I think the French call it ‘getting the biggest bang for the Euro’. Efficiency means good use use of limited resources to achieve desired results. Others have expressed this principle as ‘upfront the bottom line’ and ‘tell the reader without delay what the reader wants to know’.Ĥ/ You have championed efficiency in contract drafting. Categories Layoutġ/ You have pointed out that single-spacing is MORE readable than double-spacing.Ģ/ You have pointed out that GENERAL ALLCAPPING (AKA SHOUTING) MAKES TEXT LESS RATHER THAN MORE READABLE.ģ/ You have pointed out that deal points should come early in the contract body, and defininitions and other boring stuff farther along. Sorry for pulling this switcheroo on you. Obviously so: if none of the the enumerated paragraphs uses first-line indenting, it would be odd to use first-line indents for the unenumerated paragraphs. This approach would apply equally to the hanging-indent scheme I propose in this post. So here’s what a set of autonomous definitions would look like: This approach would apply to all unenumerated paragraphs. So here’s what the front of the contract would look like without first-line indenting: I was mildly annoyed that my article on represents and warrants ( here) uses first-line indents with spaced paragraphs. Well, I’m now inclined to say, the heck with that! I’ve decided that using first-line indents with spaced paragraphs just looks too silly. Given that for contract drafters document design is generally a low priority, the notion of switching from first-line indenting for enumerated paragraphs to doing without for paragraphs without enumeration seems too fussy. Given the lack of enumeration, one could dispense with the first-line indents, but they’ve been retained for reasons of consistency between enumerated paragraphs and paragraphs without enumeration.
How to set first line indent in word manual#
In the samples in this manual and in the redrafted version of the appendix 1 contract, paragraphs without enumeration-the introductory clause, the recitals, the lead-in, the concluding clause, and autonomous definitions-all use first-line indents. In this case, the need for a logical layout trumps typography considerations. The result is that the MSCD enumeration scheme uses both space between paragraphs and first-line indents. Furthermore, the logic behind the MSCD enumeration scheme (see 4.53) requires first-line indents for sections (see 4.13) and subsections (see 4.26). Given that reading contracts often involves flipping from provision to provision, that space seems indispensable. And vice versa.”Ĭontracts invariably use space between paragraphs. If you use a first-line indent on a paragraph don’t use space between. For example, Typography for Lawyers, at 136–37, says, “First-line indents and space between paragraphs have the same relationship as belts and suspenders. Typography professionals recommend that you not use both techniques. One way to signal the start of a new paragraph is to indent the first line. Another way is to put space between paragraphs.