One of the guidelines for a well-written document is to carefully proofread and revise your document. Describe why this is such an important step.?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A crucial part of legal writing involves proofreading and revising your document. When you receive a writing assignment, allow time to proofread and revise whatever you are writing. A writer can rarely turn out an error-free document on the first try, and, as a paralegal, you will be especially concerned with accuracy.Proofreading allows you to discover and correct typographical errors, to see whether your document reflects a logical progression of thought from one topic to another, and to verify whether you have covered all of the relevant facts or issues. You should use the spelling checker in your word-processing program, and perhaps the grammar checker as well, to assist you in proofreading. Don't, however, count on these tools to catch all of your errors.Writing is a process, and the best legal writing goes through many drafts before it is submitted to a court or sent to an opponent. When going over the initial drafts of a document, look for gaps in the content development or legal reasoning. Check to make sure that the argument is organized effectively and the rationale is well developed. It is often helpful to read the document out loud or have someone who is unfamiliar with the case or topic read the draft to provide constructive criticism. Another technique is to take a break and work on another project, and then come back to revise the document when you can look at it from a fresh perspective. Ask yourself whether the document says what you intended it to say and what you can do to improve its effectiveness.When you write your first draft, you have much to think about, and you may overlook many details. When proofreading your document, you can pay more attention to organizational coherence, transitions, paragraph construction, sentence formation, word choice, sexist language, and the like. You might find it helpful to develop a "writing checklist" to remind you of certain things you want to avoid or achieve in your writing-particularly if there is a required format for the type of document on which you are working. In short, when you are writing legal documents, realize that creating a polished document takes time, and a good portion of that time should be spent in proofreading and revising your written work product.?