26. Don’t rely on the rules of grammar. The rules of grammar that you learned in school are not universal. The judge or jury interpreting the meaning of your contract may have learned different rules. Write the contract so that no matter what rules they learned, the contract is clear and unambiguous. Follow this test for clear writing: Remove all periods and commas, then read it. Choosing the right words and placing them in the right place makes the writing clear without punctuation.
不要依赖于语法规则。那些你在学校里得到的语法规则并不是放之四海而皆准的东西，因为有权力来解释此合同的法官或陪审团成员学的语法规则可能和你学的不一样，但不管学的是什么规则，撰写合同都要遵循一个基本原则：简洁、明确。检测你写的东西是否达到这个要求有个好办法，那就是去掉所有的句号和逗号，然后去读它。在没有标点符号的情况下，选择正确的词语放在正确的位置上，这将使你写出来的东西更简明，更流畅。
27. Don’t be creative with words. Contract writing is not creative writing and is not meant to provoke reflective thoughts or controversies about nuances of meaning. Contract writing is clear, direct and precise. Therefore, use common words and common meanings. Write for the common man and the common woman.
不要创造词语。合同文书不是创造性的作品，也就不能因为意思的细微差别而引起思考或争论。合同文书应该是清晰、直接而准确的。因此，要使用普通的词语,表达普通的意思，为普通人撰写合同。
28. Be consistent in using words. If you refer to the subject matter of a sales contract as "goods" use that term throughout the contract; do not alternately call them "goods" and "items." Maintaining consistency is more important than avoiding repetition. Don’t worry about putting the reader to sleep; worry about the opposing lawyer a year from now hunting for ambiguities to get your contract into court.
用词一致。在一份销售合同中，如果你想用“货物”来指整个合同的标的物，就不要时而称它们为“货物”，时而又改称它们为“产品”。保持用词一致性比避免重复更加重要。不要担心这会让读者打瞌睡;你应该提防的是对方律师会因为含糊不清的合同而将你告上法庭。
