The study and practice of writing English
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| The study and practice of writing English |
In several years of experience in teaching college students how to write, the authors have found that most of the available textbooks either gave an amount of material confusing to the student or explained matters in such great detail that the instructor was rendered superfluous or else was reduced to the status of a quiz master. In attempting to avoid the faults of ill-arrangement and of over-elaboration, the writers of The Study and Practice have had the following purposes in mind:
(1) To gather conveniently into one volume enough material for one year's work of average Freshman grade.
(2) To reduce, so far as possible, the confusing multiplicity of formal rules to a systematic and practical minimum.
(3) To furnish outlines for the purpose of saving time ordinarily spent by the instructor in dictating notes and by the student in copying them.
(4) To supply references for further study and, for additional practice, a number of exercises drawn from the writing of Freshmen or related to their interests.
The order of the topics as they are given in the book need not necessarily be followed in teaching, for the requirements of each group of students will naturally condition the method of the instructor. In the majority of cases, it will be found best to begin with the sections on taking notes, the preparation of the manuscript, and theme-writing. In order to save time and to develop a valuable school habit, the mechanical excellence of manuscript should be one of the first ideals to be inculcated.
The use of the typewriter is becoming more and more general, and it is strongly urged that, when machines are available, work be typewritten.
The next section that may profitably be studied involves a re-view of punctuation and grammar; here the emphasis should be placed on the necessity of clearness and correctness of expression. The section on language either may be taken up entirely in courses where emphasis on word-study has been found desirable, or it may be referred to at appropriate times in connection with other places of the textbook. Usually, some volume of selections will be used as well as The Study and Practice.
It has been found, for instance, that the work of the first term can be satisfactorily correlated with Cunliffe and Lomer's Writing of Today for description, exposition, biography, and criticism; and that of the second term, with Margaret Ashman's Modem Short Stories or Maxcy's Representative Narratives. A large amount of written work in the form of exercises and themes should be required. For a three-hour course, fifteen hundred words a week has not been found to be excessive, and the improvement in writing that has resulted has both surprised and encouraged the writers. In general, two hours of preparation for each hour of classwork will bring the best results. In the study of the so-called "Forms of Discourse," it is not expected that the student will have time to complete all the exercises. Selection or variation is left to the discretion of the instructor and the specific needs of the class. It is suggested that progress be slow and particularly thorough during the earlier weeks, and that correct copy is insisted upon.
It is, of course, taken for granted that correction, revision, re-writing, and personal conferences will be de- manded of the student. In conclusion, the authors offer the following suggestions regarding the point of view of the instructor: —
1. Enthusiastic writing on the part of the students is encouraged by enthusiastic teaching on the part of the instructor.
2. The student's dominant interests should be related as closely as possible to his own writing and to the types of writing that he ordinarily reads.
3. In every possible way the student should be encouraged to find himself, to express his personality, and to develop his literary originality as far as he can. Rules are useful only for guidance; they are not an end in themselves. Formalism and the memorizing of rules have little place in the modern study and practice of writing English.
Some contents:
I. Established Usages
1. Punctuation 1
2. Capitals 30
3. Italics 33
4. Abbreviations 35
5. The Representation of Number 37
6. Syllabification 39
7. Rules for Plurals 40
8. Possessives 43
9. Rules for Spelling 45
II. Gkammatical Requieembnts
1. Syntax 49
2. Sequence of Tenses 65
3. Shall and WiU 58
4. Voice 61
5. Irregular Verbs 63
6. Sentence Structure 67
7. Paragraphs 98
III. The Use op Language
1. The Study of Language Ill
2. Some Suggestions for the Study of Words . . . 120
3. The Use of the Dictionary 121
4. Synonyms 127
5. Some Common Latin Roots 133
6. Prefixes 134
7. Suffixes 135
8. English Words for Analysis 136
9. The Idiomatic Use of Prepositions 138
10. Foreign Words commonly used in English . . . 140
11. Phrases from Foreign Languages 142
12. Style 145
13. Figures of Speech 157
14. Diacritical Marks 164
15. Words commonly mispronounced 165
16. Common Errors in Speech and Writing .... 167
17. Vulgarisms 184
18. Hackneyed Expressions 185
19. Hackneyed Quotations 186
. Written Composition
1. Steps in Theme- Writing 191
2. Outlines 193
3. The Preparation of Manuscript 199
4. Marks for the Correction of Themes .... 202
6. Short-Theme Subjects 203
6. Short-Theme Subjects 203
6. Long-Theme Subjects 206
7. How to take Notes 208
8. Quotations 215
9. References and Footnotes 219
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