xt7xwd3pw861 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xwd3pw861/data/mets.xml Royster, James Finch, 1880-1930. 1917  books b92-276-32008216 English Scott, Foresman, : Chicago ; New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. English language Rhetoric. English language Composition and exercises.Thompson, Stith, 1885- Manual and notebook for English composition  / by James Finch Royster and Stith Thompson. text Manual and notebook for English composition  / by James Finch Royster and Stith Thompson. 1917 2002 true xt7xwd3pw861 section xt7xwd3pw861 











MANUAL



AND NOTEBOOK



FOR



ENGLISH COMPOSITION




                 BY
     JAMES FINCH ROYSTER, Ph.D.
     PROFESSOR (F ENGI.ISH IN THE VNIVERSITY OF TFXAS

                AND)


       STITH THOMPSON, Ph.D.
     INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH IN THE UNIVERSITY (F TEXAS















   SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY



I



CHICAGO



NEW YORK

 
















































     COPYRIGHT 1917 BY

SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY

 












                          PREFACE


    This book is the result of an attempt to supply helps toward the
teaching of English composition that are not furnished by the text-
books of rhetoric. The first part, the MANUAL, contains information
that students of composition should have at hand, the dictation of which
would needlessly consume many class periods. The second part of the
book, which alone has any claim to originality, is the NOTEBOOK. Its use
is fully explained in the Introduction.
    The final form in which the book appears has been determined with
the help and advice of several members of the department of English in
the University of Texas, who have been using in their classes with
marked success the system of theme-correction recommended here.
    For the rules given in the treatment of such subjects as Grammar
or Diction it is almost impossible to trace all obligations to their real
source. At the beginning of each division of the NOTEBOOK we have indi-
cated those standard textbooks that we have found most helpful. For
further aid in the preparation of the Manual and Notebook we owe
many debts of gratitude. Several special obligations are acknowledged
at their proper places in the text. Particularly do we wish to thank
Mrs. Jessie Goddard McKinlay, of Portland, Oregon, for her careful
reading of the manuscript and for her many helpful suggestions.
                                            JAMES F. ROYSTER
                                            STITH THOMPSON
Austin, Texas
    March, 1917

 This page in the original text is blank.

 








                     TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                                                             I,
PREFACE ............................................................
INTRODUCTION     ...............................



' (iI
iii
xi



                          PART 1. MAN UA1,

1. SYMBOLS USED FOR THE CORRECTION OF. THENMES ................. I
2. SUGGESTION'S AS TO SUBJECTS FOR THEMEs ........................... 2
3. LIST OF SUPPLE.MENTARY RE-ADINGS .
4. REFERENCE BOOKS STUTDENTS SHOULD KNoN ............................ 15
5. SOME PERIODICALS STUDENTS SHOULD K.Now .......................... 17
6. MECHANICAL FORM OF MANUSCRIPT ................................. 17



PART II. NOTEBOOK

    I. PUNCTUATION



                Elements in Contrast
25      22. Antithetical expressions. .
        23. Words or phrases in p   .air .
        24. Expressions  like  "a  pleasant,
25             though expensive, trip ".
26
                       Ellipses



25. Omission of important wordss....

             Inversions
26. Invverted elements ...............



27               Miscellaneous Uses
        27. Long subject separatedl from verb
28      28. Separation merely for clearness.
        29. After interjections.
        30. With quotation marks and paren-
28             theses .
         3 1. Dates .
29      32. Names of places.
        33. Numbers.
        34. In connection with namies of per-
29             sons .



      B. THE SEMICOLON
35. General principle ..............

      In Compound Sentences
36. Without simple conjunctions (no
      connective) ................
    Note 1. With conjunctive adverbs
    Note 2. The series a, b, and c...



