Reading is Fundamental

Reading is an important skill for a lawyer. Although every person in law school can read, some are better readers than others. Like any other skill, reading improves through practice. One way to practice is to read things you normally would not. In your daily practice you will come across well written opinions, letters, reports, etc. You will also encounter poorly written items. If you practice reading things you are unfamiliar with you will train yourself to be a more careful reader. For those who enjoy reading Mother Jones, try reading the National Review. The point of view and style of writing differ dramatically from MJ so you will not be able to guess where the sentence is going, but you will have to parse each word. Try reading articles from the list of periodicals below to flex your reading muscles.

Mother Jones
National Review
Christian Science Monitor
Wall Street Journal
San Francisco Chronicle
Economist
New York Times
The Onion

Not only will practice improve your reading skills, it will also improve your writing skills. In order to get through unfamiliar items you will necessarily learn new vocabulary words and be exposed to various writing styles. The process of reading about current events from different ends of the political spectrum will also hone your skills at recognizing different styles of argument and analysis.