Garner's Guide to Making Briefs More Persuasive: Tip 8 - Write a draft straight through without

Here's another tip from Bryan A. Garner's The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts.

Garner recommends writing down a draft un-selfconsciously to the end, and only considering revisions afterwards. Don't risk losing momentum to choose exactly the right words. Writing rapidly is a good idea so long as a review for necessary changes takes place later. Nothing is wrong about waiting to correct a bad sentence while letting the ideas flow freely. An outline can serve as a map, as one tries to write as if speaking aloud. Doing this should help the words convey greater swiftness of thinking, and avoid making them laborious to read.

It's a also good practice to allow some time to pass between drafting and the editing.

Garner's Guide to Making Briefs More Persuasive: Tip 7 - Begin and End the Arguments with Points

Start and end the argument section with your own position, and then rebut the opposing party's points in between. Do not ignore evidence that is contrary to your position.

Garner recommends using the dialectical method:

1. State your position.

2. Review the counterposition.

3. Reach a resolution.

Begin with the factual and legal premises for your position. Acknowledge the existence of an argument against this position, but state why it's wrong. Review why the Court might still reach yet another conclusion, and then list the reasons why it should not.

• Swiftly undercut the opposing party's positions - don't explain them at great length.

• Don't put forward any arguments that the opposing party may not have thought of.

• Don't make a straw man of the opposing party.

Address the opponent's points with dependent clauses such as, "Although, X argues . . . "

Use Del. C. for statutes when filing in Delaware

When filing a brief in Delaware state court, note the local citation rules specify an unusual abbreviation and format for citations to the statutes comprising the Delaware Code. In Table T.1 he Bluebook states that this form should be used:

Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, § 1-101

. . . but the Guide to the Delaware Rules of Legal Citation in the Superior Court of Delaware, (2nd ed. 2004) adopted by the Superior Court of Delaware, and available on the Delaware state courts' website, https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/pdf/citation_guide.pdf , directs you italicize both case names and the Delaware Code. On page 24, this format is specified:

14. Del. C. § 101

The difference between this condensed abbreviation and the longer form specified by the Bluebook is specifically noted on page 20: