Five Ways to Write Like The Economist

By Ross Guberman

W
hen I fly both here and abroad, I often spot If growth recovers, the hole left by years of
the Blackberry-and-Bluetooth set poring serial tax cutting and overspending can be
over The Economist from the comfort of plugged: you need to find spending cuts or tax
their airplane seats. increases equal only to 2% of GDP to stabilise
federal debt by 2015.5
Does the writing in that lauded publication offer any
secrets about how to appeal to your client base? Here
are five reasons the answer may be yes. Let’s look at 2. Zinger Verbs
some examples from a recent issue on everything from
Should we lawyers also “take advantage of” the
the Irish debt crisis to Prince William’s engagement.1
opportunity to “include” vivid verbs in our sentences?
Or should we seize the chance to pepper our
sentences with such verbs?

Try swapping the underlined language for some visual

and evocative action words:

Before

America’s tax system is riddled with exemptions

that sustain an industry of advisers but under-
mine economic energy.

The criminal businesses behind spam are com-

petitive and creative. They circumvent technical
fixes as fast as the hurdles are erected.
1. Magician’s Mark
Mark
Although Japanese society is growing older faster
In his book A Dash of Style, top literary agent Noah than anywhere else in the world, plenty of others
Lukeman calls the colon the “magician” of punctuation, are not particularly far behind it.
“one of the most powerful tools” in a writer’s arsenal.2
The [Republicans and Democrats] have little time
Yet other than when introducing lists and quotes, most
to ponder before a freight train descends upon
attorneys do not use the colon as often as they could.
Capitol Hill.
Whenever you feel like writing “due to the fact that,” “as
a result,” “therefore,” “for that reason,” “accordingly,” After
or even “because,” consider using a colon instead to
make the reader ask “why”: America’s tax system is riddled with exemptions
that feed an industry of advisers but sap eco-
But spam is still a menace: blocked at the e- nomic energy.6
mail inbox, spammers post messages as com-
ments on websites and increasingly on social The criminal businesses behind spam are com-
networks like Twitter and Facebook.3 petitive and creative. They vault over technical
fixes as fast as the hurdles are erected.7
The principle was absolutely right: unless
default is a possibility, bond investors have no Although Japanese society is growing older faster
reason to distinguish between good and bad than anywhere else in the world, plenty of others
credits.4 are shuffling along behind it.8

© 2010 Ross Guberman. All rights reserved.

 The [Republicans and Democrats] have little time
to ponder before a freight train thunders into
Capitol Hill.9

3. That Reminds Me
For any nonfiction writer, evocative examples and
analogies are priceless. Like the by-lined writers at The
Wall Street Journal, the anonymous writers at The 4. Starting Gate
Economist are adept at using such devices to seduce
you into reading about a dry topic. See how the first Great writers, legal or otherwise, learn to start their
lines of an article on the European bond market draw sentences with some speed. See if you can quicken the
you in: openings of these five sentences:

Groucho Marx memorably said that he did not Therefore, Ireland has long been flirting with a
wish to belong to any club that would have him as debt crisis of its own. However, it has not been
a member. Some of Europe’s more embattled helped by the other euro-zone members. As a
economies may now feel the same about the threshold matter, the rescue of Greece was a
euro.10 botch: it fudged the obvious issue that Greece will
never fully be able to repay its debts on time.
Another way to use an example is to give a number that Additionally, the temporary support scheme
makes an otherwise abstract concept concrete: cobbled together for the rest of the euro zone was
All that means that America can sensibly aim for a equally flawed: in particular, it was too easy on
balance between spending cuts and higher taxes private creditors. Nevertheless, notwith-
similar to the benchmark set by Britain’s coalition standing the fact that all this was trou-
government. A ratio of 75:25 is about right.11 bling, Angela Merkel’s attempt to fix it has been
spectacularly clumsy.
Of course, the most impressive examples are so creative
that they make a point stick in your mind long after Here’s what The Economist actually wrote:
you’ve finished reading. Note how The Economist uses So Ireland has long been flirting with a debt crisis
a clever analogy to link the problems of fighting spam of its own. But it has not been helped by the other
to a misunderstanding of the Internet: euro-zone members. To begin with, the rescue
Public behaviour still treats the internet like a of Greece was a botch: it fudged the obvious issue
village, in which new faces are welcome and anti- that Greece will never fully be able to repay its
social behaviour a rarity. A better analogy debts on time. And the temporary support
would be a railway station in a big city, scheme cobbled together for the rest of the euro
where hustlers gather to prey on the cre- zone was equally flawed: in particular, it was too
dulity of new arrivals. Wise behavior in such easy on private creditors. But although all this
places is to walk fast, avoid eye contact and be was troubling, Angela Merkel’s attempt to fix it
brusque with strangers. Try that online.12 has been spectacularly clumsy.13

Feeling lighter and faster? Your readers will as well.

© 2010 Ross Guberman. All rights reserved.

5. Parallel Lives
Lives money, and that she met the prince at univer-
sity rather than a stately home, can only do her
The knack for parallel construction is a hallmark of good.18
great legal writing in any specialty. Here are some
choice models from The Economist: If these five techniques help you write a bit more like
The Economist, you could make your readers as happy
First, parallel construction in a pair of related sentences as we hope Prince William and Kate Middleton will be.
about futile efforts to detect spam:

The anti-spam industry has done laudable work

About the Author
in saving e-mail. But it is always one step behind.
When filters blocked missives with tell-tale As the president of Legal Writing
words such as “Roles” or “Viagra”, spammers Pro, Ross Guberman conducts
misspelled them (Vi@gra, anyone?). When hundreds of writing programs a
filters blocked mail from suspect network year for top law firms,
addresses, the spammers used botnets (networks governmental agencies, and bar
of hijacked computers) instead.14 associations. He holds degrees
from Yale, the Sorbonne, and
Second, parallel construction through antithesis, the
The University of Chicago Law
rhetorical device that highlights contrasts:
School. An adjunct professor at
But the real question for Europe is whether it GW Law School, Ross is also an award-winning
wants a slow succession of Greeces and Irelands— journalist. In January, Oxford University Press is
or whether it is ready to move beyond govern- publishing his Point Made: How to Write Like the
mental rescues and focus on growth.15 Nation’s Top Advocates. Contact Ross at
ross@legalwritingpro.com
Third, parallel construction in a list about spammers
and links:

To the spammer, it is moot whether the link is e-

mailed, tweeted, or liked.16 1 The Economist 20-26 Nov. 2010.
2 Lukeman, Noah. A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of
And in a list about the aging Japanese population: Punctuation. New York: Norton, 2006.
3 The Economist at 13.
Deregulation [in Japan] would help, by making 4 Id. at 11.
it easier to sell services (such as residential care) 5 Id. at 12.
to the elderly, by freeing up finance to allow 6 Id. at 12.
them to make better use of their savings, and by 7 Id. at 13.
encouraging more competition in the domestic 8 Id. at 16.
9
economy so that it can withstand the inevitable Id. at 52.
10 Id. at 77.
shocks to external trade.17
11 Id. at 12.
Note that repeating the “by” each time makes the list 12 Id. at 13.
13 Id. at 11.
stronger and clearer.
14 Id. at 13.
And finally, in this list about Kate Middleton, Prince 15 Id. at 11.
16 Id. at 13.
William’s future bride:
17 Id. at 16.
That her forebears include Northumbrian 18 Id. at 41.
miners and her mother was formerly an air
stewardess, that her parents made their own

© 2010 Ross Guberman. All rights reserved.