A First Book in Writing English

Written Exercise.—Write a petition to some person or persons in authority, following in general the form given below:—

Formal Social Letters.—Formal correspondence indicates by its style the mere acquaintance of the correspondents, or, in the words of Miss Morton,[51] “the bounds of distance which for any reason it is desirable to maintain.” A formal letter should actually be formal. If one attempts to do an elaborate thing, one ought to do it thoroughly and properly. A letter that begins with formal brevity and runs off into colloquial prolixity is a burlesque. A letter that begins in the third person and ends in the first is a farce.

Written Exercise.—Following in general the models given below, write (1) a formal invitation to dinner; (2) an acceptance of this invitation; (3) regrets at inability to accept.

Personal or Informal Letters.—The letter one writes informally to an acquaintance, a friend, or a relative, should be in tone pretty nearly what one’s conversation with the given person would be. To give such a letter the tone which represents exactly the relation between the two people is a hard task. The nicest sense of tact is required in order not to be too stiff and not too familiar. Personal letters demand the art of colloquial composition. Those unperceptive persons who have but one style of composition,—that of a book, or that of a clerk,—make sorry work of personal letters. Suppose that you have always known one of these persons. You have played with him, read with him, perhaps fought with him. When you meet, he calls you by your first name. When he writes to ask you to visit him, he addresses you as Dear Sir, and signs himself Respectfully! His letter gives you a chill. There is too little of the personal letter-writing of the better sort, the leisurely, careful, courteous, old-fashioned kind of written talk,—writing that, like Thomas Cholmondeley’s, could be signed, “Ever yours and not in haste.”

Written Exercise.—Write a note inviting a friend of your own age to dinner, to an informal party, or to an excursion. Such a note usually begins on this wise,—My Dear Tom, or Dear Tom, rather than on this,—Dear Friend. A similar note to an acquaintance would begin: My dear Mr. ——, My dear Miss ——, etc.

Written Exercise.—Write a personal letter to the instructor, concerning some matter in which you would like to interest him. This letter will not be read to the class.

Written Exercise.—Write to some friend a long letter, observing the ordinary rules for paragraphing. Suggested subjects: an account of your life since last meeting your friend; a comparison of the town you now live in with that in which you and the friend formerly lived; an explanation of some scheme in which you wish the friend’s co-operation.

CHAPTER XIII
REPRODUCTION, ABSTRACT, SUMMARY, ABRIDGMENT

Literal Reproduction.—The word reproduction is often used in Rhetoric in a somewhat general sense, to mean any version of another composition. As we shall use it, the term means literal reproduction; in other words, a version that follows the phrasing of the original as nearly as the time given for study will permit. Writing of reproductions trains the memory and adds immensely to one’s command of words.

Below are given lists of brief selections, most of them requiring not more than ten minutes to reproduce. It is suggested that a given paragraph or page be slowly read aloud to the class, two or three times, and that the class afterward write the piece as nearly as possible in the author’s words. Each student should then insert in his vocabulary book any new words or phrases that seem to him particularly serviceable. These memoranda will prove invaluable later on, when similar topics (not the same ones) are to be written about by the student himself. To illustrate: a student after reading two or three personal descriptions might jot down for future use such phrases as the following: Eyes.—Laughing, startled, heavy-lidded, hazel, vacant, protruding, lustrous, expressive, liquid, dreamy, speaking, glad. Nose.—Aquiline, Roman, beak-like, shapely, snub, sharp, insignificant. Hair.—Grizzled, frowsy, shaggy, glossy, dishevelled, unkempt, tumbled. Manner.—Alert, jaunty, affable, sprightly, haughty, pretentious, modest, diffident, reserved, ostentatious, demure, animated. Figure.—Gaunt, emaciated, lank, vigorous, robust, grotesque, massive, insignificant, thick-set, portly, sturdy, stalwart, erect, decrepit, fragile. Expression.—Rueful, crafty, frank, wistful, stolid.

Material for Literal Reproduction

Narration

Miles, One Thousand and One Anecdotes: p. 30, Garcia; 33, Handel; 36, Mozart; 43, Paganini; 74, A dull witness; 96, Mrs. Siddons; 105, 110, Wellington; 106, Coolness; 132, Bad handwriting; 142, Dickens and Thackeray; 218, Hill; 231, Newton; 231, Sidney Smith; 251, Scott; 253, Lessing; 254, Geological; 255, Blackie; 268, Béranger; 273, A toast; 304, A careful reader; 312, Webster; 316, Johnson; 318, Poetry and Pattypans; 322, Marryat; 323, Turner; 324, Dannecker; 328, Hugo and Coppée; 368, Heroism of a workman; 370, Rochejaquelin; 371, Washington; 374, Lefevre; 378, Virchow; 378, Cham and Gille.

Description

Persons.—Hawthorne: American Note Books. See Index, p. 448, for paragraphs on characters, mostly men.

Scenery.—1. Sunrise. Hawthorne: American Note Books, 75, 121, 315. Thoreau: Spring, 99.

2. Morning. Hawthorne: American Note Books, 75, 177. Thoreau: Winter, 128, 137, 258.

3. Afternoon. Hawthorne: American Note Books, 96. Thoreau: Autumn, 21, 28, 182.

4. Sunset. Hawthorne: American Note Books, 112. Thoreau: Autumn, 3, 17, 90, 112, 152, 214, 259, 311, 327, 330, 345, 388, 429, 433. Winter, 23, 38, 40, 127, 155. Summer, 47, 246, 313, 332, 362.

5. Sunlight. Burroughs: Winter Sunshine, 102. Thoreau: Autumn, 289. Winter, 114, 249.

6. Moonlight. Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter (Custom House). Ruskin: Præterita, vol. ii., 166. Thoreau: Spring, 78. Summer, 95, 97, 117, 120, 176, 233, 239, 333. Winter, 215, 320, 322. Burroughs: Winter Sunshine, 43.

