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PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS
IN COMPOSITION
FOR
KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOLS
AND COLLEGES

Published by

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIEIN
ROBERT R. MARTIN
Superintendent of Public Instruction

 

 

 

 

 

ISSUED MONTHLY
Entered as second-class matter March 21, 1933, at the post office at
Frankfort, Kentucky, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

VOL.XX|V SEPTEMBER,]956 NO.9

 

 

 

 

  

 

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PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS
IN COMPOSITION

For

Kentucky High Schools and Colleges

EDITOR
William S. Ward University of Kentucky

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Meta Riley Emberger University of Louisville

George P, Faust University of Kentucky

Charles T. Hazelrigg Centre College

Helen F. Holmes Kentucky State College

JOhn H. Long Morehead State College

Emma B. Ross Hazard High School
Frankfort

Kentucky State Department of Education
1956

 

 

     

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

FOREWORD

The Kentucky Department of Education is pleased to cooperate
with a large group of colleges and public school teachers of English
by devoting this issue of the Educational Bulletin to content de-
signed for use of instructors in that field. Initially, the project
grew out of a 1952 Spring meeting of college teachers who had
asked themselves, “What can the college English departments d0
cooperatively to help improve the teaching of English in the State?”
As the project developed, the cooperative approach led to inclusion
of more and more teachers from public and private schools until
the large number of names (acknowledged elsewhere in this volume)
were involved.

The project was a cooperative effort of colleges and School
instructors with a mutual concern for the improvement of instruc-
tion. The content was the product of their work and based upon
actual classroom experience. The end result is a volume of practi-
cable value for teachers of English. The contribution of the De-
partment is at once a testimonial of its interest in the cooperative
approach to the improvement of instruction and of its concern
about meeting the needs of teachers who serve our schools.

Our staff joins me in an expression of thanks to the committee
members who labored and produced this volume and in the sincere
hope that it will have wide and effective use in the schools and
colleges of the Commonwealth.

Robert R. Martin
Superintendent of Public Instruction

296

 

grz

 

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘. The following sixty-odd persons who did the work deserve
grateful acknowledgement of their contributions:
Ruth Adkinson, Carrollton High School
‘ Jacob H. Adler, University of Kentucky
[ Aimee H. Alexander, Harrodsburg High School
Mrs. L. W. Allen, Pembroke High School
Mrs. Ruiby Allen, M. C. Napier High School (Perry Co.)
Savannah S. Anderson, Pulaski County High School

 

operate i Coleman Arnold, Georgetown College
Enghsh A. J. Beeler, Atherton High School (Louisville)
ent de- Ben W. Black, University of Kentucky
project Mary F. Burt, Highlands High School (Fort Thomas)
ho had \ Jack Callender, Atherton High School (Louisville)
=nts (10 Mrs. John Carpenter, Russellville High School
1' n ,1 Hazel Chrisman, Lafayette High School (Fayette County)
$31??? Mitchell Clark, Transylvania College
.clus10n Roy B. Clark, Eastern Kentucky State College
ls until ' John L. Cutler, University of Kentucky
'olume) Gladys DeMarcus, Middlesboro High School
‘, Mary Dierstock, Holmes High School (Covington)
. Mildred Dougherty, Western Jr. High School (Louisville)
, Harold Douglas, Transylvania College
SChOO1 A Meta Riley Emberger, University of Louisville
instruc— « Maureen Faulkner, Berea College
d upon 1 George P. Faust, University of Kentucky
practi- ‘ Lucy Fisk, Transylvania College
'11 De- Rhoda Glass, Henry Clay High School (Lexington)
, e _ P. M. Grise, Eastern Kentucky State College
.eratlve G. O. Gunter,* Sue Bennett Junior College
zoncern . Marian Hall, University of Louisville
i John F. Harrison, Transylvania College
Iédfurice A. Hatch, University of Kentucky
. arles T. Hazelrigg, Centre College
111.11“th . Lillian Hollowell, Murray State College
Slncele Helen F. Holmes, Kentucky State College
31s and " Robert D. Jacobs, University of Kentucky

“ William H. Jansen, University of Kentucky
I Louise Kannapell, Nazareth College
Edwin Larson, Murray State College
_ John H. Long, Morehead State College

ruction , Virginia Matthias, Berea College
Jane McCoy, Shelbyville High School
GUY Miles, Morehead State College
, Zerelda Noland, Paris High School
( James H. Penrod,* Kentucky Wesleyan College
Albert T. Pun‘tney, Asbury College

