Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Parking signs are notoriously bad examples of legal writing, and for several reasons.

First, they’re written by inexperienced writers who are focussed on content rather than on message, possibly the reason for the unconventional use of capital letters and punctuation.

Second, they have a lot to say in a small space—the reason for a line where the word “and” would have been useful?

Third, they want to be clear that this sign has legal force—so strong language, big words, and several threats.

Of course, if you think for a moment, you know what this sign means. But this is a parking lot; people are driving cars while reading this sign.  

Why not try to rewrite this sign? I would love to see the results. Or join me in one week (!!) for Editing for Plainer Legal Writing at PlainLanguageAcademy.com.

Register now at https://bit.ly/35MnGxS