Composition Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks

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EXERCISES

_A._ Arrange the subjects in each of the following groups so that the most
general ones shall come first:--

1. The intelligence of wild animals.
How a fox escaped from the hounds.
How animals escape destruction by their enemies.
Animals.

2. The benefits that arise from war.
The defeat of the Cimbri and Teutons by Marius.
War.
The value of military strength to the Romans.

3. Pleasure.
A summer outing in the Adirondacks.
Value of vacations.
Catching bass.

_B._ Narrow ten of the following subjects until the resulting subject may
be treated in a single paragraph:--

1. Fishing.
2. Engines.
3. Literature.
4. Heroes of fiction.
5. Cooking.
6. Houses.
7. Games.
8. Basketball.
9. Cats.
10. Canaries.
11. Sympathy.
12. Sailboats.
13. Baseball.
14. Rivers.
15. Trees.

C. A general subject may suggest several narrower subjects, each of which
would be of interest to a different class of persons; for example--

General subject,--Education.
Specific subjects,--
1. Methods of conducting recitations. (Teachers.)
2. School taxes. (Farmers.)
3. Ventilation of school buildings. (Architects.)

In a similar way, narrow each of the following subjects
so that the resulting subjects will be of interest to two or
more classes of persons:--

Subjects Classes
1. Vacations. 1. Farmers.
2. Mathematics. 2. High School Pupils.
3. Picnics. 3. Ministers.
4. Civil service. 4. Merchants.
5. Elections. 5. Sailors.
6. Botany. 6. Girls.
7. Fish. 7. Boys.

+Theme XXXII.+--_Write a paragraph about one of narrowed subjects._

(Does your paragraph have unity of thought? What methods of development
have you used? Have you selected a subject which will be of interest to
your readers?)

+61. Selecting a Title.+--The subject and the title may be the same, but
not necessarily so. The statement of the subject may require a sentence of
considerable length, while a title is best if short. In selecting this
brief title, it is well to get one which will attract the attention and
arouse the curiosity of a reader without appearing obviously to do so. A
peculiar or unusual title is not at all necessary, though if properly
selected such a title may be of value. Care must be taken not to have the
title make a promise that the theme cannot fulfill. If it does, the effect
is unsatisfactory.

EXERCISES

_A._ Discuss the appropriateness of the titles for the subjects in the
following:--

1. Title: "My Kingdom for a Horse."
Subject: An account of a breakdown of an automobile at an inconvenient
time.

2. Title: A Blaze of Brilliance.
Subject: Description of a coaching parade.

3. Title: A Brave Defense.
Subject: An account of how a pair of birds drove a snake away from
their nest.

4. Title: The Banquet Book.
Subject: Quotations designed for general reference, and also as an
aid in the preparation of the toast list, the after-dinner
speech, and the occasional address.

5. Title: Dragons of the Air.
Subject: An account of extinct flying reptiles.

6. Title: Rugs and Rags.
Subject: A comparison of the rich and the poor, from a socialistic
point of view.

7. Title: Lives of the Hunted.
Subject: A true account of the doings of five quadrupeds and three
birds.

8. Title: The Children of the Nations.
Subject: A discussion of colonies and the problems of colonization.

_B._ Supply an appropriate title for a story read by the teacher.

_C._ Suggest a title, other than the one given it, for each magazine
article you have read this month.

+62. Language Adapted to the Reader.+--A writer may select a subject with
reference to the knowledge and interest of his readers; he may develop his
paragraphs in accordance with the methods studied in Chapter III, and yet
he may fail to make his meaning clear, because he has not used language
suited to the reader. Fortunately, the language that we understand and use
is that which is most easily understood by those of equal attainments with
ourselves. It therefore happens that when writing for those of our own age
and attainments, or for those of higher attainments, we usually best
express for them that which we make most clear and pleasing to ourselves.
But if we write for younger people, or for those of different interests in
life, we must give much attention to adapting what we write to our
readers. Before writing it is well to ask, For whom am I writing? Then, if
necessary, you should modify your language so that it will be adapted to
your readers. Can you tell for what kind of an audience each of the
following is intended?

In the field both teams played faultless ball, not the semblance of an
error being made. Besides backing up their pitchers in this fashion, both
local and visiting athletes turned sensational plays.

