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W.W. Jacobs - "Bedridden and The Winter Offensive"

T. Woodhouse and P. Kilgour - "The Jute Industry: From Seed to Finished Cloth"

Various - "Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, January 7, 1914"

G.K. Chesterton - "The Appetite of Tyranny"

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Composition Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks

S >> Stratton D. Brooks >> Composition Rhetoric




Any study of animals and their life, that is, of zooelogy, may include all
or any of these parts of zooelogy.

--Kellogg: _Elementary Zooelogy_.


3. Are not these outlines of American destiny in the near-by future
rational? In these papers an attempt has been made:--

First, to picture the physical situation and equipment of the American in
the modern world.

Second, to outline the large and fundamental elements of American
character, which are:--

(_a_) Conservatism--moderation, thoughtfulness, and poise.
(_b_) Thoroughness--conscientious performance, to the minutest detail,
of any work which we as individuals or people may have in hand.
(_c_) Justice--that spirit which weighs with the scales of righteousness
our conduct toward each other and our conduct as a nation toward
the world.
(_d_) Religion--the sense of dependence upon and responsibility to the
Higher Power; the profound American belief that our destiny is in
His hands.
(_e_) The minor elements of American character--such as the tendency to
organize, the element of humor, impatience with frauds, and the
movement in American life toward the simple and sincere.

--Beveridge: _Americans of To-day and To-morrow_.


_C._ Consult the table of contents or opening chapters of any text-book
and notice the main divisions.

_D._ Find in text-books five examples of classification or division.

_E._ Make one or more divisions of each of the following:--

1. The pupils in your school.
2. Your neighbors.
3. The books in the school library.
4. The buildings you see on the way to school.
5. The games you know how to play.
6. Dogs.
7. Results of competition.


+Theme LXXXIX.+--_Write an introductory paragraph showing what divisions
you, would make if called upon, to write about one of the following
topics:_--

1. Mathematics.

2. The school system of our city.

3. The churches of our town.

4. Methods of transportation.

5. Our manufacturing interests.

6. Games that girls like.

7. The inhabitants of the United States.


(Have you mentioned all important divisions of your subject? Have you
included any minor and unimportant divisions? Consider other possible
principles of division of your subject. Have you chosen the one best
suited to your purpose?)


+163. Exposition of a Proposition.+--Two terms united into a sentence so
that one is affirmed of the other become a proposition. Propositions, like
terms, may be either specific or general. "Napoleon was ambitious" is a
specific proposition; "Politicians are ambitious" is a general one.

When a proposition is presented to the mind, its meaning may not at once
be clear. The obscurity may arise from the fact that some of the terms in
the proposition are unfamiliar, or are obscure, or misleading. In this
case the first step, and often the only step necessary, is the explanation
of the terms in the proposition. The following selection taken from
Dewey's _Psychology_ illustrates the exposition of a proposition by
explaining its terms:--


The habitual act thus occurs automatically and mechanically. When we say
that it occurs automatically, we mean that it takes place, as it were, of
itself, spontaneously, without the intervention of the will. By saying
that it is mechanical, we mean that there exists no consciousness of the
process involved, nor of the relation of the means, the various muscular
adjustments, to the end, locomotion.


It is possible for our listeners or readers to understand each term in a
proposition and yet not be able to understand the meaning of the
proposition as a whole. When this is the case, we shall find it necessary
to make use of methods of exposition discussed later.


EXERCISES


Explain orally the following propositions by explaining any of the terms
likely to be unfamiliar or misunderstood:

1. The purpose of muscular contraction is the production of motion.

2. Ping-pong is lawn tennis in miniature, with a few modifications.

3. An inevitable dualism bisects nature.

4. Never inflict corporal chastisement for intellectual faults.

5. Children should be led to make their own investigations and to draw
their own inferences.

6. The black willow is an excellent tonic as well as a powerful
antiseptic.

7. Give the Anglo-Saxon equivalent for "nocturnal."

8. A negative exponent signifies the reciprocal of what the expression
would be if the exponent were positive.


+Theme XC.+--_Write an explanation of one of the following:_

1. Birds of a feather flock together.

2. Truths and roses have thorns about them.

3. Where there's a will, there's a way.

4. Who keeps company with a wolf will learn to howl.

5. He gives nothing but worthless gold, who gives from a sense of duty.

6. All things that are,
Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed.

7. Be not simply good--be good for something.

8. He that hath light within his own clear breast, May sit i' the center,
and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the midday sun; Himself is his own dungeon.


