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Expanding your vocabulary will help you at several stages of the litigation process. For example, expanding your vocabulary helps you in analysing a legal problem by helping you to describe the key facts in the problem, including facts about the status of parties and special characteristics of places, objects, and subjects, and in describing important legal concepts involved in your problem, including the type of law, area of law, causes of action, defenses, and relief (Simpson (2008)).

Expanding your vocabulary also helps you in finding the answer to your legal problem. For example, when searching a legal index or encyclopaedia, you should think of as many alternative words and phrases as possible that describe or relate to your topic (McKie (1993) 42). The importance of developing a creative list of key words and phrases to use in all index searches cannot be overestimated (Stott (1993) 28).

To think of as many words as possible, you must use your imagination. One method for expanding your imagination, and for expanding your search vocabulary, is the cartwheel method developed by William Statsky, and re-badged as the compass method by Troy Simpson.

This method for expanding your search vocabulary uses a diagram that prompts you for different kinds of words. The method is like a word association game:

To use the compass method of expanding your search vocabulary, imagine the centre of the compass holds one of the main fact keywords or concept keywords involved in your legal problem.

For example, you might list “Doctor” as your first main keyword. Imagine “Doctor” lies in the centre of the compass. List as many words and phrases of the following types:

• Broader words (examples: “expert”, “professional”, “practitioner”)
• Narrower words (examples: “psychiatrist”, “neurologist”, “dermatologist”)
• Similar words (examples: “physician”, “medical practitioner”, “doctor of medicine”)
• Opposite words (examples: “patient”, “injured”, “sick person”)
• Closely related words (examples: “nurse”, “hospital”, “surgery”)
• Loosely related words (examples: “training”, “university”, “qualifications”)
• Procedural words (examples: “application”, “registration”, “deregistration”)
• Agencies (examples: “Medical Practitioners Board”, “Health Provider Registry”, “Medical Disciplinary Tribunal”)

The next step in expanding your search vocabulary is to repeat this process for each of your other main keywords.

Another tip for expanding your search vocabulary is to include variations in spelling. Examples are “indorse” and “endorse”, “-ise” words and “-ize” words, and “-led” words and “-lled” words. Also include cognate expressions — for example, “contractor”, “contracted”, “contracting”.

To help you in expanding your vocabulary even further, browse indexes, subject guides, and thesauruses. Use software like the popular vocabulary-building program, Ultimate Vocabulary.

As you research your legal problem more thoroughly, review your list of keywords for further ideas, concepts, and search terms, and add those keywords to your list.

References

Suzanne McKie, Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law (1993)

Troy Simpson, Win More Cases: The Lawyer’s Toolkit (2008)

David Stott, Legal Research (1993) 28