 

 

297

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

George Reichler, Lafayette High School (Fayette County)
Frances Richards, Western Kentucky State College

Laura Virginia Roberts, Prestonsburg High School
Leonard Roberts, Union College

Bess M. Rose, Cumberland College

Emma B. Ross, Hazard High School

Sister Agnes Margaret, Villa Madonna College

Sister Mary Cleophas, LaSalette Academy (Covington)
Emily Ann Smith, Berea College

Woodridge Spears, Georgetown College

Elizabeth Vaughan, Hopkinsville High School

Marian M. Walsh, duPont Manual High School (Louisville)
Avice White, Highlands High School (Fort Thomas)
Frances E. White, As‘bury College

Freda Whitfield, Masonic Home

Eunice Ward, Asbury College

William S. Ward, University of Kentucky

Leila Poage Wood, Bracken County High School

Willson E. Wood, Western Kentucky State College
Elizabeth Wyatt, Valley High School (Jefferson County)
*No longer teaching in Kentucky

298

 

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CONTENTS
Foreword .................................................................................................. 296
Preface ...................................................................................................... 300
A Statement of Principles .................................................................... 300
The Theme As a Whole ................................................................ 301
The Paragraph ................................................................................ 308
The Sentence ..................................................................................... 309
Mechanics ......................................................................................... 311
The Grading of Themes ................................................................. 314
The Returning of Themes ............................................................ 320
Conclusion ________________________________________________________________________________________ 322
Themes, Analyses, and Comments .................................................... 322
Notes on Grades and Analyses .................................................... 322

Themes and Comments .................................................................. 323

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS IN COMPOSITION
FOR
KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

PREFACE

This booklet has been prepared by the English departments
of twenty-one Kentucky collegesbwith the assistance of represent-
atives of twenty-four high schools and the Kentucky Council of
Teachers of English. Its purpose is to set forth principles and
standards in composition for those students who are just graduating
from high school or just entering college. In some instances the
minimum requirements may seem to represent ideals, but if so
they are ideals which can be achieved under reasonably favorable
circumstances; and even where the ideal is only partially achieved
the student will have gained an encouraging insight into the solu-
tion of his writing problems.

How far each student can go toward achieving these standards
will depend on his mastery of the fundamentals and his aptitude
for more complex matters. It will be necessary, of course, to teach
each student at the level of his own need, to encourage him and
assist him to make up his deficiencies. Yet it must be demanded
of each student that he learn to write correctly, clearly, and effec-
tively so that a diploma and “passing English” may mean some-
thing more to him than the required number of years of time-
serving.

The achievement of the standards set forth here cannot, of
course, be left to English teachers alone. The English teacher will
insist upon them in vain if students are not required to meet them
in their work for other departments. The standards must, there-
fore, be school standards, and the responsibility for their attain-
ment must be the responsibility of every teacher in the school.

Though this booklet is designed primarily for teachers, it can
be read with profit by high school seniors and college freshmen
also. The Statement of Principles, together with the illustrative
themes and the critical comments, should make clear What is ex-
pected of them and provide a means for measuring their progress
toward a mastery of fundamentals. The booklet makes no effort;
of course, to touch on all the matters which either a student 01‘ a

300

 

 

     

ITION

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rtments
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inating
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vorable
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eshmen
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teacher of writing needs to know. It is not, therefore, a substitute

for any handbook, grammar, or rhetoric.

Finally, all Who use the booklet are urged to report their
opinions of it. The revision which will certainly come after a few
years should reflect our collective wisdom and experience. Letters
containing appraisals and suggestions should be addressed to the

editor.

Precision :

Choice of
Subject:

A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
The Theme As a Whole

The philosophy which lies behind What Miss
Lucia Mirrielees calls “prevision” is that a compo-
sition teacher’s most effective teaching should be
done before the student writes his composition,
rather than afterwards with a red pencil. It seeks,
that is, to anticipate the problems which students
will encounter and thereby to save them from false
starts, unexpected pitfalls, and needless failure.

