Laura Daghe's Legal Research and Writing Program (B542, Fall): Degrees & Courses: School of Law

Test of the Emergency Grammar System This short quiz (with answers) is the creation of Prof. John Russial of the University of Oregon School of Journalism.
Elements of Style An on-line version of the classic style book by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online An on-line version of the widely used reference on style and manuscript preparation.
The Law Student's Guide to Good Writing This interactive tutorial, which contains both explanations and exercises, was developed specifically for law students.
OWL's Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation This site, offered by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab ("OWL"), contains an overview of the topics, as well as exercises and answer keys. Click on the "Grammar and Mechanics" tab.
Politics and the English Language In this essay, George Orwell identifies the characteristics of bad writing.
Merriam-Webster On-Line Features include an on-line dictionary and thesaurus, a word of the day, and daily word games.

Link to the on-line Diagnostic Test (password protected). After completing the test, you can log in again to see the test questions, your pattern of errors, and an explanation of each answer. To see the test and the pattern of errors/explanation of answers at the same time, open two windows in your browser.
An old (harder) Diagnostic Test
- Intructions: For each underlined area, indicate "C" for correct or "I" for incorrect.
- Answers and Explanations for the OLD Diagnostic Test

Sample Competency Test of Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. This link takes you to a prior year's test for practice. The 2009 test will cover the material in Chapters 8 and 9 of Just Writing and in the Glossary of Usage on pages 307 to 313 of Just Writing, third edition. The structure of the 2008 Competency Test may be somewhat different from that of the sample test. Note also that the sample test covers selected portions only of the assigned material in Just Writing.
ANSWERS to the Sample Competency Test of Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation
Outline of the Just Writing Material This outline is based on the Enquist and Oates text and provides a cheat-sheet of the grammar, punctuation, and usage assessed on the Competency Test.
A very useful set of grammar and punctuation exercises keyed to Just Writing, Second Edition, is provided on the CD-ROM that comes with the book. For each topic on which you need practice, first read the Just Writing section indicated on the exercise, then do the exercise, and, finally, check your answers against the key provided on the CD. Exercises cover:
- Active and Passive Voice
- Apostrophes
- Colons
- Commas
- Fragments
- Pronouns (Pronoun Agreement, Ambiguous Pronouns, Broad Pronoun Reference, and Pronoun Antecedents)
- Modifiers (Placement of and Dangling)
- Parallelism
- Semicolons
- Verbs (Verb Tense and Subject-Verb Agreement)

Deborah E. Bouchoux, Write Mate: A Guide to Grammar and Style (1995) (This single laminated sheet is a handy reference to the most common rules of grammar, punctuation, and style. Limited numbers are available at the bookstore.);
The Chicago Manual of Style (Univ. of Chicago Press Staff ed., 15th ed. 2003);
Anne Enquist & Laurel Currie Oates, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer (2d ed. 2005);
Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (2d ed. 1995);
Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises (2001);
Bryan A. Garner, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (2d. ed. 2006);
David Mellinkoff, Legal Writing: Sense and Nonsense (1982);
William Strunk, Jr. & E. B. White, Elements of Style (4th ed. 2000) (also available on line);
Joseph M. Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (9th ed. 2006);
Richard C. Wydick, Plain English for Lawyers (5th ed. 2005).

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