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We welcome thoughtful submissions on a variety of topics, including culture, family, education, philosophy, economics, science, history, religion, and literature.

Article Guidelines

Please familiarize yourself with the articles on our website before submitting. More information about Intellectual Takeout and our mission can also be found on our about page.

While we cannot take every submission that we receive (even if the article is topical), following the guidelines below will ensure your article has a strong chance at being a good fit.

Audience

Our audience is represented by a variety of ages, genders, educational levels, religious backgrounds, and political beliefs. As such, imagine yourself as a teacher of an obstinate class of students, who are not entirely intractable but needing coaxing to come to your frame of mind.

Argument and Content

What we do:

  • Promote the ideas of the West, making reference to Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman authors and values.
  • Draw attention to topics that are not being covered elsewhere or feature a new, fresh perspective on a popular topic.
  • Provide informative content that makes complex ideas simple and intelligible.
  • Challenge our readers’ biases.
  • Anticipate obvious and relevant objections to our argument.
  • Utilize data that is well-corroborated.
  • Sometimes include a personal anecdote or experience as a launching point or example for discussing a particular topic.
  • Give readers applicable and practical suggestions or takeaways that they can apply to their lives.

What we don’t do:

  • Mere opinion: give pointed commentary without clear reasoning or structured argument.
  • Take leaps in logic.
  • Misrepresent the ideas of those we are critiquing.
  • Attack others personally.
  • Solely rehash what other outlets are saying.
  • Include personal stories without then making a reasoned discussion or argument of a specific topic.
  • Identify a problem and merely wish for it to go away without suggestions.

Tone

What we do:

  • Communicate with readers like fellow seekers on an intellectual journey.
  • Guide audience toward source authorities in a manner that allows them to make up their own mind.
  • Ask thoughtful questions in a conversational tone.

What we don’t do:

  • Heavy-handedness: a dogmatic or condescending tone.
  • Overly partisan rhetoric.

Structure and Language

What we do:

  • Conversational tone.
  • Accessible language.
  • 600–800 words per article as a general guide.

What we don’t do:

  • Unprofessional or overly colloquial tone.
  • Awkward transitions between sentences and paragraphs.
  • Sloppy grammar.
  • Overly sophisticated verbiage or academic-speak.

Sources

What we do:

  • Provide sources for all statistics, data, and facts.
  • Link to reputable, well-known online sources.
  • Provide readers with a link to the Google Books site for most referenced books.
  • Use up-to-date information.

What we don’t do:

  • Make claims of data, stats, or fact without basis or source.
  • Quote without a source.
  • Use old information that may no longer be accurate.

Types of Articles

While we do sometimes cover strictly political topics, we aim to have our articles be more cultural, though there is certainly overlap between politics and culture.

Overall, our goal with each article is to clearly and rationally dive into complex intellectual and cultural topics.

AI Policy

We are interested in submissions written and created by humans. By submitting an article that used AI, submitters not only make the piece in question ineligible for acceptance, they may also jeopardize consideration for their potential future articles.

Instructions for Submission

In the form below, please provide a short pitch or summary of your article topic, including its relevance to Intellectual Takeout’s audience, and share the first two paragraphs of the article. Additionally, briefly tell us about yourself, including any publication history, and note if you are interested in being a frequent contributor.

Please note that a request to view the entirety of the article does not constitute acceptance of a submission, and all submissions are subject to editing.

We do not accept simultaneous submissions.

If you do not hear back within two weeks, you can query us at [email protected].

At this time, we only offer payment via PayPal.