Armstrong Talent Development : Legal Writing Programs

Writing and Editing for Clarity and Impact

Sample agenda for a full-day program
Editing exercises will take place throughout the program.
Morning: Organizing complicated information to create “super-clarity”
9:00 a.m.	Introduction: thinking like a writer What busy readers look for Thinking about clarity with principles, not tips How to create “super-clarity”
9:15 a.m.	Organizing complex material to create “super-clarity” Creating point and focus before details Making the structure explicit Beginning with familiar information
10:30 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m.	Organizing complex material (continued)
11:00 a.m.	Avoiding the trap of default organizations
11:45 a.m.	Establishing your credibility at the start: writing effective introductions
12:15 p.m.	Summary: an editor’s checklist
12:30 p.m.	Morning session concludes
Afternoon: Writing effective paragraphs and sentences
1:30 p.m.	Applying the principles of clarity to paragraphs: Creating focus and structure Creating “flow” The importance of rhythm
2:45 p.m.	Break
3:00 p.m.	Applying the principles to sentences: The building blocks: cores and chunks The syntax of action Managing emphasis
4:00 p.m.	Program concludes

Agenda for a half-day program
Brief editing exercises will take place throughout the program.
9:00 a.m.	Introduction: thinking like a writer What busy readers look for Thinking about clarity with principles, not tips How to create “super-clarity”
9:15 a.m.	Organizing complex material to create “super-clarity” Making the structure explicit Creating point and focus before details Avoiding default organizations
10:10 a.m.	Establishing your credibility at the start: writing effective introductions
10:30 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m.	Sophisticated simplicity: writing clear sentences about complex material The building blocks: cores and chunks Controlling emphasis The power of rhythm Editing for brevity
12:15 p.m.	Summary: an editor’s checklist
12:30 p.m.	Program concludes