7. Water. Blackmore: Lorna Doone, vii. Thoreau: Spring, 87, 96, 101, 109, 154. Summer, 30, 117, 240, 243. Autumn, 111, 160, 182, 370, 400, 434. Ruskin: Præterita, vol. ii., 159 (The Rhone).

8. Mountains. Ruskin: Præterita, vol. i., 288. Bolles: At the North of Bearcamp Water. See Index, p. 296, for many views of more than a score of mountains.

9. Landscapes. Ruskin: Præterita, vol. ii., 78 (Rome). Hawthorne: American Note Books, 441 (Gosport). Blackmore: Lorna Doone, iv. (Doone Gate). Hugo: Les Misèrables (Field of Waterloo).

Birds, Animals, and Insects.—See indexes of the following: Thoreau: Spring; Summer; Autumn; Winter; Walden. Burroughs: Wake Robin; Winter Sunshine; Birds and Bees. Miller: Bird-Ways; A Bird-Lover in the West. Torrey: A Rambler’s Lease; Birds in the Bush. Merriam: A-Birding on a Broncho. Bolles: From Blomidon to Smoky; The Land of the Lingering Snow; At the North of Bearcamp Water. Gibson: Sharp Eyes.

Buildings and Rooms.—Ruskin: Præterita, vol. i., 232 (chapel); vol. iii., 5 (monastery). Scott: Ivanhoe, iii. (Saxon hall). Stevenson: An Inland Voyage (Noyon Cathedral); The Amateur Emigrant (the second cabin). Hawthorne: House of the Seven Gables, i.; Howe’s Masquerade (the Province House). Irving: The Alhambra. (Palace of the Alhambra); Sketch Book (Westminster Abbey). Lamb: The East India Office.

Exposition

Helps: Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd, 14, 27, 32, 33, 40, 42, 54, 61, 72. Brevia, 5, 14, 15, 22, 37, 91, 92, 94, 105, 113, 115, 161, 163.

Blake: Thoreau’s Thoughts, 4, 9, 21, 46, 89, 98, 100, 103, 108, 118, 123.

Summary, Abstract, Abridgment.—The ability to arrive at the substance of an article or book and write it down, is demanded constantly in almost every business and in every profession. An extremely brief statement of the substance is called a summary. A longer statement, couched in language independent of that used by the author, is an abstract. If the article or book is shortened by the omission of the less important parts, the language of the original being in general retained, the result is an abridgment.

Almost any well-constructed composition lends itself to summary, abstract, or abridgment. A story of Irving or Hawthorne, a chapter of Parkman or John Fiske, an article in the Forum or the Nation, furnishes excellent material. Below are given typical pieces that may be used, the shorter ones for summary, the longer for abstract or abridgment. Stories can better be abstracted than abridged.

It is well to plan the proportions of your version. The scale of 1:6 (one paragraph to six) will be found a good proportion on which to reduce the longer pieces. Burke’s Speech On Conciliation would thus reduce to an abstract or an abridgment of about twenty paragraphs. But this speech can be reduced on a scale of 1:10 or even 1:20.

Material for Summary, Abstract, Abridgment

Narration

1. Personal Contests:—Spartacus and Hermann, A. J. Church: Two Thousand Years Ago, p. 31 ff. Christian and Apollyon, Bunyan: Pilgrim’s Progress, Fourth Stage. Archery, Scott: Ivanhoe, xiii. David and Goliath, I Samuel xvii. Nickleby and Squeers, Dickens: Nicholas Nickleby, xiii. The Boat Race, Hughes: Tom Brown at Oxford. Siege of the Round House, Stevenson: Kidnapped, x. The Three-Handed Duel, Marryat: Midshipman Easy. The Tournament, Scott: Ivanhoe, xii.

2. Narrative chapters from: Aldrich: Story of a Bad Boy. Burnett: The One I Knew the Best of All. Hale: A New England Boyhood. Larcom: A New England Girlhood. Howells: My Year in a Log Cabin. Warner: Being a Boy.

3. Stories.—Hawthorne: The Snow Image; The Great Stone Face; Ethan Brand; Legends of the Province House; The Great Carbuncle; David Swan; The Vision of the Fountain; Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment; The Artist of the Beautiful.

Wilkins: A Humble Romance; The Bar Lighthouse; A Lover of Flowers; Gentian; A Conflict Ended; A Village Singer; Sister Liddy; A Gala Dress; A Village Lear; The Revolt of Mother.

Sir Roger de Coverley Papers: Spectators No. 110, 112, 113, 116, 118, 122, 123, 132, 269, 329, 335, 359, 383, 517.

4. History.—Green: History of the English People. Bæda, vol. i., ch. 2, pp. 64-67. Hastings, vol. i., ch. 4, pp. 113-114. Rising of baronage, B. iii., ch. 1, pp. 240-244. Calais, B. iv., ch. 2, pp. 422-425. Armada, B. vi., ch. 6, pp. 444-446. Return of Napoleon; Waterloo, B. ix., ch. 5, pp. 385-389.

McMasters: History of the People of the United States. Marietta, vol. i., 513-515. Death of Hamilton, vol. iii., 52-53. Leopard and Chesapeake, vol. iii., 258-259. Monroe’s journey, vol. iv., 377-380.

Fiske: Critical Period of American History. The Continental Congress, vol. i., ch. 3. Valley Forge, vol. ii., ch. 9.

Rolfe, W. J.: Tales from English History in Prose and Verse.

Yonge: Book of Golden Deeds.

Description

1. Schools.—See The Schoolmaster in Literature. (American Book Co.)

2. Towns.—Hale: Seven Spanish Cities. Howells: Three Villages; A Boy’s Town. Stedman: New York City (St. Nicholas, 20:403, ’93). Stockton: St. Augustine (Ibid., 21:206, ’94).