(Select the sentence that seems most difficult to you, determine what it
means, and then attempt to make an explanation that will show that you
thoroughly understand its meaning.)


+164. Exposition by Repetition.+--In discussing paragraph development
(Section 50) we have already learned that the meaning of a proposition may
be made clearer by the repetition of the topic statement. This repetition
may be used to supplement the definition of terms, or it may by itself
make clear both the meaning of the terms and of the proposition. Each
repetition of the proposition presents it to the reader in a new light or
in a stronger light. Each time the idea is presented it seems more
definite, more familiar, more clear. Such statements of a proposition take
advantage of the fact that the reader is thinking, and we merely attempt
to direct his thought in such a way that he will turn the proposition over
and over in his mind until it is understood.

Notice how the following propositions are explained largely by means of
repetitions, each of which adds a little to the original statement.


How to live?--that is the essential question for us. Not how to live in
the mere material sense only, but in the widest sense. The general
problem, which comprehends every special problem, is the right ruling of
conduct in all directions under all circumstances. In what way to treat
the body; in what way to treat the mind; in what way to manage our
affairs; in what way to bring up a family; in what way to behave as a
citizen; in what way to utilize all those sources of happiness which
nature supplies--how to use all our faculties to the greatest advantage of
ourselves and others--how to live completely? And this being the great
thing needful for us to learn, is, by consequence, the great thing which
education has to teach. To prepare us for complete living is the function
which education has to discharge: and the only radical mode of judging of
any educational course, is, to judge in what degree it discharges such
functions.

--Herbert Spencer: _Education_.


The gray squirrel is remarkably graceful in all his movements. It seems as
though some subtle curve was always produced by the line of the back and
tail at every light bound of the athletic little creature. He never moves
abruptly or jerks himself impatiently, as the red squirrel is continually
doing. On the contrary, all his movements are measured and deliberate, but
swift and sure. He never makes a bungling leap, and his course is marked
by a number of sinuous curves almost equal to those of a snake. He is here
one minute, and the next he has slipped away almost beyond the ability of
our eyes to follow.

--F. Schuyler Matthews: _American Nut Gatherers_.


+Theme XCI.+--_Write a paragraph explaining one of the propositions below
by means of repetition._

1. Physical training should be made compulsory in the high school.

2. Some people who seem to be selfish are not really so.

3. The dangers of athletic contests are overestimated.

4. The Monroe Doctrine is a warning to European powers to keep their hands
off territory in North and South America.

5. By the "treadmill of life" we mean the daily routine of duties.

6. The thirst for novelty is one of the most powerful incentives that take
a man to distant countries.

7. There are unquestionably increasing opportunities for an honorable and
useful career in the civil service of the United States.


(Have you used any method besides that of repetition? Does your paragraph
really explain the proposition?)


+165. Exposition by Use of Examples.+--Exposition treats of general
subjects, and the topic statement of a paragraph is, therefore, a general
statement. In order to understand what such a general statement means, the
reader may need to think of a concrete case. The writer may develop his
paragraph by furnishing concrete cases. (See Section 44.) In many cases no
further explanation is necessary.

The following paragraph illustrates this method of explanation:--


The lower portions of stream valleys which have sunk below sea level are
called _drowned valleys_. The lower St. Lawrence is perhaps the greatest
example of a drowned valley in the world, but many other rivers are in the
same condition. The old channel of the Hudson River may be traced upon the
sea bottom about 125 miles beyond its present mouth, and its valley is
drowned as far up as Troy, 150 miles. The sea extends up the Delaware
River to Trenton, and Chesapeake Bay with its many arms is the drowned
valleys of the Susquehanna and its former tributaries. Many of the most
famous harbors in the world, as San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, the
estuaries of the Thames and the Mersey, and the Scottish firths, are
drowned valleys.

