Take-Aways From The Class: " Writing For Social Justice ": Part 2

Facts VS Opinions

• Facts stand on their own: an opinion is not required.
• Opinions contain facts.
• Data is essential to assert an opinion.
• Back up your ideas/opinions with facts.

Evidence does not speak for itself. The writer must interpret the evidence and use the interpretation to bridge the gap between claims and evidence, thereby solidifying the idea.

SIX WAYS TO WRITE BETTER SENTENCES

1) Keep on angling for an accurate word count.

• Say things in a short way. Simplicity is the highest and most eloquent form of art.
• Wipe off any redundancies.
• Insert meaningful nouns and verbs.

2) Target the position of words.

• Either state ground-breaking information in the beginning or build suspense till the end.
• " Do not bury the lede " --- do not bury the important ideas in your sentences. Complex sentences, stuffed with a great deal of information, often lack in displaying the main idea vividly.

3) Get to the point

• Avoid hunting down the truth by delaying it.

4) Examine the use of passive voice

• Active voice is shorter, more precise and an interesting option
• To sound polite in some cases, insert passive voice.

5) Use precise verbs

6) Sanitize the content for excess prepositions