Exposition.—1. Nordhoff: Politics for Young Americans. 2. Van Dyke: How to judge a picture. 3. Krehbiel: How to understand music. 4. Wagner: Courage. 5. Camp: American Football. 6. Stagg and Williams: American Football. 7. Bassett: Machinist’s trade (Harper’s Young People, 64:682, ’91). The Printing Trade (Ibid., 64:624, ’91). The following articles from The Youth’s Companion: 8. Journalism for girls (64:657, ’91). 9. Civil Service (64:245, ’91). 10. Why men must die (67:426, ’94). 11. Medicine as a profession (64:258, ’91). 12. Success in railway life (65:505, ’92). 13. Wholesome lunches (67:83, ’94). 14-18. Advice to young musicians (64:310, 418, 321, 362). 19. Separate functions of the Senate and House of Representatives (63:633, ’90). 20. Self-Education (65:494, ’92). 21-23. The girl who thinks she can write (64:447; 65:458, 734). 24. Trusts (67:538,’94). 25. Uses of the census (63:89, ’90). 26. Monroe Doctrine (67:388, ’94). 27. Arbitration (67:48, ’94). 28. Good government clubs (67:448, ’94).

Argument[52]

1. A property qualification for municipal suffrage is desirable.

2. An eight-hour working day should be adopted by law.

3. Municipalities should sometimes give work to the unemployed.

4. The housing of the poor should be improved by municipalities.

5. Burke: On Conciliation with the American Colonies.

6. Chatham: On Removing Troops from Boston.[53]

7. Beecher: Liverpool Speech.[53]

CHAPTER XIV
NARRATION AND DESCRIPTION

Narration, or narrative, relates a series of events. Description gives an account of the look of persons or things. Character description gives both physical and mental traits. Recall to memory various stories you have read, and say whether narratives of considerable length do or do not have to give description as they proceed.

Narration

Two Kinds.—If a series of events actually happened, they are historical, and the story of them may be called historical narrative. If they did not happen, but owe their existence to the imagination, they are fictional, and the narrative is fiction. If we are writing a story, let the fact be understood; if a sober rehearsal of facts, let it be made an exercise in the rare and difficult art of truth-telling.

Exercises in Choice of Subject.—(1) Examine a daily paper and pick out several narratives which seem to you to have a general human interest, and several that have not. (2) Write a list of twenty subjects for narrative and submit them to the class for a vote as to which are the most interesting. Choose events which you have witnessed or taken part in. (3) Write a list of what are to you the most interesting events of ancient, mediæval, and modern history.

Choice of Details.—In writing an account of a simple incident it is possible to tell every detail of what happened. But evidently no such thing is practicable in narrating the events of a day, a week, a lifetime. What to omit will depend much upon the length of the composition. A clear-headed writer will not put pen to paper before he has decided just what points he is going to bring out.

Written Exercise.—(1) Jot down on paper memoranda of the important things, the turning events, in your own past life. (2) Make memoranda to show what events ought to stand out most distinctly in a history of the United States.

Plot.—Read the following:—

Read now the following:—

Which of these accounts begets suspense as to the outcome? In other words, in which is there plot? Recall some novel you have read, and explain how the reader’s interest is held through to the end.

Oral Exercise.—Recall some anecdote, and present it orally with plot interest.

Theme.—Write a simple historical narrative of about two hundred words, giving without plot all the details of some brief incident in your own experience. The following may suggest a topic: 1. My first day at the lathe. 2. Examination memories. 3. How I earned some money and how I spent it. 4. Spearing fish by night. 5. A personal adventure with a window. 6. How I spent this morning.

Theme.—Write one or more imaginary newspaper items, without plot, each detailing some simple incident. Choose a subject of local interest if possible. For example: 1. A runaway. 2. Fire on Seventh Street. 3. Trolley-car accident. 4. Curious act of a bird. 5. April 23 at the Brown School. 6. Brave deed of a child. 7. He returned $500. 8. An old building demolished. 9. The new library is opened. 10. Arrested for “scorching.”

Themes.—Select several topics for five hundred word themes, and write outlines showing what details you would emphasize in composing. Then write historical narratives from the outlines, making them as interesting as you can without deviating from facts. Sample subjects: 1. My struggles with cooking. 2. A day in the berry patch. 3. The first time I saw a play. 4. An adventure of my father. 5. A few days with a doctor. 6. How a certain town was named. 7. Misfortunes of our circus. 8. The tribulations of a truant. 9. My first ocean voyage. 10. An uncomfortable call. 11. My career as an actor. 12. A visit to the World’s Fair. 13. In a graveyard after dark. 14. How Smith looked me up. 15. A week in the woods. 16. The fall I had. 17. My experience as a clerk. 18. A glimpse of college life. 19. What I saw some bees do. 20. An unwilling swim. 21. That Fourth of July. 22. Experiences with a pony. 23. Haying. 24. How the vacation passed. 25. When I was a book-agent. 26. Crossing a swollen stream.

Complex Incident.—Many a narrative must be composed of several threads, telling different events that were going on at the same time. If you were giving an account of how two hunters after being separated in the woods finally reached home again, you would relate first how one got home, then how the other got home; or, having narrated the wanderings of the first, you would let the second tell his own story on rejoining his companion.

Theme.—Relate a complex incident, either historical or fictional, in a theme about five hundred words long. Two or three threads are enough. The following may suggest a subject: 1. Two roads to town. 2. How our party reached the top of the mountain. 3. Adventures of a lost child and its parents. 4. The rescue of an amateur sailor from a wreck. 5. What happened at our club meeting. 6. Three boys and a boat. 7. An overheard discussion.

