Point made: how to write like the nation's top advocates

Please see the attached PDF file below for a detailed listing of the table of contents

• 1. Brass Tacks: "Explain who, what, when, where, why, how"
• 2. The Short List: Number your path to victory
• 3. Why Should I Care? : Give the court a reason to want to find for you
• 4. Don't Be Fooled : Draw a line in the sand

• 5. Panoramic Shot : Set the stage and sound your theme
• 6. Show, Not Tell : Let choice details speak for themselves
• 7. Once Upon a Time : Replace dates with phrases that convey a sense of time
• 8. Headliners : Use headings to break up your fact section and to add persuasive effect
• 9. Back to Life : Center technical matter on people or entities
• 10. Poker Face : Concede bad facts, but put them in context
• 11. End with a Bang : Leave the court with a final image or thought

Part Three - The Meat

• 12. Russian Doll: Nest your headings and subheadings
• 13. Heads I Win, Tails You Lose : Argue in the alternative
• 14. Sneak Preview : Include an umbrella paragraph before your headings and subheadings
• 15. Wish I Were There : Start each paragraph by answering a question you expect the court to have
• 16. Sound Off : Start the paragraphs with numbered reasons
• 17. Long in the Tooth : Say "me too"
• 18. Peas in a Pod : Link your party with the party in the cited case
• 19. Mince Their Words : Merge pithy quoted phrases into a sentence about your own case
• 20. One Up : Claim that the case you're citing applies even more to your own dispute
• 21. Interception : Claim that a case your opponent cites helps you alone
• 22. Rebound : "Re-analogize" after the other side tries to distinguish
• 23. Not Here, Not Now : Lead with the key difference between your opponent's case and your own
• 24. One Fell Swoop : Distinguish a line of cases all at once
• 25. Not So Fast : Show that the case doesn't apply as broadly as your opponent suggests
• 26. Authority Problems : Suggest that the case deserves little respect
• 27. Ping Me : Introduce your parentheticals with parallel participles
• 28. Speak for Yourself : Include a single-sentence quotation
• 29. Hybrid Model : Combine participles and quotations
• 30. Lead 'Em On : Introduce block quotations by explaining how the language supports your argument
• 31. Race to the Bottom : Use footnotes only in moderation to address related side points and to add support

• 32. Zingers : Colorful verbs
• 33. What a Breeze : Confident tone
• 34. Manner of Speaking : Figures of speech
• 35. That Reminds Me : Examples and analogies
• 36. The Starting Gate : The one-syllable opener
• 37. Size Matters : The pithy sentence
• 38. Freight Train : The balanced, elegant long sentence
• 39. Leading Parts : Two sentences joined as one
• 40. Talk to Yourself : The rhetorical question
• 41. Parallel Lives : The parallel construction
• 42. A Dash of Style : The dash
• 43. Good Bedfellows : The semicolon
• 44. Magician's Mark : The colon
• 45. Take Me by the Hand : Logical connectors
• 46. Bridge the Gap : Linked paragraphs
• 47. Join My Table : Tables and charts
• 48. Bullet Proof : Bullet points and lists

• 49. Parting Thought : End the argument with a provocative quotation or pithy thought
• 50. Wrap-Up : Recast your main points in a separate conclusion