Writing effectively

Once a policy has been thought through, it is time to put pen to paper and words to the page. Your focus turns from clarifying the policy to expressing it in the most effective way.

No dwelling here on how to do so; that is what the Guidelines are for. Simply put, every law should be simple, plain, brief, consistent, and readable. Every law should be organized in a way that is sensible and intuitive. Above all, every law should be clear.

Writing clearly provides two very important benefits. First, a clear draft is an accurate draft. Take a clear draft and show it to the lawmaker. Because the draft is clear, by definition it has only one meaning; it can be read in only one possible way. After reading it, the lawmaker can only accept it as accurate or return it with an explanation of what is not yet quite right (or perhaps abandon the project).

Second, clear writing ensures that the draft, if enacted into law, carries out the policy effectively and efficiently. If the law is not clear to the officer responsible for carrying it out, the officer might carry out the policy in a way the lawmaker did not intend—or might not carry it out at all. If the law is not clear to those affected by it, they might be unsure how to comply. Disputes might follow, and the courts might interpret the law in a way that the lawmaker did not intend—or might void it altogether.

So you must be able to draft with great clarity. Until and unless the lawmaker instructs you otherwise, you should draft on that basis. And as part and parcel of being able to draft with great clarity, you must also be able to spot every way in which a draft is not clear.