Legislative Style, Syntax And Expression

1. Apply basic principles of legislative syntax and expression.
2. Comply with standard drafting conventions.
3. Compose unambiguous legislative sentences.
4. Convert instructions into clear legislative sentences.
5. Apply stylistic devices for effective legislation.
6. Develop a personal drafting style within prevailing conventions.

13 weeks, about 64 hours in total. Yours will differ.

1. Week 1Module 1: How Do We Compose & Express Legislative Sentences?

   • Unit 1: How to compose legislative sentences · 2 hours

     Understand the essential processes involved in writing legislative sentences: analysis, design, composition, and scrutiny.. Identify your personal approach to writing difficult sentences (planning, diving in, or working out key concepts)..

   • Unit 2: Types of legislative sentences · 2 hours

     Differentiate between sentences that confer rights, powers, permissions, duties, and liabilities.. Analyze the structure of declaratory sentences and their purpose in stating legal propositions..

   • Unit 3: The principal subject · 2 hours

     Identify the legal person or thing that should be the grammatical subject of a legislative sentence.. Apply guidelines for choosing the subject based on the rule's purpose and the subject's role..

2. Week 2Module 1: How Do We Compose & Express Legislative Sentences?

   • Unit 4: The principal predicate · 2 hours

     Select the appropriate verb and auxiliary to express commands, permissions, liabilities, and other legal effects.. Distinguish between sentences that direct behavior and those that declare legal consequences..

   • Unit 5: Choosing the appropriate Auxiliary · 2 hours

     Choose the correct auxiliary verb to confer a right, power, competence, or privilege.. Differentiate between 'shall,' 'must,' and 'may' in imposing duties and granting permissions..

   • Unit 6: Predicate modifiers & Context clauses · 2 hours

     Incorporate predicate modifiers to limit or particularize the effect of the main clause.. Draft context clauses to establish the circumstances or conditions in which a rule operates..

3. Week 3Module 2: How Do We Punctuate Legislation?

   • Unit 1: Punctuating Legislation I · 3 hours

     Apply standard punctuation conventions to legislative sentences.. Use full stops, colons, dashes, and semi-colons to reinforce sentence structure and clarify relationships..

   • Unit 2: Punctuating Legislation II · 3 hours

     Use brackets, commas, inverted commas, and hyphens to add information, clarify meaning, and identify defined terms.. Apply apostrophes correctly to indicate possession and avoid contractions..

4. Week 4Module 2: How Do We Punctuate Legislation?

   • Unit 3: Use of Capital Letters · 4 hours

     Apply capital letters correctly in legislative drafting.. Distinguish between when to use capital letters for proper names, titles, and legislative terms..

5. Week 5Module 3: What Can Go Wrong In Legislative Expression?

   • Unit 1: What can go wrong with subjects? · 4 hours

     Identify and correct imprecise linking of several subjects using 'and' and 'or'.. Avoid ambiguous modifying of subjects through careful placement of adjectives and relative clauses..

6. Week 6Module 3: What Can Go Wrong In Legislative Expression?

   • Unit 2: What can go wrong with verbs? · 4 hours

     Correct imprecise linking of several verbs and ambiguous modifying of verbs.. Avoid ambiguous use of participles by clarifying their relationship to nouns and verbs..

7. Week 7Module 3: What Can Go Wrong In Legislative Expression?

   • Unit 3: What can go wrong with modifiers? · 4 hours

     Identify and correct defective sentence modification by rephrasing context clauses.. Avoid ambiguous prepositions by clarifying their relationship to nouns and verbs..

8. Week 8Module 4: How Can We Develop an Effective Legislative Style?

   • Unit 1: General Considerations · 4 hours

     Improve communication by creating a logical structure, providing finding aids, and using a clear layout.. Apply techniques for writing directly, avoiding complex expressions, and limiting sentence length..

9. Week 9Module 4: How Can We Develop an Effective Legislative Style?

   • Unit 2: Developing a good legislative style · 4 hours

     Improve clarity by avoiding nominalization, embedding, and unnecessary negatives.. Use precise words, avoid over-vague expressions, and eliminate ambiguity..

10. Week 10Module 4: How Can We Develop an Effective Legislative Style?

    • Unit 3: How to make legislation more comprehensible & concise · 4 hours

      Make legislation more comprehensible by using purpose pointers, topic specifiers, and standard language.. Apply standard writing practices, including using the present tense and active voice..

11. Week 11Module 4: How Can We Develop an Effective Legislative Style?

    • Unit 3: How to make legislation more comprehensible & concise · 4 hours

      Make legislation more concise by avoiding unnecessary details, superfluous words, and unnecessary reinforcement.. Use formulae, diagrams, and other visual aids to communicate information effectively..

12. Week 12Module 4: How Can We Develop an Effective Legislative Style?

    • Unit 4: How to make legislation complete, consistent & certain · 4 hours

      Ensure consistency by using the same expression for the same meaning and providing definitions for key concepts.. Draft in a gender-neutral style by using gender-neutral terms and avoiding gender-specific pronouns..

    • Unit 5: Should we draft in a gender-neutral style? · 4 hours

      Apply techniques for drafting in gender-neutral terms, including using plural pronouns and restructuring sentences.. Evaluate the appropriateness of gender-neutral drafting in specific contexts..

13. Week 13Final Revision

    • Final Revision · 6 hours

      Review all modules and units.. Practice drafting and revising legislative sentences.. Focus on identifying and correcting common errors in syntax and style..