Get Your Point Across With a Listicle

Teddy Snyder | Listicles’ unique format conveys a message more effectively than clutter on the page. Even for legal arguments.
The post Get Your Point Across With a Listicle appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

Even if you’re not familiar with the term, you know about listicles. You see them everywhere across the internet. Listicles substitute pithy headings for grammatical text. One of the earliest was “10 Key Things About Nudism.”

Why are listicles so popular?

Articles in list form are easy to read, easy to skim and easy to understand. Presenting your legal arguments as a list is effective. The format also lets you sidestep a number of grammar issues.

Listicles Avoid Oxford Comma Issues

The debate continues over whether to use the Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, in a string of three or more items.

This sentence uses an Oxford comma:

This procedure shall be used in all courts whether civil, criminal, or administrative.

Here it is without the Oxford comma:

This procedure shall be used in all courts whether civil, criminal or administrative.

Pretty much every legal writing style guide says to insert the comma. The AP Stylebook for journalists says not to use it.

Fuhgeddaboudit! Lists don’t need commas at the end of each item or heading. You can even omit the period at the end of a sentence heading.

Your list might consist of a bunch of headings followed by persuasive paragraphs (like this post) or a short list within a paragraph.

Rethink the Colon

Colons are frequently used to introduce a series of items.

Marcel attended several prestigious universities: Duke University, Yale Law School, and Edinburgh Law School.

But you could also format the items as a list within a paragraph. I like to use bullet points for my lists, but they are not required.

Before you draft that next motion, reconsider its efficacy.

Motions attacking the pleadings do not usually advance the case but do eat up valuable time.
Motions seldom terminate the case; they often educate the other side.
Motion practice is expensive.

Maximum Impact Listicles

Advertising professionals use “white space,” the area without text or other design elements, to showcase the most important parts of their message. That practice applies to legal writing too.

Long sentences and paragraphs can hide your argument. Readers can get bored and skip ahead. Lists, on the other hand, surround your text with white space, making those messages stand out.

Place your most important list items first. While a chronological presentation may seem logical, readers may get distracted before they get to what you really want them to read.

Word Count vs. Page Count

Many courts revised their rules to shift from page limitations to word limitations in response to the formatting tricks of imaginative writers. Terse phrases in a list rather than verbose sentences can help you trim your word count. Conversely, for jurisdictions with page limitations, writers must recognize that a list format can increase the page count.

Why Are There So Many Listicles?

Internet influencers use listicles because listicles hold readers’ interest. Listicles’ unique format conveys a message more effectively than clutter on the page. Try using lists in your writing for more persuasive communications.

Image © iStockPhoto.com

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