Among the most important general aspects of
prevision are the following:

If a student is to write something which he
thinks is worth saying to a specific audience, he must
have a reasonably full grasp of his subject. He needs
to be intellectually alive, to have had lively experi-
ences in reading and living; to have pet aversions
and prejudices, as well as opinions of all kinds, and
be willing to write about them. It may not be a
matter of first importance that his essay be pro-
found, but it is important that he be interested in
what he is saying. “The Role of Democracy in the
Free Nations of the World,” for example, may be a
vitally important topic today and may appeal to a
few students, but topics like “One Car in a Family
of Seven” will certainly have a greater appeal for
most adolescents, may produce a better theme on
democracy, and very likely will produce a greater
fondness for self expression. Assignments made in
a vacuum or on topics far removed from the stu-
dent’s experience are almost certain to lead to per-

301

 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Purpose and
Direction :

Limiting the
Subject:

functoriness, frustration, or the dishonesty of pla-
giarism.

Often a student masters the elements of grammar
and mechanics rapidly. He is able to compose gram-
matical sentences properly capitalized and reason-
ably well punctuated, but his “themes” turn out to
be merely a series of sentences strung together by a
process of loose association. Occasionally such sen-
tences may group themselves into an acceptable
paragraph, but seldom do they add up to a whole
composition.

The problem of such a student is one of purpose
and direction. He has not thought his topic through
and apparently does not realize that communication
involves a receiver as well as a sender. “That he
needs to do after choosing a suitable subject is to
limit it to a single, manageable aspect of the Whole.

The length of the paper assigned will naturally
guide the student to some degree, but given 200 or
800 words many students tend to set up a long list
of points or take refuge in generalities. Hence the
necessity for settling upon the limited proposition
to which he means to restrict himself. Thus “Rail-
roads” would be far too big a subject for a 200-500
word theme, but “Light signals” might do very well.
Likewise, “Universal Military Training” would be
a dangerous subject, both because it is too broad
and because it is a subject outside the student’s eX-
perience. Like “Railroads,” this subject would pI‘O-
voke sweeping generalizations and would drive the
student to a lifeless dependence on second-hand in-
formation. If, however, the teacher makes it clear
that students must restrict the topic according to
their own experience or their reading, they are
likely to limit themselves to a manageable aspect of
the topic. Thus “What UMT would do to my high
school (or college) class” or “How UMT would do
injury (or be of value) to me” are subjects within
meaningful reach of all older teen-agers.

302

 

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ammar
gram-
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r by a
h sen-
ptable
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urpose
irough
cation
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urally
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Thesis
Statement:

Audience:

The Outline ,-
Straight
Thinking:

Even limiting the subject, however, is not neces-
sarily a sufficient safeguard against subjects which
are too broad and which encourage rambling. It
may be necessary for the beginning writer to go
further and state in a clear, concise sentence pre-
cisely what he hopes to accomplish in his theme.
Thus, though a student may feel that he has done
well when he has narrowed his subject from “News—
papers” to “Newspaper Advertising,” he may do
much better if he states in so many words that “My
purpose is to prove that newspaper advertising is
sometimes misleading.” A statement of this sort is
often called a “thesis statement” (or statement of
theme) and may occupy a position following the
title and preceding the body of the theme or be
placed at the top of an outline.

Too often a student seems to feel that he writes
all of his papers to his teacher. The wise instructor,
however, will lead his students to see that they
would not write the same paper to a group of
preachers that they would to the members of the
Rotary Club, the leaders of the Truckdrivers’ Union,
or the members of the Ladies’ Garden Club, even
though the topic were the same in each case. The
directions and the manner would be different for
each group because different people have different
backgrounds and different interests. The beginning
student of writing should probably choose an audi-
ence of his peers at first, but in time he will come
to choose other audiences; and from learning to
adjust his materials and his expressions to his own
group, he should develop a growing consciousness
of the needs and peculiarities of other audiences.

With the subject delimited, the thesis statement
formulated, and the audience determined, the stu-
dent is now ready to prepare an outline of What he
wishes to say. To some teachers of writing it is
enough that their students construct their outlines
after they have already written their papers (as a
check on the organization), or at most work from

303

 

 

      
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

a mental outline or from a few notes on scrap
paper. To others, however, an outline is to a theme
what a blueprint is to a building, flexible indeed
and subject to change upon the appearance of new
and desirable inclusions, but still a guide and an
intermediate step between conception and fulfill-
ment. The outline, in short, is fundamental to
straight thinking and the orderly presentation of
ideas.

