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11-2016

Polishing Makes Perfect . . . Or Maybe Not

Melissa N. Henke University of Kentucky College of Law, [email protected]

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Repository Citation Henke, Melissa N., "Polishing Makes Perfect . . . Or Maybe Not" (2016). Law Faculty Popular Media. 43. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/law_facpub_pop/43

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Notes/Citation Information Melissa N. Henke, Polishing Makes Perfect . . . Or Maybe Not, 80 Bench & B. 32 (Nov. / Dec. 2016).

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ou read over the brief several times way that affords the fresh outlook needed tentially embarrassing typos.9 Perhaps the to make sure it was perfect. You for effective proofreading. Bryan Garner auto correct function tried to fix an error, were certain you made all necessary refers to this technique as "distanced edit- but did so incorrectly. For example, your corrections. You even fixed the dangling ing," which he says "will lower the chance spell check will not necessarily appreciate modifier on page four. So you filed the of your 'reading' what you intended to say the difference between the words "princi- brief and served it on opposing counsel. instead of what you actually said." 6 pal" and "principle." Or perhaps the spell And then you found it-right there on check did not flag an error because the page one-a glaring typo. word you used is a word, just not the one you meant to use. For example, you meant Sound familiar? Most of us have had an As I often tell my students, proofread- to use the word "their" but instead typed experience like this one time or another. ing a document on the computer or tab- "there."The spell check will not catch this Perhaps it has happened more times than let screen is not the most effective way to error. this advice likewise applies to your you care to admit. You may even have edit. Instead, print the document so that computer's grammar checker, which may wondered whether the time spent proof- you can proofread with a hardcopy of the be even less reliable than the spell check. reading is actually worth it, especially paper and a pen.7 Read the document very Remember that incorrect punctuation can when it seems impossible to make the slowly and, if possible, read out loud so affect the meaning of text or cause an document perfect. Well, the answer is yes. you are sure to read each word.8 this is a unintended ambiguity. Consider the fol- While proofreading is time-consuming, a tip I have incorporated into my own edit- lowing example I use with my students: polished document is important for your ing process for years. I find that by reading Correct punctuation: credibility as a writer and lawyer. Consid- my text out loud, I am more likely to hear "Let's eat, Grandma." er the following quote from a text devot- grammatical errors than when reading the ed entirely to editing strategies for legal text silently to myself. Incorrect punctuation: writing: "When you are not careful about "Let's eat Grandma." a little detail, like where an apostrophe belongs, your reader will begin to doubt whether you were careful about other, big- One careful proofread is usually not Create a personal proofreading checklist ger things."2 enough. Instead, build in time to read the that incorporates the above tips and tech- document over from start to finish, and niques. Next, add in tips about specific 'this column offers some tips and strategies then do it again, and perhaps even again. grammar and punctuation rules that are that can improve the proofreading process With each read, look for different types of commonly misused. More than one re- you use. To be clear, I use the term proof- errors. For example, I read the entire doc- source I reviewed suggests including the reading to refer to the final stage of edit- ument looking only for spelling and other following tips on your checklist: ing. Of course proofreading can never take typographical errors. Then I read the en- the place of earlier stages of rewriting or tire document again, this time looking for * Check for sentence fragments or revising for organization, content, clarity, grammar and punctuation errors. If you incomplete sentences. 3 or conciseness. But this final stage of edit- know there are specific grammar or punc- * Check for effective use of parallel ing is crucial, because it is where you iden- tuation rules that give you trouble, you structure. tify and fix any problems with spelling, may want to break this second stage down grammar, and punctuation that leave your even further to review the document sepa- * Check verb tense and subject-verb document looking less than polished.' rately with those particularly troublesome agreement. rules in mind, and then again for all other * Check for proper use of commas, grammar and punctuation rules. semi-colons and colons.