26
27
27



        A. THE COMMA
 7. General principle ...............

        Coordinate Elements
 8. Two coordinated groups.........
 9. Coordinate adjectives...........
 10. Series of three or more ivith con-
      junctions ..................
11. The series a, b, and c...........
    Note 1. Etc. ..................
12. Clauses  of  compound   sentence
      ,joined by simple conjunction.
13. Clauses of a compound sentence
      ntot joined by simple conjunc-
      tion .......................
      Subordinate Elements
14. Direct quotations-noun clauses..
 15. Non-restrictive adjectives phrases
      and clauses.................
    Note 1. -No comma with restric-
      tive phrases or elhuses.
16. Adverbial clauses ..............



  Introductory, Parenthetical, and
       Absolute Expressions
17. Introductory or parenthetical par-
      ticles  .......... ............  30
18. Absolute phrases .......   ........ 30
19. Elements in apposition ..... .... 30
20. Vocatives .........   ............  31
21. Parenthetical expressions ........ 31



V



3i1
3;1

31



:32

33

33
33
33
33

34



:14



:14
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34

 





TABLE OF CONTENTS



37. With simple conjunctions ....... 35

   In Simple and Complex Sentences
 38. For coordination of long or com-
        plicated elements ..... ....... 35

      With Explanatory Words
 39. Before  explanatory  words and
        phrases like -iz .............

          C. THE COLON
 40. General prineipl ........ ........ 36

           Introductory Use
 41. Before formal statements ....... 36
 42. After salutations .............. 36
 43. To introduce explanations or illus-
       trations  ........ .............  37
44. TABULAR VIEW OF THE USE
       OF THE COMMA, THE
       SEMICOLON, AND THE
       COLON ........    ............37

         D. THE PERIOD



45.
46.
47.
48.



With sentences ................. 38
With headings .................. 38
With abbreviations ............. 38
With omissions ................ ,9



E. THE EXCLAMATION POINT



49. After interjections..............
    Note 1. Punctuation of exclama-
      tory sentences..............
50. For doubt or sarcasm...........



   F. THE QUESTION MARK
51. For query or doubt.............

          G. THE DASH
52. General remarks...............
53. With a sudden break............
54. Pareilthetical expressions........
55. With summarizing clause ........
56. After emphatic word or phrase..
57. With tabulations...............
58. With side-heads    ..............
59. Before references..............
60. With dates, etc.................
61. With commas, etc...............
62. For rhetorical effect............
63. To indicate omissions...........



H. THE APOSTROPHE



64. With
65. With
66. With



possessive case............
contractions ..............
unusual plurals...........



     I. QUOTATION MARKS
67. With direct quotations .........
68. With double quotations ........
69. With a series of paragraphs or
      stanzas .....................
70. As apology for unusual words ...
71. With titles of articles, etc.......
72. With word and its definition.....
73. General rule ...................



        J. PARENTHESES
74. For parenthetical expressions ...
75. For figures and letters marking di-
      visions .....................
76. Punctuation marks with parenthe-
      ses ........................



          K. BRACKETS
77. With interpolations, explanations,
      etc. ........................
78. For parentheses within parenthe-
      ses .........................



         L. THE CARET
79. To mark omissions.............



            M. ITALICS
80. For emphasis ..................
81. For foreign words and expressions
82. Isolated words and phrases......



39
40



41)



43
43
43



44
44

44
45
45
46
46



46

46

47



47

47



47



47
48
48



N. CAPITAL LETTERS



        83. General remark.
         84. First word of sentence .
40      85. First word of quotations.
41      86. Beginning of lines of poetry.
41      87. Beginning of resolutions, etc..
41      88. Pronoun I and interjection 0.
41       89. References to the Deity.
41      90. Proper nouns and proper adjec-
41             tives .
42      91. Important words in literary titles.
42      92. Words capitalized when referring
42             to definite persons or things..
42      93. Certain words not to be capital-
42             ized .



49
49
49
49
49
49
50

50
50

50

5tc



Vi

 





vii



TABLE OF CONTENTS

  II. SPELLING



   A. RULES FOR SPELLING
94. Rule for ei and ic........
95. Doubling of final consonant......
96. Dropping final c...............
97. Words ending in y..............
98. Words to be written separate...