Description

Language is better adapted to narrate than to describe, for words follow each other, just as events do; they cannot flash the whole picture, with all the details, upon the reader. Consequently writers often combine narrative and description in order to dwell on details. Homer[54] describes the shield of Achilles by telling the story of its forging—how Vulcan wrought each part in turn. What is called the traveller’s view is description from successive points of view. There is a good example of this kind of description in Hawthorne’s American Note Books, p. 181.

In some descriptions the writer is willing to sacrifice the general look of the object, in order to secure accuracy of detail. Giving each detail is called description by inventory. This is often useful, particularly in business or in science. Turn to any book of natural history and read the inventory description of some bird or animal. But ordinarily a description should give a general impression whether it afterward gives details or not. The most common way of doing this is to tell what in general the object to be described makes you think of. If the object is a river, it may remind you of a snake or a letter S; if a village, it may recall to your mind a flat-iron; if a little old lady, it may appear to you, as to Dickens, in Hard Times, “a bundle of shawls.” The main impression thus received is called the fundamental image.

Not every object will furnish a fundamental image, but every object is sure to be remembered for a few chief details. If of a given landscape there lingers in the memory only a dim sense of green woods, with here and there a patch of white, it is as much description to record this dim image as it would be to detail kinds of trees, distances, etc. Indeed, it is a mistake often made to report in a description things that could not possibly have been seen from the given point of view. To keep the point of view is vital. It is a good practice to describe a photograph—such as those published by the Soule Company, of Boston—in order to learn the art of proportion in these matters of living details.

It must not, however, be thought that details have no place in description. In studying an object with a view to writing about it, one should have the eye of a hawk for every visible detail, in order that what he writes may be truthful. There is no better training for the powers of observation than description. Send a careless person to the lake to describe it. He reports “myriads of ripples dancing in glee,” things that every wretched poetaster has seen before him. Send a careful observer, and he will report wonderful shades of color, and curious surface effects, like corrugation and damascene.

Suggested Topics for Description

By Inventory.—1. The bluebird. 2. A jellyfish. 3. A luna moth. 4. Kinds of clouds. 5. In a museum. 6. Flags of different nations. 7. A bottle of ink. 8. A small boy’s pocket. 9. What my room contains. 10. A shop window. 11. The old swimming-hole. 12. A bit of old silver.

By Narrative.—1. A day in Boston. 2. An oil well. 3. A crowd. 4. A quaint tea party. 5. A country fair. 6. A fire. 7. A dream. 8. The matinée. 9. A masquerade. 10. How the farm looked when I went back. 11. The dynamo I made. 12. My tent-making. 13. Our hut. 14. Decorating a church for Christmas. 15. My baking. 16. Up Pike’s Peak.

By Fundamental Image and Details.—1. Kinds of noses. 2. A bit of old architecture. 3. A church altar. 4. Famous deltas. 5. The shop. 6. The lunch-room. 7. A little old man. 8. This town in A.D. 2000. 9. An old fireplace. 10. A wreck. 11. Profile Mountain. 12. The football field. 13. The baseball ground described for an Englishman. 14. The capitol. 15. An old horse.

By Chief Details.—1. Uncle Billy. 2. A hermit. 3. Our postmaster. 4. Our mail-carrier. 5. An Indian. 6. A southern girl. 7. My chum. 8. The procession of the pines. 9. A moonlight scene. 10. A wood interior. 11. An American boy of 1925. 12. Houses I have lived in. 13. Two generals. 14. The boy who grins. 15. Queer street characters. 16. A cat. 17. The fortune-teller. 18. Curious advertisements. 19. Betty in her best dress. 20. A sunset. 21. A wave.

CHAPTER XV
EXPOSITION AND ARGUMENT

Exposition

Exposition is explanation. It may either explain a general principle by illustrations and examples, as the preacher’s sermon expounds a statement of scripture, or it may explain a group of facts by getting at their underlying principle, as a scientific treatise does. Exposition, it is clear, deals with ideas rather than with particular objects. We describe a department store; we expound the principles by which it is conducted. We describe an electric motor; we expound the laws of electricity. We describe a beautiful statue; we expound beauty.

Below are given various subjects for exposition. In writing about them, do not drift into argument. If you write on “dangers of exercise,” do not argue against over-exercise; calmly explain the matter.

Subjects for Exposition

1. Golf. 2. Cannibalism. 3. The bear family. 4. Principles of diet. 5. Credulity. 6. Nostalgia. 7. How to sail a boat. 8. Drowned rivers. 9. On eating candy. 10. The formation of ravines. 11. Dangers of over-exercise. 12. Dangers of too little exercise. 13. Why the earth quakes. 14. How men become criminals. 15. How the will may be trained in the classroom. 16. An ideal classroom. 17. What makes up an ideal camping ground. 18. Advantages and disadvantages of classroom study. 19. Effects of climate on man. 20. The conduct of a great business. 21. What are home missions? 22. How to become famous. 23. How to plan a dinner. 24. How to furnish a sitting-room. 25. Advantages of small classes. 26. Possibilities of electricity. 27. What constitutes a great man? 28. The art of fly-casting. 29. The construction of a roof. 30. What good does an examination do the student? 31. Spiritualism. 32. Ghosts. 33. My choice of a profession. 34. The banking system. 35. Practical values of good manners. 36. The interpretation of any of the proverbs given on pages 213-215.

Argument

There are various ways of bringing people to our way of thinking. One way, by appealing to their reason, is called argument. Can you suggest other ways?

Every argument must have a proposition, which is laid down to be proved. If this proposition is not stated in the title of the argument, it should be stated early in the discussion. It cannot be too definitely formulated. Every word of it should be made clear; there should be full exposition of terms. Half the quarrels in the world disappear after a thorough definition of terms. The question of whether Aaron Burr was guilty of treason depends on how treason is defined. In law a man, however traitorous, is not guilty of treason unless his treason had been witnessed by two persons. Burr’s treason was not witnessed; he escaped conviction.[55]

In argument (a) depend upon a few weighty arguments rather than upon many weak ones; (b) remember that examples are but weak arguments; (c) if in debate, be perfectly fair to your opponent, admitting all that is true on his side; (d) know your case thoroughly in every detail.