The element of luck figured largely in the result. In the first inning
Dougherty walked and Collins singled. Dougherty had third base sure on the
drive, but stumbled and fell down between second and third, and he was an
easy out.

Boston got its only run in the second. Parent sent the ball to extreme
left for two bases. He stole third nattily when catcher Sugden tried to
catch him napping at the middle station. Ferris scored him with a drive to
left. St. Louis promptly tied the score in its half. Wallace opened with a
screeching triple to the bulletin board. At that he would not have scored
if J. Stahl had not contributed a passed ball, Heidrick, Friel, and
Sugden, the next three batters, expiring on weak infield taps. The Browns
got the winning run in the sixth on Martin's triple and Hill's swift cut
back of first. Lachance knocked the ball down and got his man at the
initial sack, but could not prevent the tally.

--_Boston Herald._

His name was Riley, and although his parents had called him Thomas, to the
boys he had always been "Dennis," and by the time he had reached his
senior year in college he was quite ready to admit that his "name was
Dennis," with all that slang implied. He had tried for several things,
athletics particularly, and had been substitute on the ball nine, one of
the immortal second eleven backs of the football squad, and at one time
had been looked upon as promising material for a mile runner on the track
team.

But it was always his luck not quite to make anything. He couldn't bat up
to 'varsity standard, he wasn't quite heavy enough for a Varsity back, and
in the mile run he always came in fresh enough but could not seem to get
his speed up so as to run himself out, and the result was that, although
he finished strong and with lots of running in him, the other fellows
always reached the tape first, even though just barely getting over and
thoroughly exhausted.

Now "Dennis" had made up his mind at Christmas time that he actually would
have one more trial on the track, and that his family, consisting of his
mother and a younger brother, both of them great believers in and very
proud of Thomas, should yet see him possessed of a long-coveted "Y."

So he went out with the first candidates in the spring, and the addition
of the two-mile event to the programme of track contests gave him a
distance better suited to his endurance. There were a half-dozen other men
running in his squad, and Dennis, from his former failures, was not looked
upon with much favor, or as a very likely man. But he kept at it. When the
first reduction of the squad was made, some one said, "Denny's kept on
just to pound the track." With the middle of March came some class games,
and Dennis was among the "also rans," getting no better than fourth place
in the two-mile. The worst of it was that he knew he could have run it
faster, for he felt strong at the finish, but had no burst of speed when
the others went up on the last lap. But in April he did better, and it
soon developed that he was improving. The week before the Yale-Harvard
games he was notified that he was to run in the two-mile as pace maker to
Lang and Early, the two best distance men on the squad. Nobody believed
that Yale would win this event, although it was understood that Lang stood
a fair chance if Dennis and Early could carry the Harvard crack, Richards,
along at a fast gait for the first mile.

So it was all arranged that Early should set the pace for the first half
mile, and Dennis should then go up and carry the field along for a fast
second half. Then, after the first mile was over, Early and Dennis should
go out as fast as they could, and stay as long as they could in the
attempt to force the Harvard man and exhaust him so that Lang could come
up, and, having run the race more to his liking, be strong enough to
finish first.

The day of the games came, and with it a drenching rain, making the track
heavy and everybody uncomfortable. But as the inter-collegiates were
the next week, it was almost impossible to postpone the games, and
consequently it was decided to run them off. As the contest progressed, it
developed that the issue would hang on the two-mile event, and interest
grew intense. When the call for starters came, Dennis felt the usual
trepidation of a man who is before the public for the first time in a
really important position. But the feeling did not last long, and by the
time he went to his mark he had made up his mind that that Harvard runner
should go the mile and a half fast at any rate, or else be a long way
behind.

