Written English

Introduction Before paper was mass produced in Europe after the 11th and 12th century and in England after the 14th goat skin parchment was used however it was expensive. The earliest common law tribunals date back well before this to a time when the truth was determined upon hearing one man's claim against another before an independent jury of the man's peers. Where that which occurred in these tribunals was evident to all, and largely committed to memory by the community. Today common law tribunals though they have not been outlawed have fallen into disuse largely because of ignorance and the pervasive expansion of the commercial world into every aspect of people's lives. Where matters are largely determined as complaints before a judicial officer most would recognise as a magistrate or judge in administrative hearings. In these courts a judicial officer has to wear many hats; however, above all he has to recognise when a man stands before the court as belonging to a distinctly different and superior jurisdiction to that which he observes as relating to persons as defined in administrative complaints or matters in equity. Where at one time over a thousand years ago in small communities it was not necessary or practical to memorialise the proceedings on paper today things are different. Because of the size and nature of communities and additionally the interdependence of administrative agencies on each other communication in writing has become essential. Where previously a man made a claim against another simply by his word alone often with the supporting testimony of three or more witnesses; today the process is the same but handled by filing the claim itself and various notices and orders that are communicated in writing. Definitions & the rules of punctuation sentence : A group of words containing a subject; and a verb, or predicate; and expressing a complete thought, is called a sentence or independent clause. Sometimes, an independent clause stands alone as a sentence, and sometimes two independent clauses are linked together into a compound sentence. Compound sentences are joined with a comma by the coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet or so. Depending on the circumstances, one of two different punctuation marks can be used between the independent clauses in a compound sentence: A comma or a semicolon. clause : [etymonline] a sentence, a brief statement, a short passage. comma : (,) Is used to link independent clauses within a sentence accompanied by the coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet or so. Commas are also used to enumerate a list the last of which in a list of three or greater is an oxford comma accompanied by the coordinating conjunctions "and" or "or" when following US convention. The English convention however is to omit the use of an oxford comma. semi colon : (;) used to link independent clauses within a sentence without the use of the coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet or so. A semi colon is also used to join independent clauses that share the same train of thought, and to delineate a list of paired phrases e.g. "I like cows: they give us milk, which tastes good; they give us beef, which also tastes good; and they give us leather, which is used to make shoes and coats." apostrophe : (') In the beginning the apostrophe was used to replace the e in -es indicating a possessive ending but after the 18c extended to all possessives whether the e was present or not. When indicating singular possession the apostrophe would be placed before the s as in the phrase "the seagull's wings." To indicate more than one seagull in this case the apostrophe is placed after the s i.e. "the seagulls' wings." The exception to the rule however are plural words that do not end in s (e.g., men, people, children) as in the phrase "All television is children's television." where the apostrophe is placed before the s. For nouns ending in s that are not plural either 's or ' can be used. In these cases the rule is to punctuate the word as it sounds in speech i.e. "Jones's briefing was excellent." Apostrophes are also used in contractions e.g. they're which is short for "they are," and I'm which is short for "I am." In each case they act to replace the letters missed by the joining of the contracted words. conjunction : Used in grammar as part of speech that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Used in this part of speech amongst others are the conjunctive words and, but, as, and because. The definition from Wiktionary for the noun is given as: a word used to join other words or phrases together into sentences. The specific conjunction used shows how the two joined parts are related. Example: Bread, butter and cheese. adverb : a word or phrase that modifies the meaning of an adjective, verb, or other adverb, expressing manner, place, time, or degree (e.g. gently, here, now, very). Some adverbs, for example sentence adverbs, can also be used to modify whole sentences. Other examples of adverbs are Kindly, slowly, here, often etc. where the use of the suffix -ly will more often than not denote an adverb. conjunctive adverbs : also known as transitional phrases, conjunctive adverbs are similar to coordinating conjunctions in