Subjects for Argument or Debate

1. Examinations are usually a fair test of scholarship. 2. Labor-saving machinery is a permanent advantage to mankind. 3. The world owes every man a living. 4. A truthful person will be a better writer than a liar. 5. The Gulf of Mexico will one day have a greater port than New York now has. 6. High school students should read the newspapers. 7. Observation helps us more than reading. 8. Examinations should be abolished. 9. Sunday observance should be compulsory. 10. A high school is guilty of injustice to its students if it does not train them in public speaking. 11. People possessing no property should not be allowed to vote. 12. Is it right to break a friendship? 13. Ought department stores to be permitted? 14. Are there good excuses for being a tramp? 15. Is it wrong to bet? 16. How far is it right in politics that to the victors should belong the spoils? 17. Should a parent forbid his son to take part in football? 18. Should a man ever shoot a robber? 19. Is suicide ever justifiable? 20. Is it right to evade custom house duties? 21. Is it wrong to go to the theatre often? 22. Is it ever best to give money on the street? 23. Is it right for women to wear birds on their hats? 24. How far is it right for students to study together? 25. Is a curfew law desirable? 26. Is it right to discard old friends for new? 27. Should one bear witness against a friend? 28. Does paying a fare entitle one to a seat? 29. Is it right to let people deceive themselves? 30. Are there any customary lies which are right? 31. Is capital punishment defensible as punishment? 32. Is capital punishment defensible as a protection to society? 33. Should Latin be a compulsory study? 34. Which is rougher, football or pugilism?