At the crack of the pistol the six men went off, and, according to orders,
during the first mile Early and Dennis set the pace well up. Richards, the
Harvard man, let them open up a gap on him in the first half-mile, and,
being more or less bothered by the conditions of the wet track, he seemed
uncertain whether the Yale runners were setting the pace too high or not,
and in the second half commenced to move up. In doing this his team mates
gradually fell back until they were out of it, and the order was Dennis,
Early, Richards, and Lang. At the beginning of the second mile, Early,
whose duty it was to have gone up and helped Dennis make the pace at the
third half-mile, had manifestly had enough of it, and, after two or three
desperate struggles to keep up, was passed by Richards. When, therefore,
they came to the mile and a half, Dennis was leading Richards by some
fifteen yards, and those who knew the game expected to see the Harvard man
try to overtake Dennis, and in so doing exhaust himself, so that Lang, who
was running easily in the rear, could come up and in the last quarter
finish out strong. Dennis, too, was expecting to hear the Harvard man come
up with him pretty soon, and knew that this would be the signal for him to
make his dying effort in behalf of his comrade, Lang. As they straightened
out into the back stretch Richards did quicken up somewhat, and Dennis let
himself out. In fact, he did this so well that as they entered upon the
last quarter Richards had not decreased the distance, and indeed it had
opened up a little wider. But where was Lang? Dennis was beginning to
expect one or the other of these two men to come up, and, as he turned
into the back stretch for the last time, it began to dawn upon him, as it
was dawning upon the crowd, that the pace had been too hot for Lang, and,
moreover, that Yale's chance depended on the despised Dennis, and that the
Harvard runner was finding it a big contract to overhaul the sturdy
pounder on the wet track. But Richards was game, and commenced to cut the
gap down. As they turned into the straight, he was within eight yards of
Dennis. But Dennis knew it, and he ran as he had never run before. He
could fairly feel the springing tread of Richards behind him, and knew it
was coming nearer every second. But into the straight they came, and the
crowd sprang to its feet with wild yells for Dennis. Twenty yards from
home Richards, who had picked up all but two yards of the lead, began to
stagger and waver, while Dennis hung to it true and steady, and breasted
the tape three yards in advance, winning his "Y" at last!

--Walter Camp: _Winning a "Y"_ ("Outlook")

In which of the preceding accounts were you more interested? Which made
the more vivid impression? Which would be better suited for a school class
composed of boys and girls? Which for a newspaper report?

In attempting to relate a contest it is essential that the writer know
what really happened, and in what order it happened, but his successful
presentation will depend to some extent upon the consideration given to
adapting the story to the audience. A person thoroughly conversant with
the game will understand the technical terms, and may prefer the first
account to the second, but those to whom the game is not familiar would
need to have so much explanation of the terms used that the narration
would become tedious to those already familiar with the terms. In order
to make an account of a game interesting to persons unfamiliar with that
game, we must introduce enough of explanation to make clear the meaning
of the terms we use.

+Theme XXXIII.+--_Write a theme telling some one who does not understand
the game about some contest which you have seen_.

Suggested subjects:--

1. A basket ball game.
2. A football game.
3. A tennis match.
4. A baseball game.
5. A croquet match.
6. A golf tournament.
7. A yacht race.
8. A relay race.

(Have you introduced technical terms without making the necessary
explanations? Have you explained so many terms that your narrative is
rendered tedious? Have you related what really happened, and in the proper
time order? Have your paragraphs unity? Can you shorten the theme without
affecting the clearness or interest? Does _then_ occur too frequently?)

+Theme XXXIV.+--_Write a theme, using the same subject that you used for
Theme XXXIII. Assume that the reader understands the game._

(Will the reader get the whole contest clearly in mind? Can you shorten
the account? Compare this theme with Theme XXXIII.)

+63. Explanation of Terms.+--Any word that alone or with its modifiers
calls to mind a single idea, is a term. When applied to a particular
object, quality, or action, it is a specific term; but when applied to any
one of a class of objects, qualities, or actions, it is a general term.
For example: _The Lake_, referring to a lake near at hand, is a specific
term; but _a lake_, referring to any lake, is a general term. In Theme
XXXIII you had occasion to explain some of the terms used. If, in telling
about a baseball game, you mentioned a particular "fly," your statement
was description or narration; but if some one should ask what you meant by
"a fly," your answer would be general in character; that is, it would
apply to all "flies," and would belong to that division of composition
called exposition. Exposition is but another name for explanation. It is
always concerned with that which is general, while description and
narration deal with particular cases. We may describe a particular lake;
but if we answer the question, What is a lake? the answer would apply to
any lake, and would be exposition. Explanation of the meaning of general
terms is one form of exposition.

+64. Definition by Synonyms.+--If we are asked to explain the meaning of a
general term, our reply in many cases will be a brief definition. Often it
is sufficient to give a synonym. For example, in answer to the question,
What is exposition? we make its meaning clearer by saying, Exposition is
explanation.