   B. REPRESENTATION OF
             NUMBERS



99.
100.
101.
102.



Dates, pages, street numbers....
Money  .......................
Series of numbers in short space.
Treatment of isolated numbers. . .

  C. ABBREVIATIONS



103. General rule ..................
104. Abbreviations not proper when
        used alone ..................
-105. In footnotes, technical matter, and
        business letters.............



85
85
85
86
86



86
86
87
87



        D. HYPHENATING
106. List of words to be hyphenated...
107. Words not to be divided.........
 108. Disputed spellings...............


        E. SYLLABICATION
1009. General principle ..............
110. Unnatural syllables ...........
111. Prefixes and suffixes............
112. Syllables of one or two letters...
113. Doubled consonants ............
114. Two consonants combining for one
       sound ......................
115. Final le.  .....................
116. Monosyllables .................



8,

88

88



    F. REFORMED SPELLING
117. Reformed spelling .............



III. SENTENCE STRUCTURE



           1. DEFINITIONS
118. The sentence .................. 111
119. Simple sentence defined ..        11..... I
120. Compound sentence defined..... . 111
121. Complex sentence defined ....... 112
     a. Noun clauses .....    .......... 113
     b. Adjective clauses ....  ........ 113
     c. Adverbial clauses ....   ....... 114
122. Balanced sentence defined   ..    115.
123. Loose sentence defined .  .   11l
124. Periodic sentence defined   ..    116

2. RHETORICAL PRINCIPLES IN        THE
              SENTENCE
125. The three great principles ....... 116

             A. UNITY
             DEFINITION
126. Definition of unity ............. 116

              CAUTIONS

         In Simple Sentences
127. Irrelevant modifiers ............ 116

        In Compound Sentences
128. Two thoughts in single sentenee. . 117
129. Coordinate clauses written as sep-
       arate sentences ............. 117



130. Subordinate clauses made cobrdi-
       nate ....................... 117
131. Wrong coordinate relation ...... 118
132. Coo6rdinate relation not made evi-
       dent ....................... 11
133. Frequent use of parentheses ..... 118



        In Complex Sentences
13s4. Coordinate clauses made subordi-
       nate ......................
i135. Wrong subordinate relation......



119
119



          B. COHERENCE
             DEFINITION
i136. Definition of coherence .......... 119

              CAUTIONS
           Faulty Reference
137. Indefinite reference .... ........ 120
     Note 1. Indefinite they .......... 120
     Note 2. Indefinite it ............ 120
     Note 3. Indefinite that or those. . 120
     Note 4. Feminine so ............ 120
138. Ambiguous reference ....  ....... 121
139. Dangling participles-vague .... 121
140. Dangling participles--ambiguous. 121
     Note 1. Agreement of participles
       and gerund phrases .......... I. 121
141. El]iptical clauses ..... ......... 122
     Note 1. In titles ................ 122



88
89
89



90
90
90
90
90
9()
90
90

 





iTABLE OF CONTENTS



      Faulty Placing of Modifiers
142'. Clause not near word it governs... 122
143. Phrases not attached to modified
        words  ........  ............. 122
144. Two  phrases  modifying   same
        word .     ...................... 122
145. Modifying words not near modli-
        fied words ......    ............ 122
     Note. 1. Only   .......   .......... 123,
     Note 2. Correlatives .....    ....... 123

            Undue Ellipsis
146. Oniission  of necessarv    sentence
        elements .......     ............. 123
147. Elliptical participial phrases ... . 124

        Change of Construction



148. Change of point of view .......
149. Error in balane................
     a. Infinitive With participle......
     b. Participle or infinitive with



124
124
124



  verb ....................... 124
e. Active with passive voice ..... 1 25
d. Word or phrase with clause... 125
e. Figurative with literal expres-
  sion ....................... 125
Formula hr, b, taid c  .   .    125
Preposition governing several ob-
  jects to be repeated .......... 126
Note 1. Infinitive sign and subor-
  dinating conjunction to be re-
  peated .................... 126



