Jun 26, 2015 if youre under time pressure or even if youre not, spotting differences between hyphens and dashes can be extremely difficult. Enforce the legal writing and style rules you know, from the sources you trust. When writing a compound numberany number made up of two wordswe use a hyphen between each word. Hyphen solutions construction management software for. Rule 3 of writing numbers says always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them.
A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. May 23, 20 hyphens are a regular source of confusion among grammar girl listeners. Hyphens also have certain technical uses, such as indicating a range of numbers or combining multiple sets of numbers together into a single unit as is often done with telephone numbers. Good legal writing should be written in plain language that is easy to read and understand and that clearly and directly communicates. Hyphens and dashes guide to writing lumen learning.
It will also find legalspecific typos caused by dictation software and. So without further ranting from me, heres my list of 6 scenarios where using a hyphen is just. The hyphen is also used for word division, which is briefly explained here. Sep 24, 2019 write your own wayand follow writing advice.
Quality writing instantly improves the credibility of a website. The new research immediately turned up amazing numbers, showing that nearly 95% of all hyphenated marriages end in divorce. Good legal writing should be written in plain language that is easy to read and understand and that clearly and directly communicates its intent. Hyphens and dashes look similar, but theyre not interchangeable. We have a twoyearold infant it the back of the car. It seems excellent lawyers do not always produce excellent legal writing. Legal checking perfectit proofreading software for.
Many business writers dont realize that a dash is different from a hyphen. Nor should they be confused with em dashesthe subject of next weeks post. Whether due to a lack of time, of mental energy, of colleagues available to proofread, or of awareness of just how. Stylewriters clear writing scores and ratings style writer.
Use hyphens with written numbers from twentyone to ninetynine and with fractions like twothirds or onefifth. Wordrake is the first and only automated inline editing software for professionals. Stylewriter has three key scores and ratings shown at the bottom of the programs screen. Im not certain that theres any actual legal restrictions against underscores or asterisks, or even punctuation in legal given names. Dont fear the em dashit can add energy and much needed variety to your prose. Hyphens in compound words a compound consists of two or more words that combine to make a new meaning. Marcias friend mark notes that hyphens seem to be disappearing. Dashes and hyphens, including em dashes to set off phrases, en dashes in open or hyphenated compound words and with numbers, and hyphens in words and spelledout numbers. Using a hyphen instead of a proper punctuation mark not only indicates you dont know when to use hyphens, it also indicates you lack a proper understanding of the correct punctuation to use. A hyphen is used primarily to join two or more words to form a new, compound word or to provide clarity when using certain affixes. This is also the typical date format used in large parts of eastern europe and asia, although sometimes with other separators than the hyphen. Round numbers higher than ninetynine dont require a hyphen.
But modern wordprocessing programs can directly insert an em. Hyphens can be used to tell and show the ages of people and things. Professional document editing for lawyers, at the click of a button. We do a lot of teaching about legal writing and communications issues in our lawyerist lab program and include questions about these issues in our small firm scorecard. The student decided to attend a school with a good legalresearchandwriting program. For resources and examples on specific types of writing assignments, please go to our common writing assignments area. The hyphensinnumbers rule applies even when the compound number is preceded by other numbers that do not require hyphens. When using dashes and em dashes, there are a few instances where university style diverges from ap.
Errors involving hyphens, dashes, and parentheses act. Use hyphens if there is a chance a word could be misread. Why proofreading legal documents needs more than spellcheck. While the writing process may be different for each person and for each particular assignment, the resources contained in this section follow the general work flow of pre writing, organizing, and revising. This would lead us to write threeeighths inch and threefourths inch. Jun, 2019 a lot of people get confused about when to use hyphens when writing ages, and i think its because sometimes an age is a noun, sometimes an age is an adjective that comes before a noun and modifies it, and sometimes an age is an adjective that comes after a noun. For over a decade, weve been writing about and advocating for lawyers to adopt better legal writing and typography practices. Those long straight lines draw your eye and hold your attention. When shes not diagramming sentences and reading blogs about how.