Definition by synonym is frequently used because of its brevity. In the
smaller dictionaries the definitions are largely of this kind. For
example: to desert, _to abandon_; despot, _tyrant_; contemptible, _mean or
vile_; to fuse, _to blend_; inviolable, _sacred_. Synonyms are, however,
seldom exact, but a fair understanding of a term may be gained by
comparing it with its synonyms and discussing the different shades of
meaning. Such a discussion, especially if supplemented by examples showing
the correct use of each term, is a profitable exercise in exposition. For
example:--

Both _discovery_ and _invention_ denote generally something new that is
found out in the arts and sciences. But the term _discovery_ involves in
the thing discovered not merely novelty, but curiosity, utility,
difficulty, and consequently some degree of importance. All this is less
strongly involved in invention. But there are yet wider differences. One
can only discover what has in its integrity existed before the discovery,
while invention brings a thing into existence. America was discovered.
Printing was invented. Fresh discoveries in science often lead to new
inventions in the industrial arts. Indeed, discovery belongs more to
science; invention, to art. Invention increases the store of our practical
resources, and is the fruit of search. Discovery extends the sphere of our
knowledge, and has often been made by accident.

--Smith: _Synonyms Discriminated_.

If exactness is desired, this is obtained by means of the logical
definition, which will be discussed in a later chapter.

+Theme XXXV.+--Explain the meaning of the words in one of the following
groups:_--

1. Caustic, satirical, biting.
2. Imply, signify, involve.
3. Martial, warlike, military, soldierlike.
4. Wander, deviate, err, stray, swerve, diverge.
5. Abate, decrease, diminish, lessen, moderate.
6. Emancipation, freedom, independence, liberty.
7. Old, ancient, antique, antiquated, obsolete.
8. Adorn, beautify, bedeck, decorate, ornament,
9. Active, alert, brisk, lively, spry.

+65. Use of Simpler Words.+--In defining terms by giving a synonym we must
be careful to choose a synonym which will be most likely to be understood
by our listeners, or our explanation will be of no avail. For instance, in
explaining the term _abate_ to a child, if we say it means _to diminish_,
and he is unfamiliar with that word, he is made none the wiser by our
explanation. If we tell him that it means _to grow less_, he will, in all
probability, understand our explanation. Very many words in our language
have equivalents that may be substituted, the one for the other. Much of
our explanation to children and to those whose attainments are less than
our own consists in substituting common, everyday words for less familiar
ones.

EXERCISE

Give familiar equivalents for the following words:--

1. emancipate.
2. procure.
3. opportunity.
4. peruse.
5. elapsed.
6. approximately.
7. abbreviate.
8. constitute.
9. simultaneous.
10. familiar.
11. deceased.
12. oral.
13. adhere.
14. edifice.
15. collide.
16. suburban.
17. repugnance.
18. grotesque.
19. equipage.
20. exaggerate.
21. ascend.
22. financial.
23. nocturnal.
24. maternal.
25. vision.
26. affinity.
27. cohere.
28. athwart.
29. clavicle.
30. omnipotent.
31. enumerate.
32. eradicate.
33. application.
34. constitute.
35. employer.
36. rendezvous.
37. obscure.
38. indicate.
39. prevaricate.

+66. Definitions Need to be Supplemented.+--The purpose of exposition is
to make clear to others that which we understand ourselves. If the mere
statement of a definition does not accomplish this result, we may often
make our meaning clear by supplementing the definition with suitable
comparisons and examples. In making use of comparisons and examples we
must choose those with which our readers are familiar, and we must be sure
that they fairly represent the term that we wish to illustrate.

+Theme XXXVI.+--_Explain any one of the following terms. Begin with as
exact a definition as you can frame._

1. A "fly" in baseball.
2. A "foul" in basket ball.
3. A "sneak."
4. A hero.
5. A "spitfire."
6. A laborer.
7. A capitalist.
8. A coward.
9. A freshman.
10. A "header."

(Is your definition exact, or only approximately so? How have you made its
meaning clear? Can you think of a better comparison or a better example?
Can your meaning be made clearer, or be more effectively presented, by
arranging your material in a different order?)