--Dryer: _Lessons in Physical Geography_.


+Theme XCII.+--_Develop one of the following topic statements into an
expository paragraph by use of examples:_--

1. Weather depends to a great extent upon winds.

2. Progress in civilization has been materially aided by the use of nails.

3. Habit is formed by the repetition of the same act.

4. Men become criminals by a gradual process.

5. Men's lives are affected by small things.

6. Defeat often proves to be real success.


(Have you made your meaning clear? Does your example really illustrate the
topic statement? Can you think of other illustrations?)


+166. Exposition by Comparison or Contrast.+--We can frequently make our
explanations clear by comparing the subject under discussion with
something that is already familiar to the reader. In such a case we shall
need to show in what respect the subject we are explaining is similar to
or differs from that with which it is compared. (Section 48.) Though
customary it is not necessary to compare the term under discussion with
some well-known term. In the example below the term _socialism_ is
probably no more familiar than the term _anarchism_. Both are explained in
the selection, and the explanations are made clearer by contrasting the
one with the other.


Socialism, which is curiously confounded by the indiscriminating with
Anarchism, is its exact opposite. Anarchy is the doctrine that there
should be no government control; Socialism--that is, State Socialism--is
the doctrine that government should control everything. State Socialism
affirms that the state--that is, the government--should own all the tools
and implements of industry, should direct all occupations, and should give
to every man according to his need and require from every man according to
his ability. State Socialism points to the evils of overproduction in some
fields and insufficient production in others, under our competitive
system, and proposes to remedy these evils by assigning to government the
duty of determining what shall be produced and what each worker shall
produce. If there are too many preachers and too few shoemakers, the
preacher will be taken from the pulpit and assigned to the bench; if there
are too many shoemakers and too few preachers, the shoemaker will be taken
from the bench and assigned to the pulpit. Anarchy says, no government;
Socialism says, all government; Anarchy leaves the will of the individual
absolutely unfettered, Socialism leaves nothing to the individual will;
Anarchism would have no social organism which is not dependent on the
entirely voluntary assent of each individual member of the organism at
every instant of its history; Socialism would have every individual of the
social organism wholly subordinate in all his lifework to the authority of
the whole body expressed through its properly constituted officers. It is
true that there are some writers who endeavor to unite these two
antagonistic doctrines by teaching that society should be organized wholly
for industry, not at all for government. But how a cooeperative industry
can be carried on without a government which controls as well as counsels,
no writer, so far as I have been able to discover, has ever even
suggested.

--Lyman Abbott: _Anarchism: Its Cause and Cure_.


+Theme XCIII.+--_Write an exposition that makes use of comparison:_--

Suggested subjects:--
1. A bad habit is a tyrant.
2. Typewritten letters.
3. The muskrat's house.
4. Compare Shylock with Barabas in Marlowe's _Jew of Malta_.
5. Methods of reading.
6. All the world's a stage.
7. Compare life to a flower.

(Can you suggest any other comparisons which you might have used? Have you
been careful in your selection of facts and arrangement?)


+167. Exposition by Obverse Statements.+--In explaining an idea it is
necessary to distinguish it from any related or similar idea with which it
may be confused in the minds of our readers. Clearness is added by the
statement that one is _not_ the other. To say that socialism is not
anarchy is a good preparation for the explanation of what socialism really
is. In the following selection Burke excludes different kinds of peace and
by this exclusion emphasizes the kind of peace which he has in mind.


The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war; not peace
to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations;
not peace to arise out of universal discord, fomented from principle,
in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical
determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy
boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace; sought in its
natural course, and in its ordinary haunts.--It is peace sought in the
spirit of peace; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, by
removing the ground of the difference, and by restoring the _former
unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the Mother Country_, to give
permanent satisfaction to your people; and (far from a scheme of ruling by
discord) to reconcile them to each other in the same act, and by the bond
of the very same interest which reconciles them to British government.


+168. Exposition by Giving Particulars or Details.+--One of the most
natural methods of explaining is to give particulars or details. After a
general statement has been made, our minds naturally look for details to
make the meaning of that statement clearer. (See Sections 45-47.) This
method is used very largely in generalized descriptions and narrations.