Many people were not even aware of the distinction between the en dash and the em dash until the advent of word processors, when software programs enabled us to use marks of punctuation that once had been available only to professional printers. Use a hyphen when joining numbers to units of measurement. The most annoying hyphenation mistake that i see in legal writing could very. Hyphen article about hyphen by the free dictionary. But modern wordprocessing programs can directly insert an em dash into a document.
Note that in this example, the reference is to a type of program, rather than a specific program, and so the use of. Legal checking perfectit proofreading software for professionals. The leading authorities on american legal writing wydick, garner, and kimble agree that em dashes are an excellent way to set off parenthetical or explanatory material. Can email addresses have hyphens, minus signs, and dashes. Catie joined emphasis in 2008 with an english literature and creative writing degree under her belt. Even website developers use the tools to improve the writing of web copy and to attract more visitors to a website. While theres no replacement for a real live editor with a sharp eye, proofreading software can be a great first line of defense against common grammar and spelling errors. Hyphens are also used to indicate where a long word has been broken in two at the end of a line. Leading style guides, such as the red book, the elements of style, and bluebook, give us the rules. The leading authorities on american legal writing, wydick, garner, and kimble, agree that em dashes are an excellent way to set off parenthetical or explanatory material. Knowing how to punctuate properly is essential to good legal writing. A hyphen is used primarily to join two or more words to form a new, compound word or to provide clarity when using certain affixes such as prefixes.
The hyphens in numbers rule applies even when the compound number is preceded by other numbers that do not require hyphens. Software and finitestatemachinebased approach might be correct software and finitestatemachine both modifying based although in this case i would rewrite as software based and finitestatemachinebased approach, because even with the hyphens, its still ambiguous and confusing, and the dangling hyphen is ugly. Whether youre writing blog posts, news articles, novels, or just professionalsounding emails, proofreading software can take your writing up a notch. Now all official european governmental documents use this. To see where to divide words look in a good dictionary. Perfectit with american legal style is also unique because it is the only legal writing tool that brings together the mostrespected leading legal writing guidance such as the redbook. Be careful not to mix words and the endash, as legal writing expert bryan. How to write like the nations top advocates and point taken.
Compounds can be correctly written as separate words, with hyphens or as one word e. Use dashes in business writing to interrupt sentences and show ranges of. Do not use a hyphen when the period of time be it a day, month, year or week is written in plural form. That is why knowing when not to use a hyphen matters. That said, its not a good idea, unless you want to sentence yourself or your unfortunate offspring to a lifetim. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time years, months, weeks. A dash is two or three times the length of a hyphen.
In this case, however, it is pretty easy to guess that human must modify voice, even without hyphens. A lot of people get confused about when to use hyphens when writing ages, and i think its because sometimes an age is a noun, sometimes an age is an adjective that comes before a noun and modifies it, and sometimes an age is an adjective that comes after a noun. Hyphens online writing center suny empire state college. If you master this punctuation mark, you deserve an official grammarians badge very attractive at. In many software programs, an emdash is created by typing two. Can email addresses have hyphens, minus signs and dashes. Hyphens can be used between two words that function together to. Software to edit your legal documents stylewriter software. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side. Stylewriter software to edit your legal documents the uk law society and the american bar association now recommend all legal writing should be in plain english. This page on legal writing is scheduled for a complete rewrite in 2020 to more directly align with the strategies in our new bestselling book the small firm roadmap and the coaching we offer in the.
How to use hyphens grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Rule 4 says a mixed fraction can be expressed in figures unless it is the first word of a sentence, which would allow us to write 1 12 inches in figures rather than. Use hyphens in business writing to join words or within words. Tips for effective punctuation in legal writing georgetown law. The following article explains the seven uses of the hyphen in written english and provides examples to narrate these functions. Is it legal to have a punctuation mark in your name. On the other hand, if you use an article with the fraction instead of a number, e. There is a serious question whether legalese should even be used in legal writing. The webs most comprehensive guide to american punctuation. Errors involving hyphens, dashes, and parentheses act english.