that they serve to join independent clauses creating a compound sentence. The common conjunctive adverbs are: also, consequently, furthermore, however, incidentally, indeed, likewise, meanwhile, nevertheless, nonetheless and therefore. Conjunctive adverbs are separated with a semi colon or a full stop followed by a comma at the end e.g. "I understand you. However, I don't agree with you." or "He makes me laugh; therefore, he can stay." parenthesis : is a word, phrase, or clause inserted into a sentence as an explanation or afterthought that if removed would leave the sentence grammatically correct. A parenthesis is delineated by parentheses usually in the form of rounded brackets (); however, dashes and commas can also be used e.g. You - to put it mildly - are annoying. square brackets : [] can be used as parentheses or used to modify the text within quoted text e.g. "It [military intelligence] is a contradiction in terms." With the use of an ellipsis square brackets can also be used to omit text that is unnecessary. Original quotation: "I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs." Contracted: "I don't want any yes-men around me [...] even if it costs them their jobs." The use of square brackets in law relates to the four corner rule, that is, anything bound by four corners is said to be completely separate from the context of the page in which it is found. participle : in english a word that shares or partakes of both the form of a verb and adjective at the same time. Grammar Monster gives a ‘participle’ as a word formed from a verb which can be used as an adjective. i.e. The past participle of the verb To boil, is ‘the boiled water’, and the present participle is ‘the boiling water’. In the present tense a participle always ends in -ing and in the past tense almost always ends in -ed pronoun : [etymonline] "word used instead of a noun to avoid repetition of it," mid-15c., from Old French pronon, pronom, and directly from Latin pronomen "word standing in place of a noun," from pro, here meaning "in place of," + nomen "name, noun" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek antonymia. The form of the English and French words was altered to conform with noun. [comment] A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, or anything that functions as a noun. e.g. it, they, Mr, Mrs, his, her. A pronoun can also replace a noun phrase or statement. declension : (in the grammar of Latin, Greek, and certain other languages) the variation of the form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, by which its grammatical case, number, and gender are identified. Rules for punctuation Rule: Use a comma between two long independent clauses when conjunctions such as and, or, but, for, nor connect them.Example: I have painted the entire house, but she is still working on sanding the floors. Rule: If the clauses are both short, you may omit the comma. Example: I painted and he sanded. Rule: If you have only one clause (one subject and verb pair), you won’t usually need a comma in front of the conjunction.Example: I have painted the house but still need to sand the floors.This sentence has two verbs but only one subject, so it has only one clause. Rule: Use the semicolon if you have two independent clauses connected without a conjunction.Example: I have painted the house; I still need to sand the floors. Rule: Also use the semicolon when you already have commas within a sentence for smaller separations, and you need the semicolon to show larger separations.Example: We had a reunion with family from Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Albany, New York. Rule: A colon is used to introduce a second sentence that clarifies the first sentence.Example: We have set this restriction: do your homework before watching television. Notice that the first word of the second sentence is not capitalized. If, however, you have additional sentences following the sentence with the colon and they explain the sentence prior to the colon, capitalize the first word of all the sentences following the colon. Rule: Use a colon to introduce a list when no introductory words like namely, for instance, i.e., e.g. precede the list. Example: I need four paint colours: blue, grey, green, and red. The colon The colon has primarily three grammatical uses and several non-grammatical uses. Introducing a list The colon is used to introduce a list of items. The book store specialises in three subjects: art, architecture, and graphic design. Do not, however, use a colon when the listed items are incorporated into the flow of the sentence. Correct: The book store specialises in art, architecture, and graphic design. Incorrect: The book store specialises in: art, architecture, and graphic design. Between independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first The colon is used to separate two independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first. In such usage, the colon functions in much the same way as the semicolon. As with the semicolon, do not capitalize the first word after the colon unless the word is ordinarily capitalized. I have very little time to learn the language: my new job starts in five weeks. A college degree is still worth something: a recent survey revealed that college