Level 6: Overall Structure
A writer must create a coherent overall structure. All paragraphs must be joined to create an
overall structure for the text so that the text flows coherently.
In this model, Levels 1-5 are writing skills, Level 6, however, depends on two
things –
structures that apply to more than
one disciplines or structures that
are exclusive to law. So, sometimes the overall structure in whole or in part is a
structure that can apply to many disciplines. In this sense knowing this
structure is part of writing skills.
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But sometimes the overall
structure in whole or in part is a structure that
applies only to the discipline of law. In this sense knowing this structure is part
of legal skills.
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These structures consist of, or are derived from, the various
models that can be used for working with law – the model for organising law,
the model for forming law and the model for using law. These models, on their
own or in combination provide a large amount of overall structure for legal
texts.
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Consequently, these structures should be your close and constant
companions when reading legal texts.
When the structure has been found and reduced to its basic propositions, the
whole work will be easier to read for a simple reason: the structure provides an
organising focus for the work because every point and idea in the work must
relate to the structure. A point can relate to the structure in any one of a
number of ways. It may be a summary or a contradiction, the cause or effect,
the basic premise or a passing observation, the classic view or the modern, a
major link in the structure or an aside, a rejected view or an exception, a
consequence or a conclusion. This emphasises how important it is to ascertain
the structure of the text and the relationship that each point has to it. In good
writing the relationship will be clear. In bad writing you may have to track it
down or deduce it. Hence, all the more reason for the advice to look for the
structure.
When implementing this advice it will be of assistance to skim the material first
(which is a form of macro analysis). Skimming a work will show you its
overall direction and with this perspective locating the structure should be
easier. How much skimming is necessary depends on how clearly the material
is written, its complexity, and the state of the reader's own knowledge. To
skim a book, look at the title, the table of contents, the introduction or preface,
the headings, and any conclusions. If more information is needed, look for key
paragraphs, which are usually the first and last paragraphs of a section. If the
thrust of the structure has still not come through, it may be necessary to skim
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Christopher Enright Legal Writing Chapters 3 and 4
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Christopher Enright Legal Writing Chapters 3 and 4
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Christopher Enright Legal Writing Chapters 3 and 4
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