In seeking to find an appropriate arrangement
for his raw materials the student will come to see
that any one of a number of methods might lead to
an orderly arrangement. His attention will be di-
rected to such matters as time order and spatial
arrangement; he Will be led to think of his materials
in terms of definition, comparison, contrast, and
analogy; and he will have to determine whether to
use, for example, development from the general to
the specific, the specific to the general, cause to
effect, effect to cause, and so on. And he will, Of
course, have to decide 011 matters of length, propor-
tion, subordination, and economy of treatment.

The mechanical form of the outline is treated in
the handbooks. Only a few matters of broad prin-
ciple, therefore, need be dealt with here. One is that
few outlines need to be carried beyond the level
of the Arabic numeral subdivision: the student iS
making a guide to the first draft, not the first draft
itself. The outline should reveal the sense of a signifi-
cant whole and of parts significantly related to each
other and to the whole: the main point (thesis) ; the
main constituent parts (main heads) ; and the parts
of these parts (subheads). A good way to apprOaCh
outlining, of course, is to have students begin With
simple outlines of assigned readings. In fact, many
hold that it is only after students have seen hOW
essays are divided into parts related to a whole
that they should make outlines for their own papers-

Most handbooks describe both the sentence and
the topic (or phrasal) outline. Each is a useful:1f
not indispensable, aid in expository writing when

304

 

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Orgc

 

   

, scrap
theme
indeed
of new
and an
fulfill-
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tion of

gement
to see
lead to
be di-
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st, and
ther to
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ruse to
will, of
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ated in
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is) ; the
.e parts
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;, many
311 how
whole
papers.
we and
ieful, if
5 when

OvenAll
Organization :

properly adjusted to the intended subject and treat-
ment. The topic outline is most useful when the
order is simple and the interconnections of details
are obvious to writer and reader alike. The sentence
outline, however, is to be preferred for subjects
that do not lend themselves to mechanical arrange-
ment, since it requires a set of actual statements
(predications) and thus compels a clear and precise
articulation of the parts making up the whole. Such
subjects as “Building a Campfire” or “The Layout of
My Garden” can be planned successfully in a topic
outline, but “My Judgment of The Moon is Blue” or
“Hometown Politics” are far less obvious in arrange-
ment and require refinement of thought and expres-
sion which the sentence outline would precede and
assist. If we accept planning in advance as an axiom
of good composition, and mean by “planning” an
explicit arrangement showing the interconnections
of the parts, we will probably also agree that for all
topics except the simplest mechanical ones, the sen-
tence outline is the most effective guarantee that
such “planning” will actually be done, and “in ad-
vance.”

Regardless of the nature of the topic, however, it
seems safe to say that every piece of writing con-
sists of a beginning, a middle, and an end. These
divisions should not, of course, be formalized to the
point where the beginning and the end become self-
conscious bows to the audience and compete for
separate paragraph space. Rather, the beginning
should be regarded merely as that portion of the
composition in which the writer states and defines
his subject, establishes a point of View, and suggests
the tone of his composition. In like manner the end
should provide a considered conclusion which makes
the reader feel that the writer’s purpose has been
accomplished; and it should, of course, be appropri-
ate to the central idea, the point of view, and the
tone of the composition. The middle, obviously, is the
main body of the composition and should provide
a clear treatment of the central idea with proper

305

 

 

  
   
  
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Anticipating
Other
Difficulties :

Writing in
0 lass :

Length :

attention to order, point of view, and tone. It is
here that the outline becomes indispensable to good
logic and the proper coordination and subordination
of ideas. Concrete examples and specific details
should be used almost to the point of extravagance.

Besides the general features of “prevision” al-
ready noted there are those which arise out of par»
ticular assignments. Thus if a particular method of
paragraph development is to be followed, the teacher
will discuss the method thoroughly. If the theme
requires note-taking and footnoting, he will talk
about these matters; or if extensive use is to be made
of direct discourse, he will review the use of quota-
tion marks.

For those teachers who place a heavy emphasis
upon grades and are suspicious of any attempt to
protect a student from failure, such a procedure
may seem dangerously close to mollycoddling. The
purpose of prevision, however, is far from this. It is
concerned first and foremost with the amount of
teaching that goes into each theme; it seeks to re-
duce the number of errors which a student makes
when he writes; but it also insists that the student,
having been given careful guidance, master his
faults or fail.