            C. EMPHASIS
            DEFINITION
152. Definition of emphasis .......... 126.

DEVICES FOR OBTAINING EMPHASIS
153. Use of expletive there .......... 127
154. Position of however, therefore,
        etc . ........................ 127
155. Beginning and end of sentence ...1 2'7
156. Words referring back to preced-
        ing sentence ......   .......... 127
15 7. Words out of their natural order. 127
i158. Antithesis .......   ............. 128
159. Balanced sentence .....   ........ 128
160. Climax ..........    ............. 128
     Note 1. Anticlimax .....   ........ 128
161. Periodic sentences .....  ........ 128
162. Correct subordination .....  ..... 128
163. Rhetorical question .....  ....... 12o8
164. Exclamation  .......   ........... 129
165. Summary of devices ............ 129

D. MISCELLANEOUS SENTENCE
               ERRORS.



166. "House that Jack built" eon-
        struction ..................
167. Preposition separated front its ob-



129



        ject  ......  ..................  129
 168. Consecutive statements introduced
        by but andl for .............. 129
169. Split infinitive ......... I ... 129



IV. GRAMMAR



170. A. RELATION OF GRAMMAR
           TO COMPOSITION... 165
 B. FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS OF
          CONSTRUCTION
171. Fragmentary sentences ....     ..... 166
172. "'Comma blunders .      ............. 166
173. When and where-clauses as pred-
        icate nouns .....    ............ 167
174. Sentence as subject or comple-
        ment .....     ................ 167
175. Elements vvithout syntax ........ 167

              C. NOUNS
              Possessives
176. Possessive case of word-groups.. 167
177. Possessive of inanimate things... 168
178. Possessive when possession is not
        meant ............   ....... 168
 179. Double possessive ............. 168



180.
181.
1 182.
183.
 184.



           Plurals
Irregular plurals ..............
Collective nouns ...............
Expressions of quantity.........
Singular nouns with plural form.
Ambiguous number ............



169
170
170
170
171



           D. PRONOUNS
               Reference
185. Antecedents of pronouns ........ 171

                  Case



186. Form of possessive of her, it, you,



        etc.       ................. 171
187. Confusion in cases because of in-
        tervening "he says" ........ 171
188. Who and whoever attracted into
        objective case by preposition.. 171
189. Objective after copulative verb. .. 171



150.
151.



Vtiii

 





TABLE OF CO(INTEXTS



190. Case of subject and predicate of
        inifiinitive ................  172
191. Case of olject of preposition.... 17 2
192. Uses of possessive .............. 172'
198. C(ase after as and thant ......... 172
194. Case of appositives .............1 172

                 Number
195. Mistake in number through con-
        fused antecedent ............ 17:8
196. Number of each, ceery, etc ..... 173



               Miscellaneous
 197. Consistency in the use of pro-
         nouns we, Yiou, mC. etc ........ 17:1
 198. Use of either and the latter ...... 174
 199. Editorial we ................... 174


 E. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

      Articles and Demonstratives
200. Use of the article ............... 174
201. Repetition of article and demon-
         strative  ......  ..............  175

               Comparison
202. Comparative with two persons or
        things  .......  ..............  175
20:3. Comparison with things of the
        same  class-eomparative   de-
        gree  ........  ...............  176
204. Comparison with things of the
        same class-superlative degree. 176
205. Confusion of as and thoai ....... 176
206. Adjectives and adverbs incapable
        of comparison .....   ......... 177

              Miscellaneous
207. These kind, those kind, etc ...... 177
208. Choice of adjective or adverb
        after looks, solnds, etc...... . 177
209. Expressions like  "He   kept it
        safe"  .......   .............. 178
210. Omitted preposition in adverbial
        phrase of time .............. 178


              F. VERBS

              Agreement
211. Plural and compound subjects. . 178
212. Singular subjects joined by or oi
        itor  ......... ...............  179



