Composition-Rhetoric Part 17

_A._ To which of the two general cla.s.ses of composition would each of the following belong?

1. A business letter.

2. The story of a runaway.

3. A description of a lake written by a geologist.

4. A description of a lake written by a boy who was camping near it.

5. A letter to a friend describing a trip.

6. A text-book on algebra.

7. An application for a position as stenographer.

8. A recipe for making cake.

9. How I made a cake.

10. How to make a kite.

11. A political speech.

12. A debate.

_B._ Could a description be written for the purpose of entertaining? Could the same object be described for the purpose of giving information?

_C._ To which general cla.s.s do narratives belong? Explanations? Arguments?

+55. Discourse Presupposes an Audience.+--The object of composition is communication, and communication is not concerned with one's self alone.

It always involves two,--the one who gives and the one who receives. If its purpose is to inform, it must inform _somebody_; if to entertain, it must entertain _somebody_. To be sure, discourse may be a pleasure to us, because it is a means of self-expression, but it is _useful_ to us because it conveys ideas to that other somebody who hears or reads it. We describe in order that another may picture that which we have experienced; we narrate, events for the entertainment of others; we explain to others that which we understand; and we argue in order to prove to some one the truth of a proposition or to persuade him to action. Thus all discourse, to be useful, demands an audience. Its effective use requires that the writer shall give quite as much attention to the way in which that reader will receive his ideas as he gives to the ideas themselves. "Speaking or writing is, therefore, a double-ended process. It springs from me, it penetrates him; and both of these ends need watching. Is what I say precisely what I mean? That is an important question. Is what I say so shaped that it can readily be a.s.similated by him who hears? This is a question of quite as great consequence and much more likely to be forgotten.... As I write I must unceasingly study what is the line of least intellectual resistance along which my thought may enter the differently const.i.tuted mind; and to that line I must subtly adjust, without enfeebling my meaning. Will this combination of words or that make the meaning clear? Will this order of presentation facilitate swiftness of apprehension or will it clog the movement?"[Footnote: Professor George Herbert Palmer: _Self-cultivation in English_.]

In the preceding chapters emphasis has been laid upon the care that a writer must give to saying exactly what he means. This must never be neglected, but we need to add to it a consideration of how best to adapt what we say to the interest and intelligence of our readers. It will become clear in writing the following theme that the discussion of paragraph development in Chapter III was in reality a discussion of methods of adapting our discourse to the mental habits of our readers.

+Theme x.x.x.+--_Write a theme showing which one of the five methods of paragraph development proceeds most nearly in accordance with the way the mind usually acts._

(This theme will furnish a review of the methods of paragraph development treated in Chapter III. If possible, write your theme without consulting the chapter. "Think it out" for yourself. After the theme has been written, review paragraph development treated in Chapter III. Can you improve your theme? What methods of development have you used?)

+56. Selecting a Subject.+--Sometimes our theme subjects are chosen for us, but usually we shall need to choose our own subjects. What we should choose depends both upon ourselves and upon those for whom we write. The elements which make a subject suitable for the reader will be considered later. In so far as the writer is concerned, two things determine the suitableness of a subject:--

First, the writer's knowledge of the subject. We cannot make ideas clear to others unless they are clear to us. Our information must be clearly and definitely our own before we can hope to present it effectively. This is one of the advantages possessed by subjects arising from experience. Any subject about which we know little or nothing, should be rejected. We must not, however, reject a subject too soon. When it is first thought of we may find that we have but few ideas about it, but by thinking we may discover that our information is greater than it at first seemed. We may be able to a.s.sign reasons or to give instances or to originate comparisons or to add details, and by these processes to amplify our knowledge. Even if we find that we know but little about the subject from our own experience, we may still be able to use it for a composition subject by getting our information from others. We may from conversation or from reading gain ideas that we can make our own and consequently be able to write intelligently. Care must be taken that this "reading up" on a subject does not fill our minds with smatterings of ideas that we think we understand because we can remember the language in which they were expressed; but reading, _supplemented by thinking_, may enable us to write well about a subject concerning which on first thought we seem to know but little.

Second, the writer's interest in the subject. It will be found difficult for the writer to present vividly a subject in which he himself has no special interest. Enthusiasm is contagious, and if the writer has a real interest in his subject, he is likely to present his material in such a manner as to arouse interest in others. In our earlier years we are more interested in the material presented by experience and imagination than in that presented by reading, but as we grow older our interest in thoughts conveyed to us by language increases. As we enlarge our knowledge of a subject by reading and by conversation, so we are likely to increase our interest in that subject. A boy may know but little about Napoleon, but the effort to inform himself may cause him to become greatly interested.

This interest will lead him to a further search for information about Napoleon, and will at the same time aid in making what he writes entertaining to others.

EXERCISES

_A._ About which of the following subjects do you now possess a sufficient knowledge to enable you to write a paragraph? In which of them are you interested? Which would you need to "read up" about?

1. Golf.

2. Examinations.

3. Warships.

4. Wireless telegraphy.

5. Radium.

6. Tennis.

7. Automobiles.

8. Picnics.

9. Printing.

10. Bees.

11. Birds.

12. Pyrography.

13. Photography.

14. Beavers.

15. Making calls.

16. Stamp collecting.

17. The manufacture of tacks.

18. The manufacture of cotton.

19. The smelting of zinc.

20. The silver-plating process.

_B._ Make a list of thirty things about which you know something.

_C._ Bring to cla.s.s a list of five subjects in which you are interested.

_D._ Make a list of five subjects about which you now possess a sufficient knowledge to enable you to write a paragraph.

+Theme x.x.xI.+--_Write a short theme: Select a suitable subject from the lists in the preceding exercise._

(What method or methods of paragraph development have you used? Have your paragraphs unity of thought?)

+57. Subject Adapted to Reader.+--We may be interested in a subject and possess sufficient knowledge to enable us to treat it successfully, but it may still be unsuitable because it is not adapted to the reader. Some knowledge of a subject and some interest in it are quite as necessary on the part of the reader as on that of the writer, though in the beginning this knowledge and interest may be meager. The possibility of developing both knowledge and interest must exist, however, or the writing will be a failure. It would be difficult to make "Imperialism" interesting to third grade pupils, or "Kant's Philosophy" to high school pupils. Even if you know enough to write a valuable "Criticism" of _Silas Marner_, or a real "Review" of the _Vicar of Wakefield_, the work is time wasted if your readers do not have a breadth of knowledge sufficient to insure a vital and appreciative interest in the subject. You must take care to select a subject that is of present, vital interest to your readers.

+58. Sources of Subjects.+--Thought goes everywhere, and human interest touches everything. The sources of subjects are therefore unlimited; for anything about which we think and in which we are interested may become a suitable subject for a paragraph, an essay, or a book. Such subjects are everywhere--in what we see and do, in what we think and feel, in what we hear and read. We relate to our parents what a neighbor said; we discuss for the teacher an event in history, or a character in literature; we show a companion how to make a kite or work a problem in algebra; we consider the advantages of a commercial course or relate the pleasures of a day's outing,--in each case we are interested, we think, we express our thoughts, and so are practicing oral composition with _subjects that may be used for written exercises_.

+59. Subjects should be Definite.+--Both the writer and the reader are more interested in definite and concrete subjects than in the general and abstract ones, and we shall make our writing more interesting by recognizing this fact. One might write about "Birds," or "The Intelligence of Birds," or "How Birds Protect their Young," or "A Family of Robins."