SUBJECT INDEX

• Abbreviations, 41-42.
• ability, capacity, 154.
• abominate, 192.
• Abridgment, 266-270.
• Abstract, 266-270.
• accept, except, 160.
• acceptance, acceptation, 154.
• access, accession, 154.
• act, action, 155.
• Adjective and noun, concord of, 48-49.
• Adjective, singular, with plural noun, 49.
• advance, advancement, 155.
• affect, effect, 160.
• African words, 185.
• aggravate, irritate, tantalize, 161.
• Agreement. See Concord.
• ain’t, 149.
• alienate, antagonize, 162.
• Alienism, 152, 153.
• Allegory, 250.
• allude, mention, 161.
• alternative, choice, 155.
• amateur, 152.
• Ambiguity, 43, 233-234.
• Americanisms, 153.
• and, 97, 100.
• Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes, 186-187.
• Anglo-Saxon words, 182-183, 235-238.
• antagonize, alienate, 162.
• Apostrophe, the, 37.
• apt, likely, liable, 167.
• Arabic words, 185.
• Argument, 280-282:
• proposition, 280;
• exposition of terms, 281;
• subjects for, 126-127, 281-282.
• Arnold, M., 149.
• around, round, 177, foot-note.
• artiste, 153.
• as ... as, 55.
• Asterisks, 37.
• Audience, necessity of, 10, 136-137, 141-142.
• Authority, in choice of words, 147.
• Authors, the best, 149.
• autoharp, 153.
• avocation, vocation, 156.
• bad or badly, 57.
• baggage, luggage, 148.
• balance, remainder, 156.
• Barbarisms, 151-153.
• beau monde, 153.
• Beauty of style, 229.
• begin, commence, 162.
• Bible, 212.
• blickey, 147.
• bogus, 175.
• Brackets, 35.
• bring, fetch, 162.
• Briticisms, 153.
• Bunyan, J., 212.
• burglarize, 152.
• but, 100.
• c doubled in word, 17.
• calculate, intend, 164.
• can, may, 165.
• capacity, ability, 154.
• Capitals, rules for, 21-23.
• Case, government of, 53-54.
• Cases, concord of, 52.
• Chapter, 75.
• character, reputation, 156.
• Chinese words, 185.
• Choice of words. See under Words.
• claim, assert, etc., 162.
• Clauses, subordination of, 96-101.
• Clearness, 43, 227-228, 251, 255.
• Cleft infinitive, 46-47.
• Climax, 112-113, 229.
• Coherence, 44, 101-102.
• Collective noun, 47.
• Colon, 30-31.
• combine (noun), 152.
• Comma, 24-28;
• with and, 84.
• Comma-fault, 81.
• commence, begin, 162.
• Communication. See under English, writing of.
• compliment, complement, 156.
• Composition. See English, writing of.
• Composition, whole. See Theme.
• Compound words, 14-15.
• Concord, 47-53:
• of subject and predicate, 47-48;
• of adjective and noun, 48-49;
• of pronoun and antecedent, 49-52;
• of cases, 52;
• of tenses, 52-53.
• Conjunction, 55, 56, 97, 99, 100.
• continual, continuous, 167.
• Correspondence, forms of. See Letter-writing.
• council, counsel, 157.
• Courtesy in letters, 255-256.
• Criticism:
• by the instructor, 2-4;
• by the class, 10.
• Curious words, 191-192.
• Dash, 31-32.
• Deficiency of words, 233.
• demean, 40, foot-note;
• demean, degrade, debase, 162-163.
• Description, 275-278:
• traveller’s view, 276;
• by inventory, 276;
• fundamental image, 276;
• point of view, 277;
• topics for themes, 277-278.
• desire, want, wish, 167.
• Diacritical marks, 150.
• Dialogue, punctuation of, 34-35.
• Dickens, C., 149.
• Diction, 227. See also under Words.
• Dictionary, use of, 13-14, 150.
• different than for different from, 56.
• different to for different from, 56.
• Digression:
• in the sentence, 90-91;
• in the paragraph or theme, 116-117.
• discovery, invention, 157.
• don’t, 153.
• double entendre, 152.
• drank and drunk, 63.
• drive, ride, 163.
• Dutch words, 185.
• each as pronoun, 48.
• effect, affect, 160.
• either:
• as distributive conjunction, 48;
• as pronoun, 48;
• either ... or, 48.
• electrocution, 152.
• else, a part of the noun, 63-64.
• Emerson, R. W., 144.
• eminent, imminent, immanent, 168.
• Emotions, 228-229.
• Emphasis, in the sentence, 110-112, 229.
• Emphasis, punctuation for, 86-87.
• endorse, approve, second, 163.
• Endorsement, of theme, 2.
• English, writing of, 5-11:
• as an art of communication, 5-6;
• as a useful art, 7;
• as a fine art, 7-9;
• limitations, 9-10;
• writing for an audience, 10-11.
• enthuse (verb), 152.
• entre nous, 153.
• Errors, in themes, 1, 3.
• Essay. See Theme.
• Etymology. See under Grammar.
• Euphony, 229.
• every (pronoun), 48.
• except, accept, 160.
• exceptionably, 175.
• Exclamation point, 35.
• Exercises. See under Subject.
• Exposition, 279-280:
• explained, 279;
• subjects for, 126, 127, 279-280.
• falseness, falsity, 157.
• faux pas, 153.
• fetch, bring, 162.
• Figures:
• figurative uses of common words, 199-203, 246-253.
• Fiske, J., 149, 266.
• flexibone, 153.
• flunk, 148.
• Force, 228.
• Formal letters, 255, 259-260.
• French words, 184.
• funny, odd, 168.
• Gallicisms, 152.
• General words, 238-243.
• gent, 152.
• Good usage, 150.
• got, gotten, have, 163.
• grade, gradient, 148.
• Grammar, 43-73:
• to secure clearness, 43;
• solecisms, 44;
• coherence, 44-47;
• concord, 47-53;
• government, 53-54;
• reference of pronouns, 54-55;
• conjunctions and prepositions, 55-56;
• use of adverb or adjective with verbs of sensation, etc., 56-58;
• shall or will, 58-62;
• matters of etymology, 63-64;
• exercises, oral, 45-46, 53, 58, 61-62, 64-73.
• Grammar. See also under Punctuation.
• Greek roots in English, 191.
• Green, J. R., 149.
• Growth:
• of paragraph from root, 75;
• of thought, 114.
• guess, think, reckon, 163.
• guillotine, 191.
• Hawthorne, N., 149.
• healthy, healthful, 168.
• Hellenism, 152.
• Holden, E. S., 197.
• Hughes, T., 149.
• Hyperbole, 248.
• Hyphen, 14-15.
• Ideas and words, 195-197;
• ideas without words, 194.
• ill (adjective or adverb), 57.
• imminent, eminent, immanent, 168.
• Improprieties, 154.
• in, into, 169.
• Indentation, 1, 129-130.
• India, words from, 185-186.
• Indian words (North American), 186.
• infant, derivation of, 6.
• Infinitive, cleft. See Cleft infinitive.
• Informal letters, 255, 260-261.
• Interrogation point, 36.
