"Not Bad" Isn't Good Enough: Write in the Affirmative

If you’ve ever met a Minnesotan—or been one yourself—you might be familiar with a certain type of conversation:

"How are you?"

"Not bad."

It’s a simple, understated way of saying things are going well, without actually saying things are going well. It’s humble. It’s charming. And, culturally, it fits. But while "not bad" works just fine at a backyard barbecue, it doesn’t work when you're answering a bar exam essay or writing a legal memo.

Photo by Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash

In legal writing, phrasing matters more than you might realize. And one of the easiest ways to instantly sharpen your writing is this: Frame your answers in the affirmative, not the negative.

Instead of telling the reader what the court won’t do, tell them what the court will do. Instead of focusing on what the law doesn't allow, emphasize what it does permit. It sounds simple, but this shift changes how your writing is perceived—and, more importantly, how easy it is for graders and professors to follow your analysis.

For example, consider two ways of framing an answer about a duty of care:

Example 1: Weak (Negative Framing)

• The court would not find the defendant liable because the duty of care does not extend to this situation.

Example 2: Better (Positive Framing)

• The court would find that the defendant is not liable because the duty of care extends only to foreseeable plaintiffs, and the plaintiff here was unforeseeable.

Both sentences ultimately reach the same conclusion. But the second is stronger. Instead of dragging the reader through a double negative, it states the outcome affirmatively: The court would find that the defendant is not liable. Then it explains why. The focus is forward-looking, helping the reader quickly grasp the rule, the application, and the conclusion without mental gymnastics.

There’s also a subtle psychological effect at play. Positive framing reinforces a sense of authority and confidence. When you state what the court will do—rather than dancing around what it won't—you project decisiveness. In law, that matters. Judges, professors, and bar graders have to read quickly. Every time you make their job easier, you earn goodwill—and possibly a few more points.

You can even train yourself to catch these patterns in your own writing. Before you submit a practice essay or an assignment, take one last pass where you look for negatives: words like “not,” “won’t,” “cannot,” “fails,” “never.” When you spot them, ask yourself whether you could reframe the point in positive terms instead. Often, you can. And when you do, your writing becomes crisper, your arguments more persuasive.

At its core, the principle is simple: Don't just explain what the law isn't—explain what the law is. Don’t just explain what the court won’t do—explain what the court will do.

So next time someone asks how your practice essays are going, don’t say “not bad.”

Say, “Good.”

And let your writing prove it.