Closely associated with prevision is the need to
have students do at least a portion of their writing
in class or in a writing laboratory. Such a method,
of course, places the student where he may have
paper, ink, dictionaries, reference books, and reason-
able quiet; but more important, it provides a $111361"
vised writing period when first drafts may be
brought to the teacher for advice and help.

Most teachers agree that the themes which a stu-
dent writes in the later stages of a course should
be substantially longer than those which he writes
at the beginning. The short one-paragraph expository
composition almost always holds to a single exp051-
tory teChnique, such as definition, comparison, 01‘

306

En
Ex;

 

 3. It is
'.0 good
ination
details
:ance.

on” al-
of par-
:hod of
teacher
theme
.11 talk
e made
quota-

nphasis
mpt t0
)cedure
1g. The
is. It is
)unt 0f
; to re-
makes
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ter his

ieed to
writing
nethody
y have
reason-
. super-
lay be

h a stu—
should
writes

)ositol‘y
expOSi'

son, 0r

Emphasis on
Exposition :

classification. The longer theme usually involves
more than one of these types. It may, for example,
begin with a definition of crucial terms, proceed with
an illuminating comparison or contrast, and then
present a detailed classification or analysis. But
regardless of Whether the theme assigned is to be
seventy—five words in length or eight hundred, the
student must always remember that length is not to
be achieved by the addition of more and more ma-
terial at the end, a procedure that is almost certain
to eventuate in digressions and thoughtless, random
progress. Instead, it must be realized that length is
the product of greater refinement in thought on the
writer’s part and a nicer awareness of the reader’s
needs, and that this development can take place
only within the main divisions of the composition.

A large portion of the speaking and writing and
much of the reading and listening that people do —
in school and afterwards — is explanatory in nature.
School routine requires quizzes, term papers, and
examinations which test their ability to communicate
their ideas with clarity and precision, and lectures
and textbooks which test their ability to compre-
hend. Afterwards, these same abilities are fre—
quently called on in many ways: in business letters,
in speeches and talks, in newspaper and magazine
articles, in items in technical and trade journals, and
so on. It seems reasonable to suggest, therefore, that
the emphasis in a composition course should be on
exposition.

This emphasis 011 exposition, however, should by
no means eliminate the study of the other forms of
discourse. Outside the rhetoric books one seldom
finds a piece of pure exposition. Any “explanation”
of any complexity at all is certain to employ de-
scription, narration, 0r argumentation in the fulfill-
ment of its purpose. In the beginning composition
course, however, these forms should be introduced
not as disciplines in themselves but as devices useful
in the presentation of ideas.

307

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The Paragraph

It is doubtful whether the tendency in modern
rhetoric to treat the paragraph as a rigid, determin-
able unit can be justified. “That the textbooks de
scribe as the typical, well-made paragraph is merely
one type of paragraph —— really a miniature com-
position with three parts: a topic sentenCe for a
beginning, a group of sentences systematically de-
veloping the topic for a middle, and a concluding or
clincher sentence for an end.

From the time when fifteeenth-century printers
first introduced a symbol — fl — as a device to
break up the monotonous sequences of otherwise
unbroken lines on a printed page, paragraphs have
been quite flexible in both their structure and pur-
pose, and paragraphing has been practiced with a
double motive. On the one hand there has been the
desire to set off those more or less formally de-
veloped logical units which fit together to make up
the whole composition. On the other there has been
the conflicting desire to give a peculiar emphasis
to a particular sentence, to signal a turning point
in the discussion, or simply to avoid putting before
the reader more than he can easily take in at a
glance.

In short, it is both difficult and unwise to be
dogmatic about the nature of the paragraph. An
analysis of the practice of good writers makes it
clear that paragraphing is a rather unpredictable
thing and that it represents an adjustment between
a writer’s rhetorical habits and his subject matter-
Yet whatever one’s definition may be, a paragraph is
a part of the whole and must contribute something
to the Whole through the contribution that it makes
to the development of an idea. Progression is 1361“
haps the most important single factor in both the
paragraph and the Whole theme, since the thought
must progress from somewhere to somewhere else-

Paragraphs should be considered as aids to both
the reader and the writer. They aid the reader by

308

 

Pa

 

    

modern
termin-
oks de~
merely
‘e com-
: for a
Llly de-
ding or

)rinters
vice to
herwise
1s have
1d pur-
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1137 de-
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nphasis
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before
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akes it
lietable
tetween
matter.
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makes
is 1361"
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Him: by

 

Paragraph
Development:

signalling the order and the unity of the subject
matter; they aid the writer by enabling him to
present his ideas logically and by dividing his task
into parts so that he is confronted with only one
problem at a time. Thus as steps in the orderly pres-
entation of ideas they make an important contribu-
tion to straight thinking.

