12 marzo 2020

Legal English for lawyers and legal staff


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11 marzo 2020

Brackets

Brackets allow the insertion of editorial material inside quotations. 
Clarification If the original material includes a noun or pronoun that is unclear, brackets can be used for clarification. 

Examples The president stated that he “will not sign the bill they [Republican members of the House] have been talking about.” In his memoirs, the author reveals, “The year we moved into the house [1985] was a difficult one for us, both emotionally and financially.” The media mogul was overheard saying, “I would never do a deal with [Acme Corporation's CEO,] Wile E. Coyote.” When used in this way, the bracketed information should be an addition, not a substitution. 

For example, if the original quotation is “She never called back,” do not change it to “[Lucy] never called back.” Instead write: “She [Lucy] never called back.” (Note: Many newspapers ignore this rule. In professional and academic writing, it is better to follow it.) In many cases, brackets can be avoided by reframing the quotation. Awkward “Why can’t we do the same thing [provide government-funded grants to independent filmmakers] in this country?” Christina Black asks. Recast Citing filmmaking grants provided by the Australian government, independent filmmaker Christina Black asks, “Why can’t we do the same thing in this country?” 

Translation If a quotation includes a foreign word or phrase that might not be understood, provide a translation in brackets. (Use parentheses for translations of unquoted material.) 
Example Smith writes in his autobiography: “I seldom spoke in French class. When I did, I usually just said je ne sais pas [I don’t know].” Indicating a change in capitalization In most contexts, it is acceptable to silently change the first letter of quoted material from uppercase to lowercase, or vice versa. 

In certain contexts, such changes must be indicated with brackets. Examples “[T]his study has been widely cited, notwithstanding its dubious methodology.” Under the terms of his employment contract, his “[p]erformance-based stock options shall not vest until December 31, 2025.” Indicating errors

From https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/brackets.html
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https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/brackets.html

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10 marzo 2020

What to italicize.

When you italicize a word or a phrase, it gets noticed. However, italics (typeface that slants to the right) are a bit understated and do not attract the same attention as say, bold or underline. When to use italics? There are certain style rules to remember. However, italics are popularly used to call attention to certain words in a block of text. When you think about it if all the words looked the same, reading would be a rather boring affair. One thing to remember for any typeface is not to go overboard. If every other word is italics, it loses its effect and becomes less 'special.'

What to Italicize

Like so many rules in the English language, rules for italicization vary. Often italics and underline can be used interchangeably. There are some style guides that prefer the use of underlining over the use of italics (and vice versa).
Here are, though, some rules of what to italicize. However, do keep in mind that for some of these categories below underlining is also possible.
  • Emphasis: When you want to emphasize a certain word or phrase in a sentence. (She was the only girl in the class who got 100% on the exam.)
  • Titles of Works: (Please note that we can also underline the following)
  • Books: (Elements of StyleHarry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJane Eyre)
  • Magazines: (Time magazine, NewsweekCosmpolitan)
  • Newspapers: (USA TodayWall Street JournalSan Francisco Chronicle)
  • Plays: (Romeo & JulietWaiting for GodotUncle Vanya)
  • Movies: (BatmanCasablancaTwilight)
  • Works of Art: (Monet's Waterlilies, Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa)
  • TV/radio programs: (American Idol, BBC's Woman's HourThe Simpsons)
  • CD/Album: (Michael Jackson's Thriller album, Parachutes by Cold Play)
  • Foreign Words/Technical Terms/Unfamiliar Words: When we are writing a text in one particular language (i.e. English) and want to introduce a foreign word or phrase, we tend to italicize the foreign words. (The word for cat in Spanish is gato.)
  • Names of Trains, Ships, Aircraft, and Spacecraft: (NASA's ChallengerQE2)
Source:

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/when/when-to-italicize.html#