第三部分：撰寫時的注意事項 　17、Title it "Contract." Do not leave this one to chance. If your client wants a contract, call it a contract. A judge now sitting on the federal bench once ruled that a document entitled "Proposal" was not a contract even though signed by both parties. The lesson learned is, "Say what you mean." If you intend the document to be a legally binding contract, use the word "Contract" in the title.

　17、標題上注明“合同”兩字。不要為碰運氣而忽略這個。如果你的客戶需要合同，就要注明是合同。一個仍在聯邦法院里任職的法官就曾經裁定：有雙方簽字，但標有“建議書”的文件并非合同。這給我們的教訓就是，你怎么想，就應該怎么說。如果你想讓你的文件成為具有法律效力的合同，就要在標題中注明“合同”字樣。

　18、Write in short sentences. Short sentences are easier to understand than long ones.

　18、寫短句子，因為短句子比長句子讓人更容易理解。報關員考試

　19、Write in active tense, rather than passive. Active tense sentences are shorter and use words more efficiently, and their meaning is more apparent. Example of active: "Sellers shall sell the Property to Buyer." Example of passive: "The Property shall be sold to Buyer by Seller."

　19、用主動語態而不用被動語態。相對而言，主動語態的句子更簡短，措詞更精練，表達更明白。還是讓我們來來看一個例子吧，主動語態的句子：賣方將把此物賣給買方;被動語態的句子：此物將被賣方賣給買方。

　20、Don't use the word "biweekly." It has two meanings: twice a week and every other week. The same applies to "bimonthly." Instead, write "every other week" or "twice a week."

　20、不要用“雙周”之類的詞，因為這有可能產生歧義——是兩周還是每隔一周?類似的詞還有“雙月”，所以最好這樣寫：“兩周”或“每隔一周”。

　21、Don't say things like "active termites and organisms". Avoid ambiguity by writing either "active termites and active organisms" or "organisms and active termites." When adding a modifier like "active" before a compound of nouns like "termites and organisms", be sure to clarify whether you intend the modifier to apply to both nouns or just the first one. If you intend it to apply to both, use parallel construction and write the modifier in front of each noun. If you intend it to apply to just one noun, place that one noun at the end of the list and the modifier directly in front of it.

　21、不要說“活動著的白蟻和有機體”之類的話，為了避免模棱兩可，最好這樣寫：“活動著的白蟻和活動著的有機體”或是“白蟻和活動著的有機體”。當一組名詞(如“白蟻和有機體”)前有一個修飾語(如“活動著的”)時，你一定要弄清楚這個修飾語是修飾兩個名詞還是僅僅修飾第一個名詞。如果是修飾兩個詞，可以用排比的手法分別在這兩個詞之前加上修飾語，如果你只想修飾一個名詞，那么你就應該把這個詞放在這組詞的最后，然后在它的前面加上修飾語。

　22、Don't say "Lessor" and "Lessee." These are bad nicknames for a lease because they are easily reversed or mistyped. Use "Landlord" and "Tenant" instead. The same applies to lienor and lienee, mortgagor and mortgagee, grantor and grantee, licensor and licensee, party A and party B. This is where you can use your creativity to come up with a different nickname for a party, as long as you use it consistently throughout the contract.

　22、不要說“出租人”和“承租人”。這對一個租賃合同來說是些不好的別稱，因為他們容易被顛倒或者出現打印錯誤。可以用“房東”和“房客”來代替他們。同樣，在合同中也不要說留置權人和留置人，抵押權人和抵押人，保證人和被保證人，許可人和被許可人，當事人A和當事人B……到底怎么說，這就要看你駕馭語言的能力了，不過，要把握的一條原則，即在整個合同中，對合同一方只能用一個別稱。



[1] [2]