冠词指“a”，“an”，和“the”。学生常在句子中漏掉冠词，以为如此“高效”或“听起来象律师（说得话）”。但，漏掉冠词总是写出劣质文章。需要用冠词的时候就用冠词，律师也不可以例外。亚洲国家学生在写作时应注意正确用冠词，由于很多亚洲国家语言没冠词。
1 防止律师的习惯干扰。漏掉冠词并不可以使句子更简洁，反而使句子更难懂。不要试图把句子写得“象律师写的那样”。文章写得正式，而不是“象律师那样”。
Incorrect: Police officer moved evidence to avoid disappearance from crime scene.
Correct: The police office moved the evidence to avoid its disappearance from the crime scene.
Incorrect: Abrams, officer on duty at time of crime, testified against defendant, Joanna Stone.
Correct: Abrams, the officer on duty at the time of the crime, testified against the defendant, Joanna Stone.
2 发元音和发辅音。怎么样使用“a”和“an”。原则非常简单：以辅音开头的名词前用a，以元音开头的名词前用“an”。在第三点中将讨论稍难些的问题－怎么样处置元音发音和辅音发音。
Incorrect: The judge had an gavel, and he used it frequently.
Correct: The judge had a gavel, and he used it frequently.
Incorrect: The judge had a elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.
Correct: The judge had an elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.
3 元音发音开头和辅音发音开头。
有时一个单词以辅音开头，但听起来象以元音开头（即，发元音），这类单词在使用冠词时应被看作是以元音开头。这类单词多以“h”打头（比如hour和 heir），但假如该辅音发声（发声的辅音），就应象其它辅音一样使用冠词“a”。从而，单词“heir”以元音发音开头，单词“hotel”以辅音发音开头。
下面举个辅音开头发元音使用冠词的例子。
Incorrect: The judge gave the lawyers a hour's recess to review the new evidence.
Correct: The judge gave the lawyers an hour's recess to review the new evidence.
下面举个辅音开头发辅音使用冠词的例子。
Incorrect: The professor was well known for posing an hypothetical question when students suggested that one rule would suffice for all situations.
Correct: The professor was well known for posing a hypothetical question when students suggested that one rule would suffice for all situations.
