Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing, Third Edition

by Michael R. Smith

With a practical focus on persuasive writing strategy, Michael R. Smith identifies and explores three processes of persuasive writing logos, pathos, and ethos and provides a thorough introduction to the elements of rhetorical style.
Using detailed how-to guides and plenty of examples, the author s distinctive approach to persuasive writing examines:

technical aspects of rhetorical style: metaphor, literary allusion, figures of speech, and graphic design
three basic processes of persuasive legal writing strategy:

Logos: logic and rational argument
Pathos: value-based argument
Ethos: establishing credibility
interdisciplinary contributions to persuasive writing from fields such as cognitive psychology, classical rhetoric, and morality theory
effective strategies that extend beyond the trial or appellate brief to a broad range of documents and settings

In the Second Edition, the reader will find:

a new organization that puts a greater emphasis on practice and relatively less on theory for each of the three processes of persuasive writing strategy

a new six-Part organization:

I. Introduction

II. Logos Strategies

III. Pathos Strategies

IV. Ethos Strategies

V. Rhetorical Style

VI. The Ethics and Morality of Persuasion

coverage of new developments in cognitive psychology, Pathos persuasion, and the role of metaphor in persuasive legal writing.

the same manageable length
For a complete examination of the technique and strategy behind persuasive writing, Smith s text strikes the right balance of depth and scope for upper-level legal writing courses.

416 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Michael R. Smith (born July 1961), Professor of Law, Director of Legal Writing and Director of the Center for the Study of Written Advocacy.
He graduated in May, 1985 from the University of Florida, College of Law, Gainesville, Florida.