A Word on Rhetoric And Prose

Commentary should always be analytical in content and judicious in tone.  Some American Muslim writers render ad hominem attacks against authors instead of actually responding to the substance of what is being said.  Let us strive to keep emotion out of our prose and let the innately beautiful teachings of Islam speak for themselves.  Also, keep the following 10 writing tips in mind:

1. Revise and rewrite.
2. Never use a long Latinate word when a short Anglo-Saxon one will do.
3. Cut needless words: mindless introductory phrases (“It is important to keep in mind the fact that”); redundancies (“previous experience”).
4. Write with nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs.
5. Shun the passive voice and forms of the verb “to be”.  Use active verbs.
6. Vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs.
7. Make your point at the start.  Use the rest of your piece to support it.
8. In a short piece, do not end with a summary.  When you’ve finished, just stop.
9. Build your argument from facts and logic, not just from quotations by those who agree with you.
10. Acknowledge contrary data or arguments.  You may refute them, but you may not neglect them.