Why Prolixity Does Not Produce Clarity: Francis Lieber on Plain Language

Miller, Nelson Pierce

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Why Prolixity Does Not Produce Clarity: Francis Lieber on Plain Language

Nelson Pierce Miller

Thomas M. Cooley Law School

January 1, 2007

The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, pp. 108-114, 2007

Abstract:
This article in the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing uses writings of the early 19th-century law scholar Francis Lieber to illustrate why multiplying words tends to obscure rather than clarify the meaning of legal writings. Description is inherently ambiguous because of the unique perspective of every writer and reader. More words tends to inject greater uncertainty rather than clarifying meanings.

Keywords: plain language, words, uncertainty, Lieber

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Date posted: September 10, 2011

Suggested Citation

Miller, Nelson Pierce, Why Prolixity Does Not Produce Clarity: Francis Lieber on Plain Language (January 1, 2007). The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, pp. 108-114, 2007. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1890689

Contact Information

Nelson Pierce Miller (Contact Author)

Thomas M. Cooley Law School ( email )

300 S. Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
United States