by Wilton H. Strickland

As part of my mission to help attorneys produce excellent work on behalf of their clients, I thought it would be appropriate to build upon my first article dealing with errors that often plague modern writing. Without further ado, here are some additional tips to make your writing more professional and, as a natural consequence, persuasive:

Tortious vs. Torturous vs. Tortuous

These words are frequently muddled because of overreliance on the computer. “Tortious” is a legal term describing wrongful conduct that generates civil liability. Most spellcheck or autocorrect programs are unfamiliar with this term and treat it as a mistake, which leads to awkward sentences such as this: “The defendant should be held liable for his torturous conduct.” Unless the defendant was torturing the plaintiff with thumbscrews or other such implements, the sentence is incorrect and will likely slip past a busy word-processing employee. As for “tortuous,” this means lengthy or full of twists and turns, so it has a legitimate role to play when describing an opponent’s strained argument. Just be sure to proofread everything on paper before it goes out the door, and take a moment to add each of these three words to your computers’ lexicon.

Duplicitous vs. Duplicative

I often see the first of these words mistakenly used as the second. “Duplicitous” does not mean repetitive, redundant, or unnecessary; it means deceitful. A helpful way to keep this straight is to remember that a deceitful person is said to be two-faced. If your goal is to describe arguments or evidence as redundant, use “duplicative.”

Reticent vs. Hesitant

Synonyms are wonderful because they help spruce up one’s writing and make it more colorful. The word “reticent,” however, clouds things because people often assume that it is a synonym of “hesitant.” It isn’t. A reticent person is reluctant to speak. A hesitant person is reluctant to do much of anything.

“Is Comprised Of”

This phrase is very common but incorrect. The word “comprise” should be used in the active voice because it already means “to consist of.” If you must use the passive voice, consider the alternative “composed of.” For example:

Incorrect: “A single deck is comprised of fifty two cards.”

Correct: “A single deck comprises fifty two cards.” OR “A single deck is composed of fifty two cards.”

Forego vs. Forgo

There doesn’t seem to be a dime’s worth of difference between these two words, but indeed they have unique meanings. “Forego” means to come before, as when referencing an earlier argument as the “foregoing” one. “Forgo” means to do without or to decline something, as in “I will forgo my right to a jury trial.”

Disinterested vs. Uninterested

The first of these two words means impartial or without bias, whereas the second means indifferent or uncaring. For example, it’s good to have a judge who is disinterested in your case, but it’s bad for a judge to be uninterested in it.

“Running Amuck”

The proper phrase for referring to someone or something going out of control is “running amok.” The word “amok” is Malay/Indonesian and signifies a murderous frenzy. It entered our vocabulary through the amazing flexibility of English, and although the alternative spelling “amuck” has floated around occasionally, it lost out and is considered incorrect.

Affect v. Effect

These words tie people in knots because each one can be a noun or a verb, which creates four possible meanings. It’s best simply to address each one in turn and give examples:

Affect (verb) = To influence or change.

Example: “His vote will not affect the outcome of the election.”

Affect (noun) = Visible signs of feeling or emotion.

Example: “Schizophrenics tend to have very flat affect.”

Effect (verb) = To cause or bring about.

Example: “The new CEO is promising to effect sweeping changes in how we do business.”

Effect (noun) = Result or consequence.

Example: “One effect of a progressive income tax is to discourage productivity.”

Transpire

I’m probably fighting a losing battle on this one, since this word is so often used as “to take place” that its original meaning may very well have been lost. For what it’s worth, “to transpire” means to be revealed or to come to light, which is somewhat related to its botanical definition of giving off water vapor. This makes sense when considering the related words of “perspire” (giving off sweat) or “respire” (breathing). If you want your writing truly to stand out, make a point of using this word correctly:

Example: “Due to the dogged efforts of Woodward and Bernstein, it transpired that the Nixon administration had committed several crimes.”