: Writing Clearly for Lawyers

Dense writing can obscure good arguments. The more complex an issue is, the more clearly we need to write about it. This six-week course focuses on the three ‘c’s of clear scholarly writing in law: cohesion, coherence, and concision. It also considers if and when to use nominalisation, how to “tell a story” in legal writing, and how to construct paragraphs that help the reader to follow your argument.  

Mary Greenshields is a teacher of English for Academic Purposes and Coordinator of the Centre for Academic Literacies and Languages at the EUI. An experienced academic librarian (MLIS, University of Alberta) and post-secondary instructor, she also holds an MA in English (University of Lethbridge), and is a current doctoral candidate (RMIT). She has published articles, edited monographs, and non-academic writing, and enjoys working with writers to hone their skills and allow their voices to shine through. 

The purpose of this elective course is to give EUI Law researchers who are nearing completion of their doctoral program expert guidance, language advice, and a framework for proposing their dissertation project for publication with a scholarly press. There is an expectation that the researchers will be able to commit the time to write the sections below in order to progress towards the submission of a book proposal by the end of the course. 

The three workshops that make up this course consist of: 

1. Processes, protocols, and presses: Participants will consider how to choose the right press for their monograph project and how the process of reaching out to editors works; also, what to expect in terms of timeline and, eventually, a contract. This workshop will be delivered with input from Valentina Spiga (Library Information Specialist in Law). 

2. The genre of the Book Proposal:  We will discuss each of the standard elements of the book proposal: the outline (or “rationale”), the comparative (or competing) titles section, and the chapter summaries; by looking at previous, successful book proposals, participants will be prepared to focus on how the book’s contribution is more oriented towards the marketplace of books than the dissertation’s rationale as a unique contribution to knowledge. 

3. Revising a chapter: This section will copy the approach of the existing course taught on the MWP: comparing material from a recently published monograph with the corresponding chapter from the dissertation. Participants will analyse organisational and stylistic changes between the two. It’ 

At the end of workshops 2 and 3, you will receive detailed feedback on the draft book proposal and revised chapter, respectively. 

The meetings will include: 

• practical information on choosing a publisher to approach and how to do so 

• language input on functional features of the book proposal and a dissertation chapter  

• style and syntax across publication types 

• individual feedback 

The teacher will provide targeted materials and activities to help you complete your writing within this timeframe.  

Each session includes both input and peer discussion. You will get feedback on your writing from the teacher, from your peers and from yourselves.  

Ben Carver teaches English research writing and communication at the EUI Centre for Academic Literacies and Languages (CALL). His PhD in literary history was awarded in 2012 (University of Exeter) and appeared as a monograph in 2017 (Palgrave). Since then he has published research articles, edited a volume of essays on literature and conspiracy culture (Routledge), and published pieces for a broad readership on television programmes, science fiction, and music. He is interested in supporting early-career academics’ ability to write and publish in a range of formats, for audiences within and beyond the academy.