Rhetoric
Rhetoric has gotten a bad name lately; the word is often used to denote mere talk, unaccompanied by action (e.g. here). While rhetoric can indeed denote "insincere or grandiloquent language," its primary definition is "the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion."1 If you are a legal writer interested in writing more persuasively (and what legal writer isn't? 2), here are a couple of rhetorical resources:3
Silva Rhetoricae, by BYU's Dr. Gideon Burton, is an on-line guide to terms of classical and renaissance rhetoric. Silva means forest, "the metaphor for this site. Like a forest, rhetoric provides tremendous resources for many purposes. However, one can easily become lost in a large, complex habitat (whether it be one of wood or of wit). The organization of this central page and the hyperlinks within individual pages should provide a map, a discernible trail, to lay hold of the utility and beauty of this language discipline."
Virtual Salt's Handbook of Rhetorical Devices "contains definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing." It's one branch of the Virtual Salt web site, where, if you scroll down, you'll find many useful links, including Tools for Writers. The site was created and is maintained by Robert Harris, who also has a Virtual Salt blog, where he shares the life and struggles of his schizophrenic friend, Howie.
p.s. 3/30/06): Beth Agnew has created a nice collection of resources on rhetoric. (Hat tip to Roy Jacobsen.)
__________
1 Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
2 Rhetorical question.
3 Alliteration.
