books we can't live without

Joseph Bazan (Minnesota School of Business) recently polled legal writing teachers to discover the books we most rely upon and recommend to others. He has graciously granted us permission to share the results with you. Here are the top ten (which add up to even more, due to ties):

1. William Strunk & E.B. White, The Elements of Style
2. Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
   Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style
3. Richard C. Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers
   Joseph M. Williams, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace
4. Mary Barnard Ray & Jill J. Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting it Right and Getting It Written
5. Anne Enquist & Laurel Currie Oates, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer
6. Stephen V. Armstrong & Timothy P. Terrell, Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing
7. Mary Beth Beazley, A Practical Guide to Appellate Advocacy
   The Chicago Manual of Style
8. Marjorie E. Skillin & Robert Malcolm Gay, Words into Type
9. Alan L. Dworsky, The Little Book on Legal Writing
   Linda Holdeman Edwards, Legal Writing and Analysis
10. Any good unabridged dictionary

Other titles named in the poll include these (listed alphabetically):

• Michael R. Smith, Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing
• ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation
• Deborah E. Bouchoux, Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers:  A Practical Reference
• Black’s Legal Dictionary
• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
• Joseph M. Williams & Gregory G. Colomb, The Craft of Argument
• Bergen Evans & Cornelia Evans, A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage
• Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage)
• George Gopen, Expectations: Teaching Writing from the Reader’s Perspective
• Terri LeClercq & Thomas R. Phillips, Expert Legal Writing
• Fowler’s Modern English Usage (2d ed. or Burchfield’s revision)
• Doris Lessing, Golden Notebook

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