21:3. Suh.jeets in different persons con-
        nected by or ........  ......... 179
214. Confusion in agreement caused l)y
        intervening word ..........   1 7 9
215. Numiber not affected by togetl'a,
        irith,et.                      7..................179
216. Verbs not to agree with predicate
        noun  ......     ................180
217. Agreemenit with -xpllletiie it ..... 180
218. Effect of expletive tJl(c . ........ 180)
219. It doit't and you was ........... 180



                   Tense
 220. Tense of statenient of genieral
         truth .......    ...............180
 221. 'rimiie modifie. with verb in l)ast
         tense ....................... 181
 222. Use of present perfect ten se ..1. I,8]
 223. Use of past perfect tense ........ 181
 224. Use of perfect infinitive ......... 181
 2 25. Use of present participle ........ 182

   Shall and Will; Should, and Would

226. In independent clauses ..........13 I :'
227. Inl dependent clauses ............ 184
228. In questions .................. 184
229. Other uses .................... 185

                  Voice
230. Misuse of passive voice ......... 185

                  Mood
231. Use of subjunctive ............. 185

              Miscellaneous

232. Possessive caye of substantive he-
        fo-re  gerund  ...... ..........  186
 233. Improper omission  of Iprincipal
        verb .......................  186
234. Use of be as principal ;nid auxili-
        ary verb ................... 186

            G. Prepositions

 235. Object of preposition ........... 186
236. Use of betwecn ................ 187
237. Preposition phrases after in re-
        gard to .................... 187

            H. Conjunctions

238. Like not a conjunction .....  .... 187
239. Use of both ................... 187



ix;

 







TABLE OF CONTENTS


   V. DICTION



            1. GOOD USE
    A. GENERAL PRINCIPLE
240. General principle of good use .... 207

        B. PRESENT USE
241. Obsolete or archaic words or
       phrases ......    ............... 208
242. New formations .....     .......... 208

       C. NATIONAL USE



243.
244.
245.
246.



247.
248.
249.
250.
251.



Foreign words ................
Americanisms and1 Anglicisms.
Provincialisms .................
Violations of idiom...........

  D. REPUTABLE USE
Vulgarisms ....................
Slang .    .  ...............
Technical terms ...............
Colloquialisms . ...............
Improprieties ..................
(a) In grammar ..............
(b) In meaning ...............



208
209
209
209



211
212
212
212
213
213
214



         2. EFFECTIVENESS

  A. SPECIFIC AND GENERAL
     MEANINGS IN WORDS
252. Specific and general words .......2 18



B. FORCE IN THE USE OF WORDS
253. Overuse of superlatives ....  ..... 218
254. Qualifying words .....    ......... 219
255. Redundancy ................... 219
     (a) In grammar ..... ......... 219
     (b) In words ......     ........... 220
256. Tautology   ........   ............ 221
257. Wordiness .................... 221
258. Use of words in two senses ......2 21
259. Repetition  .................... 221
     Note 1. Straining for synonyms. 221
260. Trite expressions .....    ......... 222
261. Hackneyed quotations ....     ...... 223

C. APPROPRIATENESS IN THE
         USE OF WORDS
262. Fine writing ..................    22 4
263. Historical present .....    ........ 224
264. Poetic diction ......   ........... 224
265. Euphemism ................... 224



  D. EXPRESSIVENESS IN THE
         USE OF WORDS
266. Connotation .........   .......... 224
267. Figures of speech .....  ......... 225
268. Accidental rimes .....   ......... 225
269. Succession of like sounds ........ 225
Class notes and word lists .............2 4.3
Index...........                .261



I

 










