Been a while since you sharpened your writer's saw? These books can help.

To be truly persuasive, don't just write a brief; tell a story.

Here's how to create an electronic brief that includes exhibits, signed documents; everything you'd include in a paper version. For an example, see /ibj/apr00lj/ebrief.pdf.

Okay, you've got a real job now; how do you transfer your writing skills from the classroom to the real world of lawyering? Here are some tips.

In the last two columns we looked at the drafting process and component parts of transaction documents.

Assemble the standard provisions and create the picture of a well-done deal.

Banks and title insurance; fees for foiled FOIA requests; crafting affirmative action plans; and more.

Drafting a seaworthy document requires more than pasting form provisions into place; you have to learn the facts and the law.

Move over Bluebook; a soon-to-be-released citation manual provides much clearer answers with many fewer words.

You don't have to read every word of a writing sample to assess its quality. Here's what to look for.

Last month's column urged employers to assess the writing skills of prospective hires; this month, learn how to get the writing sample you need.

Here's how to screen prospective hires for good legal writing skills.

If you don't have time to read as much as you'd like, consider viewing a movie based on a good book about the law.

Taking time to help associates to write better will pay in the long run.

Professor Collins touched a nerve with last month's column. Here are some of your responses and her reactions to them.

Give your audience what it wants; first, though, figure out who your audience is.

When does a word mean what it means rather than what people hear it to mean?

One of the fundamental tasks of a lawyer is to find the law and communicate that authority to others.

Attorneys are not above the laws of good marketing; ignore them at your peril.

Great literature, like great lawyering, responds to and reflects the human condition.

You don't need to write "persuasively''; simply explain and the persuasion will take care of itself.

The difference between the right word and the wrong word is the difference between ... regardless and irregardless.