There are, of course, no right and wrong ways
to teach paragraph writing. Straight thinking and
logical organization can be taught by giving stu-
dents practice in following the more or less me-
chanical methods of paragraph development. This
implies that each paragraph will contain a focusing
(or topic) statement and that students will con-
sciously develop this statement by comparisons, c011-
trasts, or examples; by expanding a definition; by
presenting causes or effects; and so on, ultimately
progressing to the point where a combination of
these methods is employed in what might be called
mature writing. At the same time students should
be shown that in both their writing and their reading
they may expect paragraphs which do not fit into
this mechanical, somewhat formal pattern. For such
paragraphs there is no strict formula, since each one
will derive its method, form, and length from the
thought that it has to express. There does remain,
however, one necessity: that each paragraph de-
velop a clear—cut stage of the subject and that the
parts be such well-ordered parts of the whole that
the reader comes to understand the subject as the
writer sees it.

The Sentence

As with the paragraph, it would be difficult to
find a definition of the sentence that all would ac-
cept. Nevertheless, it seems to be agreed that the
following are the minimum syntactical requirements
which the twelfth-grade student and beginning col-
lege student should be acquainted with through
study, instruction, and practice:

  
 

309

 

 

  
  
  
    
  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

Grammar :

Sentence
Form .-

Fanlts in
Sentences .-

A knowledge of functional grammar is impor—
tant to a mastery of the sentence. With this knowl-
edge a student can more fully understand the forms
and functions of words and of larger elements in
sentences, and can participate in a discussion of why
his sentences sometimes go wrong.

The student should be familiar with three basic
patterns of the sentence: the subject-verb combi-
nation, the subject-verb-predicate complement com-
bination, and the subject—verb-direct object com
bination; and in connection with the second and
third patterns he should be aware of the possibilities
of phrase or clause as subject, complement, or 01-
ject. He should understand the differences between
simple, compound, and complex sentences and be
able to isolate a single idea in a simple sentence;
to join two related ideas in a compound sentence
on the principle of addition, alternation, contrast, or
result; and to treat properly a main idea with a sub-
ordinate idea in a complex sentence. He should be
aware of the force of various connectives and
realize that and will not substitute for but, never-
theless for consequently, although for since, and so
on. He should recognize the advantage of simple
parallelism.

0n the negative side, the student should know
that sentences go wrong at times. He should recog-
nize an indefensible fragment and know what to do
about it; make sure that his verbs agree in number
with their subjects, his pronouns with their antece-
dents; and avoid unnecessary shifts in structure and
tense. He should realize that adjectives and adverbs
have distinctive functions. He should be wary of
dangling and misplaced modifiers. In choosing be-
tween active and passive voice, he Should know that
the active voice is normal, sound, and effective; that
shifting from one voice to the other in the same
sentence or neighboring sentences is amateurish. In
short, the student ought to be capable of noting in-
correctness, awkwardness, or obscurity in the 8911'

310

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 impor—
kno wl«

forms
m ts in
of why

basic
combi-
t com-
; com~
[Ll and
bilities
or 01 -
etwcen
ind be
itence;
:ntence
‘ast, or
a sub-
uld be
s and
never-
and so
simple

know
recog-
t to do
Lumber
antece-
.re and
dverbs
ary 0f
ng be-
w that
e ; that
3 same
‘ish. In
ing in-
1e sen-

Diction:

tence, and for the sake of his own writing be will-
ing to construct every sentence he writes according
to criteria of logic and sensible usage.

In the matter of diction the student should be
able to distinguish between standard and substand-
ard English, to know the value of socially accept-
able language, and to understand under what cir-
cumstances he is likely to meet with substandard
forms, as in some types of narrative. More to the
purpose, perhaps, he should come to understand the
advantages of a natural, easy informality in his own
writing, so that his diction will be appropriate to
his subject matter and his audience. He should
know, for example, that it is appropriate to use the
language of the baseball diamond when he writes of
sporting events for people interested in sports and
yet be