                       INTRODUCTION

     This Manual and Notebook for English Composition contains the
 usual material to be found in the best handbooks of composition. By
 the use of'definition, injunction, and example it treats the most impor-
 tant matters of English grammar, sentence structure, punctuation,
 spelling, and diction. It enlarges, however, the plan of'the conventional
 manual of composition: it combines with the matter of the usual rhetoric
 a NOTEBOOK in which students may be required to record the errors they
 make in their themes.
     Use of the NOTEBOOK is very simple. In the text, which is divided
into five parts-(1) Punctuation, (2) Spelling, (3) Sentence Structure,
(4) Grammar, and (5) Diction-the general principles of each of these
subjects are set forth. At the end of each of the five divisions are a
number of blank pages intended for recording the errors that the stu-
dent makes in these forms of composition. These blank pages are ruled
down the center. In the column on the left (under the heading
"Error") the student should write the incorrect form of every sentence
in his theme that contains an error, and in the column on the right
(under the heading "Correction") he should record the correct form
of the sentence. The student should, furthermore, be required to find in
the NOTEBOOK the rule or injunction his error violates, and to set down,
with the date of the theme, the number of the section that deals with his
mistake.
    The followingn model form of a corrected page illustrates the use
of the NOTEBOOK;


                             DICTION

             (Error)                           (Correction)
             Jan. 9                               256
This fact is believed universal/ih by1 all.  This fact is believed by all.

    In the case of spelling, the procedure may be varied; usually it is
necessary to record no more than the word misspelled in its incorrect
                                 xi

 



Xii   MANUAL AND NOTEBOOK FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION



and correct forms. The following model may be used for Spelling:


                              SPELLING
              (Error)                            (Correction)
              Feb. 3
            preperat ion                         preparation

     The advantages of correcting themes in this manner are obvious.
With the rules immedliately at hand in the same book, and even within
the space of a few pages from the place where he records his errors, the
pupil should be able to make correction of his faults with ease aind
accuracy. By separating his incorrect from his correct matter, and by
grouping his errors under definite heads, he should be able, also, to
see more clearly the direction his errors take than he would dlo if lhe
should merely leave them scattered over many pages of theme paper.
Classification of his mistakes should show the student quite as much
what he does not need to study as what he needs to study diligently. If
lie finds at the end of the term that he has made many errors of punctu-
ation, but that he has written down few corrections in the section of
the NOTEBOOK on "Grammar," he will know that lie should spend his
time in the review of the rules of punctuation rather than upon the
further study of grammar.
    The NOTEBOOK provides, furthermore, a satisfactory basis for con-
ference between student and instructor, and saves the time of both in
this personal instruction. The student, who has been directed to come
to conference with the entries in his NOTEBOOK posted up to date, can
show the instructor inimediately what errors he has been unable to cor-
rect. In all cases the student should be required to have recorded,
before he comes to conference, all his mistakes, even if lie has not been
able to complete the " Correction " column in his NOTEBOOK:     The
instructor can then proceed without delay to the correction of the sen-
tences that have given trouble. The student should, of course, bring
to conference his themes for reference.
    The text of the NOTEBOOK confines itself to a consideration of Cor-
rectness in grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, an(d

     Some teachers object to having students copy misspelled words, even though it be for
the purpose of correcting them. Such teachers may have the work in the left-hand columin
omitted, or some mnemonic device such as the following may be used:
             (Error)                            (Correclion)
             Feb. 3



Cf. Enrepa re



morep aration

 



