In your opening sentences be plain and direct, but try to arouse an interest in what is to come. As you continue, give most attention to those parts of the subject which you consider most important. If your outline is well made, it will aid you in holding the interest to the end.

Exercises

40. Study the following composition, written by a pupil, and write answers to these questions :

1. What is the writer's purpose ?

2. Do you see the value of arranging the sentences in three groups ?

3. Has a fair amount of space been given to each group of details ?

4. Does the theme hold your interest to the end ?

Baby's First Shoes

They1 were lovely, bright red shoes, - just the kind to please a baby. They stood there on the floor quietly waiting to be claimed. Baby spied the two bits of red and at once decided to go and feel. He edged quickly along the floor and fearlessly grasped one bit of red. It didn't scratch like "Kitty." He pinched it; it didn't squeal like his rubber doll. He shook it; it didn't jingle like his bells. Evidently there must be some further mystery about this last prize. He stuck one red tip into his mouth, but took it out very quickly, making a wry face. He stuck in the other, too, but it tasted just exactly as bad. He threw them down in disgust, and babbled some earnest babyland prattle to them.

1 Note that "they" does not refer to the title, although it may seem to.

Then mamma came to the assistance of the tiny puzzler. She drew baby's two mysteries on over his ten little toes. Baby sat very quiet and looked very thoughtfully at his newly shod feet. They had never been housed before. Baby rather doubtfully wriggled his toes in their pens. But, oh, how bewitching that red was! He leaned over, caught hold of one little foot with each little hand, rolled over on his back, and kicked those red shoes back and forth, up and down, "every-which-way," watching the fashes of red come and go, and cooing in a baby's own happy way.

When mamma came later to find him, baby was cuddled down in a little heap fast asleep, with one little red shoe clasped tightly in each chubby hand.

41. From the following ten titles make a list of those on which you have something to say, and add to these other subjects suggested by them on which you have more to say:

1. The Wrong Car.

2. Typewriting.

3. A Skating Party.

4. A Disappointing Telegram.

5. A Queer Playmate.

6. A Christmas Tree.

7. My Brother's First Letter.

8. My New Year's Resolution.

9. A Recent Discovery.

10. A Witch's Grave.

42. Plan a one-minute talk on some subject in your list. Be prepared to give the talk to the class.1

1 It is recommended that in the first set of talks the pupils confine their criticism of one another's work almost entirely to encouragement. Each speaker should be made to feel that he is addressing a friendly audience.

43. Write out and bring to class the substance of your talk, taking advantage of whatever criticisms you have received from the teacher and the class.

44. Watch carefully for several minutes some familiar animal or insect. Write in detail everything you have seen it do. Be prepared to read your theme aloud, with the twofold purpose of interesting your classmates and getting the benefit of their suggestions.

45. Select from the following list of subjects those on which you could write. Add to these other similar subjects on which you would prefer to write.

1. A Robin singing at Sunrise.

2. A Knock at the Back Door.

3. A Pair of Squeaking Shoes.

4. My English Theme.

5. A Letter from a Friend.

6. A Pocket Knife.

7. Muzzling an Alarm Clock.

8. Finishing the Last Example in Algebra.

9. Washing Dishes.

10. An Easy History Lesson.

11. Finger Exercises on the Piano.

12. A Disagreeable Chore.

46. Write on a subject taken from the list just prepared, being careful to make your composition a unit.

47. Consider the following subjects for compositions and mention others that occur to you. Write on one of the subjects.

1. A Lively Horse.

2. A Busy Afternoon.

3. A Bad Spot.

4. A Row on the River.

5. An Old Pin Cushion.

6. A Beehive.

7. Views of California.

8. Dredging the Harbor.

9. A Visit to a State Quarry.

10. A Landslide.

11. A Bad Boy.

12. Stranded.

13. Our Club.

14. A Visit to the Beach.

48. After writing a composition of considerable length (see sect. 24) upon one of the following subjects, compare your work with that of some great writer on the same subject. Write a short criticism of your composition, based on the comparisons just made.

1. The Town Pump. ("Twice Told Tales," by Hawthorne).

2. Christmas. ("The Sketch-Book," by Irving).

3. A Sunday in the Country. (The Spectator, by Addison).

4. A Great Snow Fall. ("Lorna Doone," chaps. xli-xlii, by Blackmore).

5. A Great Storm. ("David Copperfield," chap. lv, by Dickens).

6. A Night in a Camp. ("Camping Out," by Charles Dudley Warner).

7. Canoeing. ("An Inland Voyage," by Stevenson).

8. A Winter Evening. ("The Task," by Cooper; "Snow-Bound," by Whittier).

9. A Pond. ("Walden," by Thoreau).

49. Write on a subject taken from one of the foregoing lists. Make an outline in order to secure unity, and read the composition aloud before coming to class to see whether it sounds well.

50. Write a composition based on imagination. See the list in Exercise 14.

51. Make an outline of a one-minute talk on what you look for in your favorite newspaper. Get all the help you can from the following outline, noting not only the choice of topics, but the order in which they are arranged.