Friday, March 5, 2021

Tort Talk Tip: Eradicate All Typos From Your Writings


Whether it is a simple email, a letter, or a motion or brief, take the time to do focused editing and re-editing to improve your written product in order to ensure the eradication of all mistakes, misspellings, or punctuation errors before you send it out.

If you repeatedly send out writings that contains typoes, you run the risk that your readers may think you lack atention to detail and don't know any better

The trouble with typos in your writings is that they are not only annoying and distracting to the reader, but the reader may think that you do not care enough about your written product to free it from any errors.  And, even worse, if the reader thinks that, they're likely to aslo think, "If they don't care, why should I care about the message or argument the writer is trying to convey?"


To the extent time permits, here are some ways to avoid typos:

-As you write for the first time, be as careful of your digital writing as you would with your print writing

-Edit and re-edit it

-Edit it again by doing multiple focused edits, i.e., one edit devoted to checking punctuation, another edit focused entirely on the propriety of the format of the citations, another edit to make sure the paragraphs transition into one another in a flowing fashion, one edit of the headings and subheadings, an edit to confirm that you addressed the opposing argument and explained it away, an edit to confirm that you brought your own arguments all the way to the end with a recitation of the end relief requested

-Read it out loud

-Use spell-check but don't rely entirely upon it

-Print it out and mark it up

-Put it aside for a day and come back at it fresh

-Have someone else read it

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