graduates earned roughly 60% more than those with only a high school diploma. All three of their children are involved in the arts: Richard is a sculptor, Diane is a pianist, and Julie is a theatre director. When two or more sentences follow a colon, capitalize the first word following the colon. He made three points: First, the company was losing over a million dollars each month. Second, the stock price was lower than it had ever been. Third, no banks were willing to loan the company any more money. Emphasis The colon can be used to emphasise a phrase or single word at the end of a sentence. An em dash can be used for the same purpose. In the second example below, an em dash is more common than a colon, though the use of a colon is nevertheless correct. After three weeks of deliberation, the jury finally reached a verdict: guilty. Five continents, three dozen countries, over a hundred cities: this was the trip of a lifetime. Non-grammatical uses of the colon Time The colon is used to separate hours from minutes, with no space before or after the colon. 11:35 a.m. Ratio The colon is used to express a ratio of two numbers, with no space before or after the colon. 1:3 Biblical references The colon is used in biblical references to separate chapter from verse, with no space before or after the colon. Genesis 1:31 Other references The colon is used to separate the volume from page numbers of a cited work, with no space before or after the colon. Punctuation Quarterly 4:86–89 (read as “pages 86 through 89 of volume four”) Correspondence The colon is frequently used in business and personal correspondence. Dear Ms. Smith: Parenthesis Via late Latin from the Greek; "something placed in besides". Using of italics UNDERLINING AND ITALICS When briefs and memoranda were prepared on typewriters, emphasised text was underlined. While older citation reference works may still call for underlining, that format has largely been replaced by the use of italics made possible by word-processing software and modern printers. In Citations The following citation elements should be italicised: case names (including procedural phrases) book titles titles of journal articles introductory signals used in citation sentences or clauses prior or subsequent history explanatory phrases words or phrases attributing one cited authority to another source the cross reference words: “id.,” it, that one, the same (as above); “supra,” ("above, over, before, beyond, on the upper side,"), and “infra” (below, underneath) If underlining is used instead of italics it should continue under successive words that are part of the same phrase but break between items. When “e.g.” appears with another signal the two together are treated as a single item. Punctuation that is part of any of the above elements is italicized along with it, but punctuation that separates that element from other parts of the citation should not be. In Text The following words or phrases should be italicized when they appear in the text of a brief or legal memorandum: references to titles or case names in the text without full citation (even those which would, in full citation, not be italicized) foreign words that have not been assimilated into lawyer jargon quoted words that were italicized in the original emphasized words Citation Items Not Italicized The following citation types or elements should not be italicized: constitutions statutes restatements names of reporters and services names of journals rules regulations other administrative materials Indeed, all items for which italics is not specified should appear without it. The use of were, we’re and where “were” Pronunciation: Were rhymes with purr, stir, and her. Meaning - Were is the past tense of the verb are. i.e. The children were good yesterday. present tense: The children are good today. “we're” We're looks different from were: it has an apostrophe between the first e and the r. Pronunciation - We're rhymes with beer, fear, and pier. Meaning - We're is a contraction made from the two words we and are. It is correct to use we're when you can substitute we are for it. “where” Where looks different from were and we're because where contains an h. Pronunciation - Where rhymes with scare, wear, and hair. Meaning - Where refers to a place and often asks a question. Where means "in which place" or "to which place." The words effect and affect "Affect" and "effect" are easy to confuse. "Affect" means to change. "Effect" means a result. Here is more detail: Affect. "Affect" means to change, to impact on, or to transform. For example: I want to affect the vote. Notice that "affect" is written with "to" in front. This tells us that "affect" is a verb. Effect. "Effect" means a result, a consequence, or an appearance. Your work has an effect on the vote. Notice that "effect" is written with "an" or "the" in front. This tells us that "effect" is a noun. Use of the letter 'a.' As a prefix the letter a is used to negate other words e.g. apolitical, atypical, asymmetrical etc ... . 