Leave yourself plenty of time to take breaks * Check quotation marks. from the document you are proofreading. * Check apostrophes (proper use of 12 If you have a day or two to set the docu- plurals and possessives). ment aside, then by all means, take it. If Checking your spelling, rather than re- not, an hour or even 20 minutes away from lying exclusively on a spell check, will Finally, keep track of errors you make of- the document can help clear your head in a ensure you find unfortunate or even po- ten, and then add those to your personal

32 I NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2016 checklist. 3 'this last step is important be- nationwide RICO and state class actions cause proofreading is a learning process, involving the healthcare field. In 2007 and NEW FROM THE and a personal checklist will help you learn 2008, she served as the senior associate in to avoid making the same mistakes in the the law firm's premiere pro bono practice UNIVERSITY PRESS OF future.' group, litigating high-impact and individ- ual pro bono matters involving civil rights, KENTUCKY employment discrimination, wrongful con- victions, and immigration. Before joining Find and use one of the many respected Hogan & Hartson in 2002, she clerked for style guides or handbooks that are avail- Judge Gary Allen Feess of the U.S. District W.RITING able, which include shorter resources that Court for the Central District of Califor- can serve as a quick reference, 5 as well as nia. She also served as an adjunct professor t LEGAL longer resources that offer more detailed of legal research and writing at the George RECORD guidance. 6 In addition to print resources, Washington University Law School in the some writers find well-known online re- 2004 and 2006 academic years. sources to be helpful and accessible. '7 Henke earned her J.D. with highest honors from the George Washington University Remember that writers are humans, and Law School in 2001, and graduated sum- thus we all make mistakes. One legal writing ma cum laude from the University of Ken- professor offers the following sound advice tucky in 1998. in response to this reality: "You'll become a better writer if you learn from those mis- ENDNOTES takes, but you'll gain nothing by dwelling 1. Professor Henke is the Robert G. Lawson Embodied in the stories of these early &William H. Fortune Associate Professor on them." 8 So stop dwelling on the typo of Law and Director of the Legal Research reporters are the rich history of the in the document you filed last week. Focus &Writing Program. She is a graduate of Commonwealth, the essence of its legal instead on the document you are drafting the University of Kentucky and the George system, and the origins of a legal print today. My proofreading tips and strategies Washington University Law School. 2. Megan McAlpin, Beyond the FirstDraft: culture in America. are not meant to result in perfection, but Editing Strategiesfor PowerfulLegal Writing they can help ensure the time you do de- (2014), at 105. WRITING THE LEGAL RECORD vote to the final stage of editing will re- 3. Id. Law Reporters in sult in a more polished finished product. 4. Id. Nineteenth-Century Kentucky 5. Jaclyn M. Wells, et al., Proofreading:" Where Do IBegin?,The Online Writing Lab at Purdue $50.00 hardcover I Ebook Available University, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/ MELISSA N. HENKE owl/resource/561/01/ (last visited Oct. 3, is the Robert G. 2016). 6. Bryan A. Garner, Redbook: A Manual on Legal Lawson & William Style, §13.5 (3rd ed. 2013). H. Fortune Associate 7. Wells, supra note 5. Professor of Law and 8. Id. the law school's di- 9. McAlpin, supra note 2, at 117. 10. Id. at 119. rector of Legal Re- 11. Deborah Cupples &MargaretTemple-Smith, search and Writing. Grammar,Punctuation & Style: A Quick Guide Henke teaches legal writing. She is a mem- for Lawyers and Other Writers (2013), at 61. ber of the Legal Writing Institute and the 12. McAlpin, supra note 2, at 108-37; Cupples & Temple-Smith, supra note 11, at 61. Association of Legal Writing Directors. 13. McAlpin, supra note 2, at 108. 14. Id. at 139. Prior to joining UK Law, she was an asso- 15. E.g., Cupples &Temple-Smith, supra note 11; TALES FROM KENTUCKY ciate professor of legal research and writing Richard C. Wydick, PlainEnglishfor Lawyers KENTUCKY LAWYER (5th ed. 2005). at the Georgetown University Law Center. LAWYERS Mac Swinford 16. E.g., Garner, supra note 6; William StrunkJr. William Lynwood $19.95 hardcover Before she began teaching full-time, Hen- & E.B. White, The Elements of Style (4th ed. Montell ke practiced law with the Washington, 2000). $17.95 paperback D.C., firm Hogan & Hartson (now Ho- 17. E.g.,The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Pur- due (Purdue Univ.); Grammar Girl (Mignon gan Lovells), where she represented cli- Fogarty). ents in a wide range of commercial litiga- 18. McAlpin, supra note 2, at 139. tion matters, including breach of contract 0000 and business torts, and defended against WWW.KENTUCKYPRESS.COM

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