COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1913. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co. - - Berwick & Smith Co. 0214 PREFACE FOR THE TEACHER THE TEACHING OF COMPOSITION ALTHOUGH Shakespeare's Prospero (one of the earliest teachers of composition) failed utterly in other branches of instruction, he was most successful in teaching Caliban expressiveness, as is proved by the exquisite passage in which the monster speaks of "sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not." And it is Prospero who best sums up the accomplishment of the successful teacher of composition, when he says to his unpromising student: "I endow'd thy purposes with words that made them known." This, indeed, is the aim of the teacher of composition - to endow the purposes with words that make them known. Loud controversies have raged as to whether this is possible; as to whether composition can be taught. The rest may reason and welcome; the teacher of composition knows. He knows that literature and the makers of literature cannot be manufactured in the classroom. He knows that the power to write or speak simply and clearly (and his province extends no further) cannot be taught by the mere memorizing of rules. But the experience of the least successful is sufficient to prove that the ordering of thought for expression can be taught; that the technique of writing, like any other technique, can be taught; and that not to teach composition would be to lay aside one of the best weapons in the fight for better education. It is much more profitable to discuss how composition can be taught most successfully; and in that controversy he who V 312628 says, "I know," says much. Yet every year the practice in composition courses grows broader, saner, more stimulative, more efficient. The teacher has learned that it is his duty to teach the tools of writing - the word, the sentence, the paragraph, and other unities—until they may be used as handily as the carpenter uses his hammer, or the mason his trowel. He has learned that it is his privilege to help in shaping the ideas which pour from life and from books into the student's mind; and he laughs at those who say that the boy or girl has nothing to express. As a teacher, he has become a middleman between thought and expression, valuing both. He is far from claiming victory, but his campaign is beyond the possibility of defeat. THE TEXTBOOK IN COMPOSITION The student of composition needs more than an abundance of models. He must have the theory of composition explained in the permanency and accuracy of print. He does not require much theory, but he needs that little immensely; and he must have a textbook. His best textbook, so the authors of this volume believe, will be neither a treatise on rhetoric nor a mere assemblage of developing exercises. Its outline should be firm and clear, for the plan must be based upon sound logic and sound psychology. Its method of presentation should be informal, but consistent and practicable. Its subject matter, its illustrations, its suggestions, should lend themselves to expansion or selection both by those who learn and those who teach. It should stimulate the mind, while providing that upon which the mind may feed. This was the ideal which the authors of this book set before them. It would have been easy to make the book more formal, more dignified; it might have been made briefer; it could have been more searching, more prolific of rules, subtler in dis tinctions. But the authors have sacrificed every real or assumed virtue that has seemed to interfere with their main purpose: to make a book that would be clear in outline, informal in presentation, rich in tested devices and interesting material- a book that would teach. THE PLAN OF THIS Book The plan of this manual is simple and logical, as the table of contents will show. "The Means of Composition," "The Ends of Composition," " Aids to Composition," there is the scheme. The book begins with the means of ordering and expressing thought. Before the player can perfect his game of tennis he must learn his strokes; and before the student can write freely he must master his technique. The first part of this volume is therefore devoted to the tools of composition: the outline, the paragraph, the sentence, etc., each one of them explained and practised in connection with the governing principles of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis. But in every instance the starting point is neither a definition nor a theory; it is the need of another means of expression. The method is inductive throughout. All formal classification of the various ends of composition has been reserved for "The Ends of Composition," which is the second part of the book. It is true that the exercises from the very beginning lead toward self-expression, and thus toward an end; for the student must always have an object in view as a result of his writing or speaking, unless he is to talk or write mere empty words. But the precise nature of the form which his purpose must take whether Narration, Description, Exposition, or Argument-is not considered until the means of composition have been rendered thoroughly serviceable. It is time enough then to classify the formal ends of composition; and this postponement provides a step upward for the maturing student, and an opportunity to practise his new powers in a broader field. The third part of the book, the "Aids to Composition," differs radically from the others. The sections on Punctuation, Spelling, Capitalization, Grammar Review, etc., which it contains are aids; they belong not to the theory which the student should be following, but to the rules of the game. They are to be given when needed; and more than once. With them are other sections on Prosody, Figures of Speech, the Preparation of Manuscripts, which may be either taught or used for reference as the teacher sees fit; and still another brief chapter on Letter Writing, whose purpose is to stimulate as much as to edify or correct. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The best way to use this book is to begin with Chapter I of the "Means," and continue through to the last chapter of the "Ends," with constant reference to the "Aids" by the way. But the book is flexible. The teacher may change the order to suit his particular needs, or particular class, without affecting the teaching value of the whole. The theory in each chapter should be assigned for study in lessons which embrace a complete topic or sub-topic; the needs and capabilities of the class must determine the exact amount. The authors confidently believe that the natural divisions of the subject will provide a far better guide for the teacher than an arbitrary slicing into lessons for a hypothetical "average class." The illustrations and examples should be handled with like freedom. They have been provided in copious abundance with the hope that every teacher will find those that are best for his teaching, best for his class. All serve to illustrate the theory |