Notice the use of particulars or details in the following examples:--


Happy the boy who knows the secret of making a willow whistle! He must
know the best kind of willow for the purpose, and the exact time of year
when the bark will slip. The country boy seems to know these things by
instinct. When the day for whistles arrives he puts away marbles and hunts
the whetstone. His jackknife must be in good shape, for the making of a
whistle is a delicate piece of handicraft. The knife has seen service in
mumblepeg and as nut pick since whistle-making time last year. Surrounded
by a crowd of spectators, some admiring, some skeptical, the boy selects
his branch. There is an air of mystery about the proceeding. With a
patient indulgent smile he rejects all offers of assistance. He does not
attempt to explain why this or that branch will not do. When finally he
raises his shining knife and cuts the branch on which his choice has
fallen, all crowd round and watch. From the large end between two twigs he
takes a section about six inches long. Its bark is light green and smooth.
He trims one end neatly and passes his thumb thoughtfully over it to be
sure it is finished to his taste. He then cuts the other end of the stick
at an angle of about 45 deg., making a clean single cut. The sharp edge of
this is now cut off to make a mouthpiece. This is a delicate operation,
for the bark is apt to crush or split if the knife is dull, or the hand is
unskillful. The boy holds it up, inspecting his own work critically.
Sometimes he is dissatisfied and cuts again. If he makes a third cut and
is still unsuccessful he tosses the spoiled piece away. It is too short
now. A half dozen eager hands reach for the discarded stick, and the one
who gets it fondles it lovingly. I once had such a treasure and cherished
it until I learned the secret of the whistle-maker's art. He next places
the knife edge about half an inch back from the end of the mouthpiece and
cuts straight towards the center of the branch about one-fourth the way
through. A three-cornered piece is now cut out, and the chip falls to the
ground unheeded.

When this is finished the boy's eye runs along the stick with a
calculating squint. The knife edge is placed at the middle, then moved a
short distance towards the mouthpiece. With skillful hand he cuts through
the bark in a perfect circle round the stick. While we watch in fascinated
silence, he takes the knife by the blade and resting the unfinished
whistle on his knees he strikes firmly but gently the part of the stick
between the ring and the mouthpiece. Only the wooden part of the handle
touches the bark. He goes over and over it until every spot on its surface
has felt his light blow. Now he lays the knife aside, and grasping the
stick with a firm hand below the ring in the bark, with the right hand he
holds the pounded end. He tries it with a careful twist. It sticks. Back
to his knees it goes and the tap, tap, begins again. When he twists it
again it slips, and the bark comes off smoothly in one piece, while we
breathe a sigh of relief. How white the stick is under the bark! It shines
and looks slippery. Now the boy takes his knife again. He cuts towards the
straight jog where the chip was taken out, paring the wood away, sloping
up to within an inch of the end of the bark. Now he cuts a thin slice of
the wood between the edge of the vertical cut and the mouthpiece.

The whistle is nearly finished. We have all seen him make them before and
know what comes next. Our tongues seek over moist lips sympathetically,
for we know the taste of peeled willow. He puts the end of the stick into
his mouth and draws it in and out until it is thoroughly wet. Then he
lifts the carefully guarded section of bark and slips it back into place,
fitting the parts nicely together.

The willow whistle is finished. There remains but to try it. Will it go?
Does he dare blow into it and risk our jeers if it is dumb?

With all the fine certainty of the Pied Piper the boy lifts the humble
instrument to his lips. His eyes have a far-off look, his face changes;
while we strain eyes and ears, he takes his own time. The silence is
broken by a note, so soft, so tender, yet so weird and unlike other
sounds! Our hands quiver, our hearts beat faster. It is as if the spirit
of the willow tree had joined with the spirit of childhood in the natural
song of earth.

It goes!

--Mary Rogers Miller: _The Brook Book_.
(Copyright, 1902, Doubleday, Page and Co.)


+Theme XCIV.+--_Write an exposition on one of the following
subjects, making use of particulars or details:_--

1. How ice cream is made.
2. The cultivation of rice.
3. Greek architecture.
4. How paper is made.
5. A tornado.
6. Description of a steam engine.
7. The circulatory system of a frog.
8. A western ranch.
9. Street furniture.
10. A street fair.

