Wrong words part 2

ambiguous / vague “Ambiguous” means susceptible of two different meanings, but “vague” means abstract and incapable of being pinned down. The two are different. Many lawyers use “ambiguous” when they mean “vague”:

• You cannot define what a reasonable person would do. It’s ambiguous.No, it’s vague.

scan / skim
“Scan” means to take in every part of a document: think about what a scanner does. “Skim” means to go over something quickly, getting just the highlights. So better writers don't write this:

• I was in a hurry, so I only had time to scan the brief.

That should be “skim.”

BLOG.LEGALWRITING.NET: Wrong words part 2