• invention, discovery, 157.
• Inverted order, 104, foot-note, 110.
• invite (noun), 152.
• Italian words, 184.
• Italics, 36-37.
• James, H., 149.
• Janus-clause, 46.
• Jefferson, J., 137.
• Keller, H., 194.
• Language, English, formation of. See under Vocabulary, sources of.
• Language, study of, 5-7.
• Language, written. See under Rhetoric.
• last, latest, 169;
• last, preceding, 169.
• Latin constructions. See Latinisms.
• Latin element, 188-191:
• words transferred to English, 188-189;
• prefixes and suffixes, 189;
• roots, 189-191.
• Latin words, 181, 188-189, 190-191.
• Latinisms, 50-51, 152.
• lay, lie, 164.
• let, 148;
• let, leave, 164.
• Letter-writing, 255-261:
• use of capitals, 22;
• why important, 255;
• business letters, 255-258;
• petition, 258-259;
• formal social letters, 259-260;
• personal or informal letters, 260-261;
• exercises, 258-259, 259-260, 261.
• liable, likely, apt, 167.
• lie, lay, 164.
• like, 56.
• limit, limitation, 157.
• litterateur, 153.
• loan, lend, 165.
• Localisms, 147.
• locate, settle, 164.
• Loose sentence, 102-103, 106, 109.
• lot, 175.
• luggage, baggage, 148.
• mad, angry, 169.
• majority, plurality, 158.
• Malaprop, Mrs., 195.
• Malayan words, 186.
• managerial, 152.
• Manuscript:
• preparation of, 1-2;
• once written “solid,” 23.
• may, can, 165.
• Memorizing of literature, 212;
• of proverbs, 213.
• mention, allude, 161.
• Metaphor, 249.
• Metonymy, 250.
• Mexican words, 186.
• most, almost, 169.
• motorneer, 151.
• mutual, common, 169.
• Narration, 271-275:
• historical narrative, 271;
• fiction, 271;
• choice of details, 272;
• plot, 272-273;
• complex incident, 275;
• exercises, 272-273;
• themes, 273-274, 275.
• Nation, The, 266.
• National usage, 148.
• neither, as distributive conjunction, 48;
• as pronoun, 48;
• neither ... nor, 48.
• nom de plume, 152.
• none, 48.
• Norman genitive, 63.
• Norman-French words, 184.
• Norse words, 183.
• Note-book, need of, 4, 14, 199, 262-263.
• Noun and adjective, concord of, 48-49.
• Number of words. See Words, right number and skilful choice of.
• O, in apostrophe, 35.
• Observation, how sharpened, 277.
• observation, observance, remark, 158.
• Oh, punctuation of, 35.
• Omission of words. See Words, omission of.
• one’s self, 14.
• only, and not only, 45-46.
• onto, 175;
• onto, upon, 153.
• oral, verbal, 170.
• Orthoëpy. See Pronunciation.
• Orthography. See Spelling.
• Outline of theme, 130, 138-139.
• pants, 152.
• Paragraph, division of. See under Sentence.
• Paragraph:
• indented, 1;
• growth of, from root, 75;
• History of the English paragraph, 114, foot-note;
• nebulæ of, 116;
• planning of, 117;
• kinds of, 120-124;
• expanding of one into several, 128-131.
• Parkman, F. W., 149, 266.
• part, portion, 159.
• Participle:
• unrelated, 49;
• misrelated, 49;
• in place of verbal noun, 49.
• party, person, 158.
• Periodic sentence, 103-106, 109-110;
• defined, 104;
• use of, 104;
• abuse of, 104, 106.
• permit, permission, 153.
• Persian words, 186.
• person, party, 158.
• Personification, 250.
• Petition, form of, 258-259.
• photo, 152.
• Planning, of theme, 114, 133-136;
• of paragraph, 117.
• plurality, majority, 158.
• Plurals and singulars, 15.
• point of view, 153.
• Possessive, how formed, 15, 63.
• posted, informed, 170.
• practicable, practical, 171.
• Predicate and subject, concord of, 47-48.
• predominant, prominent, 159.
• Prefixes and suffixes:
• Anglo-Saxon, 186-187;
• Latin, 189.
• Preposition, 55-56.
• Present usage, 148.
• preventative, 152.
• Prof., 152.
• Prolixity, 229-231.
• Pronoun:
• neutral, 50;
• indefinite, 50;
• reference of, 54;
• concord of, with antecedent, 49-52.
• Pronunciation:
• importance of, 18;
• list of words mispronounced, 19-20.
• propose, purpose, 165.
• proved, proven, 165.
• Proverbs, 213-215.
• Provincialisms, 147.
• Punctuation, 21-42:
• disjunctive, 21, 84;
• capitals, 21-23;
• reasons for punctuation, 23-24;
• comma, 24-28;
• semicolon, 29-30;
• colon, 30-31;
• dash, 31-32;
• quotation marks, 33-35;
• brackets, 35;
• exclamation point, 35;
• interrogation point, 36;
• italics, 36-37;
• apostrophe, 37;
• asterisks, 37;
• abbreviations, 41-42;
• punctuation for emphasis, 86-87;
• exercises, oral, 29-30, 38-39;
• exercises, written, 23, 27-28, 32-33, 36, 39-41.
• quite, somewhat, very, rather, entirely, wholly, 171.
• Quotation marks, 33-35.
• Quotation, rhetorical, 22.
• radiograph, 152.
• Reading:
• oral, 12-13;
• care in, 203-211.
• real, really, extremely, 171.
• recipe, receipt, 159.
• reckon, guess, think, 163.
• Relative clause, restrictive and non-restrictive, 26, 27.
• relative, relation, 159.
• reportorial, 152.
• Reproduction, 262, 270:
• literal reproduction, 262-266;
• summary, abstract, abridgment, 266-267;
• material for, 267-270.
• reputation, character, 156.
• residence, house, 159.
• resurrectionists, 175.
• Rhetoric, defined, 6. See also under English, writing of.
• ride, drive, 163.
• “Roentgen rays,” names for, 151.
• round, around, 177, foot-note.
• Ruskin, J., 212, 241.
• Saxon genitive, 63.
• scotograph, 152.
• Self-expression, 5, 11.
• Semicolon, 29-30, 84-85.
• Sensation, verbs of, use with adjective or adverb, 56-57.
• Sense impressions, 205.
• Sentence, 74-95:
• part of the paragraph, 74-78;
• long and short sentence, 78, 85;
• sentence unity, 79-93;
• unity of form, 79 (see also under Sentence, well-knit);
• unity of substance, by excluding irrelevant ideas, 79-82;
• by inclusion of all parts of an idea, 82-86, 88;
• unity sacrificed for emphasis, 86-87;
• seventeenth century paragraph, 88-90;
• unity by keeping to the point, 90-91;
• by supplying suppressed clauses, 92;
• exercises, oral, 81, 85-86, 87, 90, 92-95;
• exercises, written, 88-90.
• Sentence, well-knit, 96-113:
• unity of form, 96-102;
• complex, 97-98;
• loose and periodic sentence, 103-110;
