Improving Legal Writing - Quantifiably

Abstract

Lawyers wishing to improve their own legal writing or that of others may benefit from using readability statistics such as the “Flesch Reading Ease” score and the “Flesch Kincaid Grade Level.” As their names indicate, these statistics help to quantify the ease of reading and the grade level of a piece of writing. They are built into Microsoft Word and relatively easy to use. Considering readability statistics is valuable because legal writing that is easier to read is easier to comprehend, more persuasive, more prestigious, and just more likeable than less-readable alternatives. This column in the Georgia Bar Journal describes several readability statistics, provides references for how to use them, and discusses their strengths and weaknesses for legal writers.

Keywords: legal writing, rhetoric