Grammar for Lawyers Audio Course: Lesson 9 — Mastering Defined Terms and Preventing Hidden Ambiguity in Legal English.

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Lesson 9 focuses on taking control of defined terms and preventing ambiguity in Legal English so that your use of language serves its real purpose: clarity, consistency, and predictable meaning.

Defined terms are supposed to bring precision to legal documents. Too often, they quietly create ambiguity instead. Most contractual disputes don’t arise from dramatic clauses; they begin in the definitions section — a place lawyers often skim and clients rarely read. A single inconsistency in capitalization, an overly broad definition, or an unnoticed change during negotiation can distort obligations across an entire agreement.

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Lesson 9 — Contents

Audio Course Lesson 9: Preventing Ambiguity in Legal English

Lesson 9 Reading

Mastering Defined Terms and Preventing Hidden Ambiguity

1. Capitalization Is Not Cosmetic

2. Scope: Not Too Broad, Not Too Narrow

3. The Silent Problem: Definition Drift

4. Define Only What Needs Defining

5. Avoid Circular Definitions

6. The Goal: Zero Guesswork

Key Principles to Apply

Resources for This Lesson

What’s Next in the Course

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