                            INTRODUCTION                           Xiii

diction; and the ruled sheets are intended for the correction of offenses
against the general principles of accuracy and good use. Many mat-
ters of composition that an instructor will want to call to the attention
of his class are not inclu(led in the NOTEBOOK; many offenses against
straight thinking and clear expression that his students will commit
are covered by none of the rules. Emphasis has been thrown upon the
fundamental matters of composition-the crude and mechanical mat-
ters of accuracy. In these things the majority of students must be
diligently instructed the greater part of the time. For systematic
instruction that seeks to bring students to the point where they can
spell correctly, punctuate accurately, and use good grammar, clean dic-
tion, and a clear sentence structure, a manual that clearly sets forth
the most important principles of good form and clear expression is as
necessary as is constant practice in writing. The manual and the
student's writing, in the actual practice of instruction, too frequently
become separated. The result is discouraging to both student and
instructor. Practically all students need to have the relation between
the injunctions in the handbook and the errors in their themes pointed
out; most students, too, need to be shown more than the nature of
their errors: they must be made to correct them. It is, indeed, only
the exceptional student who by his own effort analyzes the mistakes
in his writing with sufficient understanding andl interest to avoi(l
making the same errors again and again.
    The attention that students usually give the revision of a theme is
very small in comparison with the time and care the instructor has
devoted to pointing out the mistakes in the theme. The methods usually
employed for keeping students up to the mark in revising their writing
have obvious disadvantages. That the plan of having students rewrite
their faulty themes doubles the work of the teacher-if lie actually does
read the second copy-is an objection which mioilgt be ignored if thl
benefit that comes to the student through rewriting were at all comi-
mensurate with the time and labor the instructor must devote to the
task. But rewriting gives the student full opportunity, in every case,
to dodge the issue of his errors by composing sentences that evade the
difficulties raised in the first form. It is true, of course, that in a large
number of instances an entire recasting of the sentence is just the
remedy to remove the fault-in the case of awkward sentences, for
instance; but students frequently take advantage of this fine principle
of revision to save themselves the trouble of distinguishing between
its and it's! The second theme, moreover, often displays new faults
that cannot be corrected without a further revision or rewriting. This
process may become an endless chain. Marginal correction of errors

 



Xiv    MANUAL, AND NOTEBOOK FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION



in the text of a theme students do not usually take very seriously. It
is always easier for the student to say, "I don't know how to correct
this sentence" than it is for him to take the trouble to find out what is
wrong with it and make it right. Avoidance of the difficulty easily
grows into a habit.
     A student may, however, be prevented from falling into this habit,
or he may be broken of the habit if he has caught it, by being required
to group and record his errors conveniently near the explanations of
them. It is for this purpose that the present NOTEBOOK has been
prepared. It provides a means of easy reference for discussion of
common errors in English speech and an apparatus for assembling
close to the injunctions the offenses against them that the student may
commit; moreover, it allows him little chance to avoid the responsibility
for his sins of construction.

    The principles of grammar, diction, punctuation, and sentence
structure considered in the NOTEBOOK have been treated with a deep
respect for the demands of present-day standard usage, but not, it is
hoped, with too high regard for pedantic purism. Since English is a
living, and therefore a changing language, the question of good use
is in many cases today undecided. The strictest exactions of an ex-
cessively formal standard of speech have been softened by some con--
cession to usages that have grown reputable, even if they have not yet
received the full approval of over-strict purists. This has not been
done to strain unduly the quality of mercy toward colloquialism, but
in the belief that setting the standard upon too artificial a base fre-
quently turns the interest of intelligent students from the' study of
composition, and lessens their respect for any sort of standard in
speech. If the teacher of composition hopes to develop in his pupils a
language conscience, which is the greatest spur of ambition toward
acquiring good form in speech and writing, he should put before them
a clear exposition of the nature of the standard written language, and
he should make plain to them the difference between its nature and that
of colloquial language. The teacher of composition is not always of
sufficient linguistic broad-mindedness to admit the artificiality and
highly developed formalism of our standard written language; and
he does not always know how widely it differs from the language many
of his students are accustomed to hear and to use everywhere outside
of the classroom. Leading a student away from the illogical, clipped
sentence form, from confusion of grammatical numbers, and from the
loose use of words of his everyday speech up to a clear and finished
expression of his ideas and a discriminative use of words, is more easily

 




INTRODUCTION



accomplished if the student is aroused to a respect for a reasonably
based standard the nature of which he understands, than if he is con-
tinually threatened by the stick of appeal to blind authority unreason-
ably far removed from his own experience in language. A sense of
)ride in his speech, as great as his sense of pride in his clothes, will
make a student want to grasp the nature of the errors he makes, and
to discard his vulgarisms.
    Injunctions against incorrect forms of speech have necessarily to
be expressed by the use of the negative imperative. The study of com-
position differs from that of any other subject in the school program
of studies in that it does not start at the beginning of the subject, and
in that it is more largely corrective than it is constructive: corrective of
the speech that the majority of students use all the time they are not
writing papers as classroom tasks, .and that they have used for many
years before they began the study of