The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.
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in puzzling ways. Some astonishing questions • about the nature of the uni- verse have been raised by scientists studying black holes in space. A black hole is cre- ated by the col- lapse of a d ead star into a point per- haps no larger than a marble. So much matter compressed into so little vol- ume changes the fabric of space around it in puzzling ways. 5 Our sense of flow calls for the use of the passive construc- tion in the second sentence of the second example. As these examples show, cohesion be- tween sentences has a higher priority than the structure of any particular sentence. LENGTH While authorities on writing gen- erally agree that unity, coher- ence, and cohesion are neces- sary attributes of effective para- graphs, some authorities would include other attributes as well. Two of these – completeness and length – tend to overlap. The writer must avoid inade- quately developed paragraphs and concurrently avoid exces- sively long paragraphs. Adequacy of development de- pends on the complexity of the central idea, the purpose and audience of the document, and the role of the paragraph within the document. A lawyer might develop the same idea different- ly in a client letter, an appellate brief, or a newspaper op-ed. Similarly, the writer might treat the same idea differently in an introductory paragraph, a con- cluding paragraph, or in the body of the document. To be fully developed, a paragraph must have the right level of detail, the right kind of de- tail, and the right pattern of presentation. As to its length, a good para- graph is as long as it needs to be. The determinant is not the num- ber of words or sentences but the num- ber of ideas – one. A long paragraph may be a signal that it has more than one central idea or that the idea is too big to cover without subdividing it. Moreover, with reading habits changing and at- tention spans decreasing, it is probably a good idea to keep paragraphs short. Most readers feel comfortable reading paragraphs that range between one hundred and two hundred words. Shorter paragraphs force too much starting and stopping, and longer paragraphs strain the reader's attention span. 6 Strunk and White tell us, "As long as it holds together, a paragraph may be of any length – a single, short sen- tence or a pas- sage of great du- ration." 7 Still, they are mindful that we see paragraphs. "In general, remem- ber that para- graphing calls for a good eye as well as a logi- cal mind. Enor- mous blocks of print look formida- ble to readers, who are often re- luctant to tackle them." 8 William Zinsser put it this way: "Writing is visual – it catches the eye be- fore it has a chance to catch the brain. Short paragraphs put air around what you write and make it look inviting ... ." 9 1 William Zinsser, ON WR ITING WE LL (30 th anniv. ed. 2006). 2 See Linda H. Edwards, LEGAL WRITING A ND AN ALYSIS 273 (3d ed. 2011) ("A topic sentence identifies the topic the paragraph will discuss, but that is all it does. … A thesis sentence, however, asserts a position."). 3 See John C. Hodges and Mary E. Whitten, H ARBRACE COLLEGE HAND- BOOK 54 (6 th ed. 1967) and Diana Hacker, A W RITER'S HANDBOOK 26-31 (6 th ed. 2007). 4 Joseph M. Williams and Gregory G. Colomb, S TYLE: LESSONS IN CLARITY AND GRACE 72 (2010). 5 Id. at 68. 6 Diana Hacker, A WRITER'S HANDBOOK 36 (6 th ed. 2007). 7 William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, T HE ELEMENTS OF STYLE 31 (illustrated ed. 2005). 8 Id. at 33. 9 William Zinsser, ON WRITING WELL (30 th anniv. ed. 2006). 31 B&B; • 9.14