1. Avoid Lawyers' Noises. Leaving an article out of a sentence will not make it much more concise, but it will make the sentence more difficult to read. Don't try to write "like a lawyer": it is far better that your writing be considered literate than lawyer-like.
Correct: The police office moved the evidence to avoid its disappearance from the crime scene.
Incorrect: Abrams, officer on duty at time of crime, testified against defendant, Joanna Stone.
Correct: Abrams,
the officer on duty at the time of the crime, testified against the defendant,
Joanna Stone.
2. Choosing between "a" and "an." The
general rule is simple: use "a" before nouns beginning with a consonant
and "an" before nouns beginning with a vowel. The more difficult question,
discussed below in item 3, is how to deal with vowel sounds and voiced
consonants.
Correct: The judge had a gavel, and he used it frequently.
Incorrect: The judge had a elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.
Correct: The judge had an elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.
3. Vowel Sounds and Voiced Consonants. Sometimes a word begins with a consonant, but sounds as if it begins with a vowel (thus, "vowel sounds"). These words should be treated as if they start with a vowel in deciding which article to use. The most common among these are words beginning with the letter "h" (such as "hour" and "heir"). However, if you pronounce the consonant ("voiced consonants"), then use the article "a," as you would with most other consonants. Thus, the word "heir" begins with a vowel sound, while the word "hotel" begins with a voiced consonant.
The following is an example of using articles with consonants that sound like vowels.
Correct: The judge gave the lawyers an hour's recess to review the new evidence.
The following is an example of using articles with voiced consonants.
Correct: The professor was well known for posing a hypothetical question when students suggested that one rule would suffice for all situations.