Summary for Pro Se Plaintiff The magistrate judge is recommending that the motion for summary judgment be granted. Your evidence does not show that Nurse Yule, Nurse Practitioner Housley, or Dr. Wong acted in ways that they knew were likely to cause you additional harm or suffering. Such evidence is required to show a violation…
Tag: Microsoft Word
Make Microsoft Word “macros” your power hack for plain-language editing
Why it matters Readers know why they prefer writers who use short, simple, and familiar words and phrases: before > antecedent to | so > accordingly | matches > comports with. Unnecessary words should be struck (like pulling weeds from your garden and flower beds): enough > a sufficient number of | [omit] > as…
Six user-friendly things about the Michigan Governor’s e-filed brief
Michigan’s Governor filed a supplemental brief to the Michigan Supreme Court while the Court considers her April 7, 2022 Executive Message. The nicely formatted brief makes for an easier read. Six things stand out. [1] Spacing. Nice spacing is used in the arguments section of the table of contents page, the authorities index, and between…
Curly and straight quotes happen but they don’t mix. The Ctrl+F fix.
Many writers’ Word settings are already configured to use Smart (curly) Quotes as they type. But straight quotes can slip in when others add content (because their Word is set to use Straight Quotation Marks when they type). Straight quotes can also slip in when a writer copies online content and pastes it into their…
Understanding and using Word’s Styles and templates to format legal briefs (a guide)
If I had a dollar for each time I’ve read or heard a well-intentioned person say, “Lawyers (or law students) need to learn how to use Styles and templates when writing their legal briefs . . .” And, yet, for all of those who encourage, “You should,” I’ve never seen someone also point to a…
unDEFAULT: See how to review and adjust your proofing, grammar, and spelling settings in Microsoft Word (Editor)
Microsoft went big in 2020 when it released its new editing tool, Editor. Given all of its juiced-up functionality, it’s worth the straightforward review of your current Word settings and adjusting them to fit your preferences and writing needs. (No one wants to live and edit by Microsoft’s “default” settings, do they?) “While Microsoft has…
Spell check matters!
No one is perfect and mistakes happen. This space included. But typing errors are often avoidable if we strive to use the already-available tools. I need to be reminded of this just as much as the next person. The reminder to use my word processor’s spell check—or at least be sensitive to the squiggly red…