Elementary Composition

=61. Observation.=--The first recommendation given in beginning any new form of composition is always to arrange what you wish to say in a logical and orderly manner, by means o...

=95. General Theory of Punctuation.=--Punctuation is a way of showing by various signs (or points) which words in a written composition bear a close relation to one another. Rea...

=1. Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences.=--Composition means putting together or combining or grouping. The things that we combine are words. There are three simple ways in which, a...

=45. Various Kinds of Letters.=--You have seen that the diary or journal is the most informal and simple form of written expression, since it is intended, as a rule, for the wri...

=55. The Essentials of a Good Narrative.=--In a diary you set down things that happen, for your own information. In letters you try to report events so that they will be underst...

=16. How We Learn Words.=--We have now for some time been studying about combinations of words, but we have said very little about words themselves. This was the proper course t...

A _paragraph_ is a group of sentences which together express an important thought. In a way, of course, every sentence expresses a thought--a small thought, so to speak. But exp...

=26. Writing in which the Ideas are already at Hand.=--Young people have an abundance of things to write about. Their lives are usually full of interesting incidents, and their...

=79. General Principles.=--There is perhaps no other form of composition which is so generally in use as exposition or explanation. If you observe your own conversation and that...

=74. Historical Stories.=--In writing on the subjects given below, you are to try to make a complete story, including the dialogue between the principal characters, what descrip...

=33. Whole Compositions.=--You have now studied the combination of words into sentences and the combination of sentences into paragraphs. You must meanwhile have guessed that th...

=94.= Poetry is the most beautiful and attractive form of writing, and in the highest sense is by far the most difficult, since it is not only complicated in form, but is highly...

=87. General Principle.=--There is probably no form of expression with which you are more practically acquainted than argumentation, both from using it yourself and from having...

=93.= In nearly all schools there are several organizations--a debating club, a current events club, an athletic association, a branch society for the prevention of cruelty to a...

=41. The Value of a Diary.=--The diary is the simplest form of writing, for you are writing for yourself, making for yourself a record of your life. What do you think should go...

=37. The Great Essential.=--We have now discussed certain matters which will be of service to you if you write your thoughts for others to read. Will these principles still hold...

For several years you have written, from time to time, short compositions. These have been letters, or stories, or descriptions, or explanations of ideas you had in mind, or sum...