How to write like the worlds greatest judges and was the 2016 recipient. Kalnamor decided to completely redirect his focus from the effects of hyphens in numbers to how hyphens effect a marriage. This applies to any number between twentyone 21 and ninetynine 99. If it is unavoidable, you may use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line of text.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from. It is a highquality program that is designed to correct and enhance your english writing, delivering useful tools that enable you to verify your content for grammar, spelling, and. The two biggest factors to consider are hyphen placement and email service provider. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Appellate advocacy blog law professor blogs network typepad. Long dashes what grammarians call em dashes are dramatic. Conventional readability formulas are simplistic, counting characters or syllables and sentence length. For a little change of pace, dash a new idea into your sentence. I was a big fan of the show, which ran on abc from 2004 to 2010.
Typing two hyphens was a common way to indicate an em dash when lawyers used typewriters. The short answer is yes, email addresses can include these characters, but with some exceptions. For more detail on the use of hyphens, en dashes, em dashes, and even minus signs, see page 97 of the publication manual. How to use dashes and hyphens lets take a look at the different types of dashes you can use in your writing, and when and when not to use a hyphen. Hyphens are often used to tell the ages of people and things. Note that in this example, the reference is to a type of program, rather than a specific program, and so the use of hyphens is proper. Hawking hyphens in compound modifiers joan ames magat joseph kimble once remarked that, for legal writers, hyphenating compound modifiers phrasal adjectives that precede the noun they. Simple and straightforward inline editing for professionals. Whitesmoke is one of the most effective grammarchecking software for windows that allows you to correct grammatical and spelling mistakes in your documents. Hyphen solutions is a forwardthinking company that partners with its clients to produce the most innovative scheduling and supply chain efficiency solutions available. Generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together. However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated. A manual on legal style by bryan garner, typography for lawyers by matthew butterick, the elements of style, and. Modern legal writing style dictates that legal documents should be clear, uncomplicated, and consistent.
The grammar and punctuation checker tools improve the worthiness of a text with robust grammar solutions. Perfectit is a virtual, eagleeyed proofreader for your legal. How to use long and short dashes in your writing dummies. Novices take the hyphen shortcut, perhaps assuming that their readers wont notice the difference. Hyphens belong to that category of punctuation marks that will hurt your brain if you think about them too hard, and, like commas, people disagree about their use in certain situations. Always use a hyphen when writing about a day, month and year or any other period of time. In the first case i would go with humanvoice controlled system. Apr 17, 2017 within most legal documents, the dashes used within the text seem to intentionally stand out to most readers. Hyphens perform seven basic functions in written english. The bog indexan overall score of the clarity of your style. One hundred million, fortyfour thousand, nine hundred and eightyfive. Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun.
Hyphens the general rule is to use a hyphen to join words that together make a single adjective. Jul 27, 2010 rule 3 of writing numbers says always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them. Since i thought the hyphen section of marcia riefer johnstons new book, word up. We baked three hundred and twentyfive cookies for the bakeoff. If you mean the latter, then youd write fivedollar bills. For example, if you have sometimes hyphenated a phrase and. Legal writing pro llc, po box 593, falls church, va, 220400593, you can revoke your consent. Hyphens are also used to separate the parts of a long word at the end of a written or printed line. Em dashes there is no space between the words and the em dash. It usually involves writing down every choice youve made between hyphens and dashes, and then comparing that choice to your text in every single location that hyphens or dashes are used. The hyphen s main purpose is to glue words together.
For most writers, the hyphens primary function is the formation of certain compound terms. A sentence should contain no more than two em dashes. Picking the right words to connect is a little harder. Liz bureman has a morethanhealthy interest in proper grammatical structure, accurate spelling, and the underappreciated semicolon. Hyphen definition of hyphen by the free dictionary. Having researched and written dozens of articles for the emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible. Just dont dash in too often or your reader will be tempted to dash away. The first is to separate parts of a sentence where they can be. The use of hyphens is to reduce ambiguity, and, in the case of multiple modifiers, to show which ones modify each other. Citesmith legal citation software professional document. Errors involving hyphens, dashes, and parentheses the correct use of certain types of punctuationcontrary to what many students, adults, and even college professors believeis. When used appropriatelyand sparinglythe emdash is an easily implemented, powerful visual rhetoric technique for legal writing.
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