'A' along with 'an' is also used as an indefinite article that contrasts with the definite article 'the' indicating something such as a noun with specificity. When using 'a' that which is indicated is non specific such as "a jury" that could mean any jury. ablative : [etymonline] "grammatical case denoting removal or separation," late 14c. as an adjective; mid-15c. as a noun (short for ablative case, originally of Latin), from Old French ablatif and directly from Latin (casus) ablativus "(case) of removal," expressing direction from a place or time, coined by Julius Caesar from ablatus "taken away," past participle of auferre "to carry off or away, withdraw, remove," from ab "off, away" (see ab-) + the irregular verb ferre (past participle latum; see oblate) "to carry, to bear" (from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children."). The "from" case, the Latin case of adverbial relation, typically expressing removal or separation, also "source or place of an action." Related: Ablatival. [wikipedia] It is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammar of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. The ablative case does not exist in English but in ancient languages such as Latin and Sanskrit as well as modern languages like Albanian, Armenian, Turkish, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Hungarian. transititve & intransitive From Latin intransitivus "not transitive, not passing over." Transitivity is the property of a verb relating to wether it takes a direct object and how many objects it can take. An Intransitive verb does not allow a direct object. mood : in grammar there are three moods : indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. The indicative mood states a fact or asks a question; the imperative mood expresses an order, and the subjunctive mood expresses a hypothetical situation, a wish, a demand, or a suggestion. Video on the subjunctive mood from grammar-monster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UchifoqFGNA nominative : Also known as the 'subjective case' it is the form or case that a noun, pronoun, or adjective takes in order to show that it is the subject of a verb. genetive case : also known as the possessive case; the genetive case shows possession : with a noun it is created by adding 's to the word or by preceding it with "of." ie. dinner of the dog; his dinner; dog's dinner. participles A participle makes up two of the five forms a verb can take and is either a Past or Present participle, for example; the past participle of the verb swim is swum, and the present participle of the verb is swimming. Almost 100 percent of present participles will end in 'ing', but the endings of past participles often vary, for example; the past participles of bring and sing are brought and sung respectively. imperative : Imperatives are verbs and used directly to give orders, commands, a warning, or instructions, and (if you use "please") to make a request. It is one of the three moods of an English verb (indicative, imperative and subjunctive). direct object : [grammer-monster] The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon (i.e., the receiver of the action). indirect object : [grammar-monster] The indirect object of a sentence is the recipient of the direct object. The direct object is the thing being acted on by the verb. Fonts used for claims, notices, and in letters. In common law there are no rules unless it relates to harm, injury, or loss. Any man/public servant who is instructing you to format a document in a specific font has no right to do so, however notices have to be given in clear text and it is a good idea to follow some guidelines for consistency and impact. Below are some notes regarding the fonts used by lawyers and for some specified jurisdictions that might be better considered when choosing fonts to be used for claims, notices in court, and in letters. For claims it might be worth considering what the US Supreme Court requires for petitions; that they be typeset in a Century family (e.g., Century Expanded, New Century, Schoolbook, or Century Schoolbook) 12-point type with 2-point or more leading between lines. Footnotes must be 10­ point with 2-point or more leading between lines. Any type that does not measure on a typesize finder to be 12-point for the body and 10-point for footnotes is not accepted. These requirements are strict however can be varied to suit the structure and content of the claim. Whatever is clear and has an impact. It must also be noted that depending on the jurisdiction fonts in italics or resembling cursive text should generally not be used. Quoting Bill Turner "cursive writing is not recognised by judges; its essentially as if the writing is not seen or recognised at all"; having said this and because of the advent of computers the use of italics has been seen increasingly in legal briefs but ultimately not withstanding a proper claim the choice is yours. In the majority of cases such as in England and Wales there are no specified fonts beyond a recommendation in the Chancery Practice Guide that they should be legible where Times New Roman is given as an example. They should also be at least 12 point and double spaced. In general practice such as for contracts and the like most lawyers use Times New Roman but the following fonts are used interchangeably Calibri, Helvetica Neue or Helvetica, Garamond, Cambria, Georgia, Tahoma, Veranda, Comic Sans and Arial. reference: https://www.quora.com/What-font-is-used-to-write-legal-documents