ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the order and style of Arabic writing, written Arabic goes from right to left. It is cursive and letters join to form words. Within a word, symbols may be added above or below the letters. The Arabic writing system includes an alphabet and diacritics. Diacritics are small symbols appearing above or below a letter. More specifically, a diacritic is written above or below a letter, and slightly after. The shape of an Arabic letter depends on its context. Unlike English, the Arabic letters have no upper case and lower case, such as A a, G g, and R r. However, some letters have different shapes depending on whether they standalone or are joined to other letters within a word. Letters can take an initial position, a medial position, or a final position. Any letter can be in the word-initial position, except for the hamza. Any letter can be in the word-final position.