• emphasis, 110-112;
• climax, 112-113;
• exercises, oral, 98, 100, 102, 104-106, 107-109, 111-112.
• set, sit, 166.
• sewage, sewerage, 160.
• shadowgraph, 152.
• Shakespeare, 200-201, 212, 253.
• shall and will:
• in direct discourse, 58-60;
• in indirect discourse, 60-61;
• in questions, 61.
• showing up, 175.
• shunting, switching, 147.
• sideways for sidewise, 49.
• Signs, for marking themes, 3-4.
• Simile, 249.
• Simplicity, 229, 244-246.
• Singulars and plurals, 15.
• site, situation, 160.
• skiagraph, 152.
• slick, 151.
• so ... as, 55.
• So construction, 99-100.
• Solecism, 44.
• some, somewhat, 172.
• South American words, 186.
• Spanish words, 184-185.
• Specific words, 235-238.
• Spelling, 13-20:
• practice in, 13-14;
• of compound words, 14-15;
• possessive, 15;
• singulars and plurals, 15;
• common errors, 16-17;
• word-breaking, 17;
• exercises, 16-18, 19-20.
• spoonsful, 152.
• spotted, 175.
• standpoint, 153.
• Stevenson, R. L., 149, 239.
• stop, stay, 166.
• Style, 227-229.
• Subject and predicate, concord of, 47-48.
• Subject, choice of, 136.
• Subjects for themes. See Theme.
• Suffixes. See Prefixes and suffixes.
• Suggestive words, 229.
• suicide (verb), 152.
• Summary, 266-270.
• Suppressed clause, 92.
• Surplusage, 231-233.
• switching, shunting, 147.
• Syllables, joining of, 15.
• Synecdoche, 248.
• Synonyms, 215-225:
• a method of study, 217-220;
• groups of, 220-225;
• books of, 219, 220, foot-note. (See also 154-180.)
• Syntax. See under Grammar.
• Tenses, concord of, 52-53.
• Teutonisms, 153.
• Thackeray, W. M., 149, 196.
• Theme:
• errors in, 1, 3;
• title, 2;
• endorsement, 2;
• revision and rewriting, 2, 13;
• signs in correcting, 3-4;
• organizing of, 114-146;
• different ways of planning, 114;
• growth of thought, 114-116;
• unity, 116-117;
• planning paragraph, 117;
• topic sentence, 117-120, 123-124;
• kinds of paragraphs, 120-123, 126, 127-128;
• expansion, 128-133;
• proportioning, 133-136;
• choice of subject, 136-138, 141-143;
• outline, 130, 138-139;
• specimen theme, 139-141;
• transitions between paragraphs, 143-144;
• transitions between sentences, 144-146;
• exercises, oral, 123-126, 133-135, 141-142, 145-146;
• exercises written, 131, 135, 141, 142-143, 144;
• themes, 126-128, 141-142.
• Theme, subjects for, 34, 81-82, 88, 126-128, 129, 131-133, 135-136, 141-143, 263-266, 267-270, 277-278, 281-282.
• those kind, 48.
• Thought, growth of, 114.
• Threads of narrative, 275.
• Topic sentence, 117.
• Transitions, between paragraphs, 143-144;
• between sentences, 144-145.
• Translation, 211.
• transpire, happen, 166.
• Trope, 247.
• Uniformity of sentence structure, 101-102.
• Unity of form, in sentence, 79, 96-102.
• Unity of substance:
• in sentence, 74-95;
• in theme, 116.
• unless, without, 172.
• Usage:
• national, 147-148;
• reputable, 148;
• present, 148;
• good, 150.
• Variety:
• of words, 226;
• as an element of beauty, 229.
• verbal, oral, 170.
• Verbosity, 233.
• Vocabulary, mastery of a writing, 194-226:
• ideas without words, 194;
• words without ideas, 194-195;
• ideas and words, 195-197;
• the two vocabularies, 197-199;
• vocabulary book, 199;
• figurative use of common words, 199-203;
• value of careful reading, 203-211;
• contributions from other studies, 211;
• translation, 211;
• memorizing of literature, 212-213;
• English proverbs, 213-215;
• synonyms for adjectives of praise, 216;
• danger of bookish words, 216-217;
• a method of study, 217-220;
• groups of synonyms, 220-225;
• variety, 226;
• exercises, oral, 216, 218-219, 220;
• written, 202-203, 218, 219-220, 225-226.
• Vocabulary note-book, 4, 199, 262.
• Vocabulary, sources of the English, 181-193:
• historical sketch, 181-186;
• Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes, 186-187;
• Latin element, 188;
• Latin words transferred to English, 188-189;
• Latin prefixes and suffixes, 189;
• Latin roots in English, 189-191;
• Greek roots in English, 191;
• curious words, 191-192;
• written exercise, 192-193.
• Vocative words, punctuation of, 25.
• Vulgarisms, 149.
• walkist, 152.
• want, wish, desire, 167.
• well (adjective or adverb), 57.
• West India words, 186.
• wheatena, 153.
• will and shall. See Shall and will.
• wish, want, desire, 167.
• with, introducing parenthetical clause, 47.
• without, unless, 172.
• Word-breaking, 17.
• Words, correctness in choice of, 147-180:
• authority, 147-150;
• provincialisms or localisms, 147;
• national usage, 147-148;
• present usage, 148;
• reputable usage, 148-149;
• vulgarisms, 149;
• good usage, 150;
• dictionary, 150;
• barbarisms, 151-153;
• alienisms, 152-153;
• improprieties, 154;
• choice of nouns, 154-160;
• verbs, 160-167;
• adjectives and adverbs, 167-172;
• exercises, oral, 172-174, 175-177, 178-180.
• Words, figurative use of common. See Vocabulary.
• Words, lists of:
• incorrectly spelled, 16-17;
• compound, 14-15;
• mispronounced, 18-19;
• Latin, 181-182, 188-189, 190-191;
• Celtic, 182;
• Anglo-Saxon, 182-183;
• Norse, 183;
• Italian, 184;
• Spanish, 185;
• Dutch, 185;
• African, 185;
• Arabian, 185;
• Chinese, 185;
• India, words from, 185-186;
• Malayan, 186;
• Persian, 186;
• North American Indian, 186;
• Mexican, 186;
• West Indian, 186;
• South American, 186;
• Greek, 191;
• curious, 191-192;
• adjectives, 203;
• synonyms, 220-225.
• Words, omission of, 55, 92, 234-235.
• Words, right number and skilful choice of, 227-253:
• as affecting clearness, 227-228;
• force, 228-229;
• beauty, 229;
• prolixity, 229-231;
• surplus of, 231-232;
• deficiency of, 233-235;
• specific words, 235-238;
• general words, 238-245;
• ambiguous words, 243-244;
• simple words, 244-246;
• literal and figurative words, 246-253;
• exercises, 232-233, 235, 237-238, 241-243, 243-244, 245-246, 253-254.
• Words without ideas, 194-195.
• Writing vocabulary. See Vocabulary.