+67. General Description.+--We may often make clear the meaning of a term
by giving details. In describing a New England village we might enumerate
the streets, the houses, the town pump, the church, and other features.
This would be specific description if the purpose was to have the reader
picture some particular village; but if the purpose was to give the reader
a clear conception of the general characteristics of all New England
villages, the paragraph would become a general description.

Such a general description would include all the characteristics common
to all the members of the class under discussion, but would omit
any characteristic peculiar to some of them. For example, a general
description of a windmill includes the things common to all windmills. If
an object is described more for the purpose of giving a clear conception
of the class of which it is a type than for the purpose of picturing the
object described, we have a general description. Such a description is in
effect an enlarged definition, and is exposition rather than description.
It is sometimes called scientific description because it is so commonly
employed by writers of scientific books.

Notice the following examples of general description:--

1. Around every house in Broeck are buckets, benches, rakes, hoes, and
stakes, all colored red, blue, white, or yellow. The brilliancy and
variety of colors and the cleanliness, brightness, and miniature pomp of
the place are wonderful. At the windows there are embroidered curtains
with rose-colored ribbons. The blades, bands, and nails of the gayly
painted windmills shine like silver. The houses are brightly varnished and
surrounded with red and white railings and fences.

The panes of glass in the windows are bordered by many lines of different
hues. The trunks of all the trees are painted gray from root to branch.
Across the streams are many little wooden bridges, each painted as white
as snow. The gutters are ornamented with a sort of wooden festoon
perforated like lace. The pointed facades are surmounted with a small
weathercock, a little lance, or something resembling a bunch of flowers.
Nearly every house has two doors, one in front and one behind, the last
for everyday entrance and exit, the former opened only on great occasions,
such as births, deaths, and marriages. The gardens are as peculiar as the
houses. The paths are hardly wide enough to walk in. One could put his
arms around the flower beds. The dainty arbors would barely hold two
persons sitting close together. The little myrtle hedges would scarcely
reach to the knees of a four-year-old child.

2. Ginseng has a thick, soft, whitish, bulbous root, from one to three
inches long,--generally two or three roots to a stalk,--with wrinkles
running around it, and a few small fibers attached. It has a peculiar,
pleasant, sweetish, slightly bitter, and aromatic taste. The stem or stalk
grows about a foot high, is smooth, round, of a reddish green color,
divided at the top into three short branches, with three to five leaves to
each branch, and a flower stem in the center of the branches. The flower
is small and white, followed by a large, red berry. It is found growing in
most of the states in rich, shady soils.

3. As a general proposition, the Scottish hotel is kept by a
benevolent-looking old lady, who knows absolutely nothing about the
trains, nothing about the town, nothing about anything outside of
the hotel, and is non-committal regarding matters even within her
jurisdiction. Upon arrival you do not register, but stand up at the desk
and submit to a cross-examination, much as if you were being sentenced in
an American police court.

Your hostess always wants twelve hours' notice of your departure, so that
she can make out your bill--a very arduous, formidable undertaking. The
bill is of prodigious dimensions, about the size of a sheet of foolscap
paper, lined and cross-lined for a multitude of entries. When the account
finally reaches you, it closely resembles a design for a cobweb factory.
Any attempt to decipher the various hieroglyphics is useless--it can't be
done. The only thing that can be done is to read the total at the foot of
the page and pay it.

--_Hotels in Scotland_ ("Kansas City Star").

+Theme XXXVII.+--_Write a general description of one of the following:_--

1. A bicycle.
2. A country hay barn.
3. A dog.
4. A summer cottage.
5. An Indian wigwam.
6. A Dutch windmill.
7. A muskrat's house.
8. A robin's nest.
9. A blacksmith's shop.
10. A chipmunk.
11. A threshing machine.
12. A sewing circle.

(The purpose is not to picture a particular object, but to give a general
notion of a class of objects. Cross out everything in your theme that
applies only to some particular object. Have you included enough to make
your meaning clear?)

+Theme XXXVIII.+--_Using the same title as for Theme XXXVII, write a
specific description of some particular object._

(How does it differ from the general description? What elements have you
introduced which you did not have in the other? Which sentence gives the
general outline? Are your details arranged with regard to their proper
position in space? Will the reader form a vivid picture--just the one you
mean him to have?)

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