(Have you used particulars sufficient to make your meaning clear? Have you
used any unnecessary particulars? Why is the arrangement of your topics
easy in this theme?)


+169. Exposition by Cause and Effect.+--When our general statement is in
the form of a cause or causes, the question naturally arises in our mind
as to the effects resulting from those causes. In like manner, when the
general statement takes the form of an effect, we want to know what the
causes are that produce such an effect. From the very nature of exposition
we may expect to find much of this kind of discourse relating to causes
and effects. (See Section 49.)

Notice the following example:--


The effect of the polar whirls may be seen in the rapid rotation of water
in a pan or bowl. The centrifugal force throws the water away from the
center, where the surface becomes depressed, and piles it up around the
sides, where the surface becomes elevated. The water being deeper at the
sides than at the center, its pressure upon the bottom is proportionately
greater. A similar effect is produced by the whirl of the air around the
polar regions. It is thrown away from the polar regions and piled up
around the circumference of the whirl. There is less air above the polar
regions than above latitude 30 deg.-40 deg., and the atmospheric pressure is
correspondingly low at one place and high at the other. Thus the
centrifugal force of the polar whirl makes the pressure low in spite of
the low temperature. The position of the tropical belts of high pressure
is a resultant of the high temperature of the equatorial regions on one
side and the polar whirls on the other.

--Dryer: _Lessons in Physical Geography_.


+Theme XCV.+--_Write an expository theme using cause or effect._

Suggested subjects:--

1. The causes of the French Revolution.
2. How ravines are formed.
3. Irrigation.
4. Effects of smoking.
5. Lack of exercise.
6. Volcanic eruptions.


(Did you find it necessary to make use of any other method of explanation?
Did you make use of description in any place?)


SUMMARY


1. Exposition is that form of discourse the purpose of which is to
explain.

2. The essential characteristics of an exposition are--
_a._ That it possess unity because it contains only those facts
essential to its purpose.
_b._ That the facts used be arranged in a coherent order.

3. Exposition is concerned with (_a_) general terms or (_b_) general
propositions.

4. The steps in the exposition of a term are--
_a._ Definition. This may be--
(1) By synonym (inexact).
(2) By use of the logical definition (exact).
_b._ Division. This may be--
(1) Complete (classification).
(2) Incomplete (partition).
The same principle of division should be followed throughout.

5. Exposition of a proposition may use any one of the
following methods--
_a._ By repetition.
_b._ By giving examples.
_c._ By stating comparisons and contrasts.
_d._ By making obverse statements.
_e._ By relating particulars or details.
_f._ By stating cause or effect.
_g._ By any suitable combination of these methods.



XI. ARGUMENT


+170. Difference between Argument and Exposition.+--Argument differs from
exposition in its purpose. By exposition we endeavor to make clear the
meaning of a proposition; by argument we attempt to prove its truth. If a
person does not understand what we mean, we explain; if, after he does
understand, he does not believe, we argue.

Often a simple explanation is sufficient to convince. As soon as the
reader understands the real meaning of a proposition, he accepts our view
of the case. A heated discussion may end with the statement, "Oh, if that
is what you mean, I agree with you." In Section 70, we have learned that
the first step in argument is explanation, by which we make clear the
meaning of the proposition the truth of which we wish to establish.
This explanation may include both the expounding of the terms in the
proposition and the explanation of the proposition as a whole.

There is another difference between exposition and argument. We cannot
argue about single terms, though we may explain them. We may explain what
is meant by the term _elective studies_, or _civil service;_ but an
argument requires a proposition such as, Pupils should be allowed to
choose their own studies, or, Civil Service should be established. Even
with such a topic as Expansion or Restricted Immigration, which seems to
be a subject of argument, there is really an implied proposition under
discussion; as, The United States should acquire control of territory
outside of its present boundaries; or, It should be the policy of our
government to restrict immigration. We may explain the meaning of
single terms or of propositions, but in order to argue, we must have a
proposition either expressed or implied.