79. General Principles.—There is perhaps no other form of composition which is so generally in use as exposition or explanation. If you observe your own conversation and that of the people about you, you will find that a great deal of it is explanation. Every time you say in answer to some question about a remark you have just made, "Why, I mean that—," you are explaining the first remark. In almost all the recitations you make in school you are explaining something—a principle in arithmetic, or in physics, the construction of something in manual training, the meaning of a word, etc. The object of your explanation is to make the person whom you address understand the nature of your subject. There are a number of devices for doing this, which will be treated in this chapter, but you are never to forget that your aim is simply to make some one clearly understand what was not plain to him before.

In description you were told that knowledge of your subject was the most necessary element. This is so true of exposition that only the briefest mention of that necessity is enough to show you its great importance. It might be possible to describe something and give a fair notion of it, without knowing it thoroughly yourself; but this is out of the question in explanation. If you do not entirely and completely understand what you are talking about, you certainly cannot explain it to any one else. One of the great advantages of writing explanations is that you are forced to think accurately as well as to express yourself clearly.

The next thing in explanation is a consideration of the people for whom you are writing. In the diary you write to yourself; in a letter you address one person, whom you usually know well; in narration and description, you write for persons about whom you can know very little. In exposition you come back again to a set of readers about whom you have some definite information. They may be different from each other in a great many ways, but in one respect they are alike—they do not understand the thing you are explaining, or at least they do not understand it as clearly as you do, for if they did, they would not be reading your exposition. This may appear self-evident, but it is a very important matter. You are apt to forget what should be constantly in your mind, that the entire value of your explanation lies in making something clear to a person who has not before understood it. In literary description your aim was to make your reader see the picture you saw. In exposition your aim is always and forever to make him understand, and no matter how well written, your explanation is a failure if he does not understand. You will often find it difficult to realize that some people know nothing whatever of some process or principle with which you are very familiar, and a good device is to imagine that you are addressing your explanation to a foreigner ignorant of our life, or to some one younger than you. Put yourself in the place of such a person, and see if your remarks are sufficiently clear and full to be a complete explanation.

There are two great divisions of exposition—the explanation of a material process or thing, and the explanation of an abstract idea. The first is very much easier and will be taken up first.

80. Explanation of a Material Process.—There is a strange resemblance between the explanation of a material process and telling a story. This will be made more clear by an example. A well-written cookbook, or manual of handwork, employs constantly this simplest, plainest form of exposition.

To broil a steak. Light the oven burners at least five minutes before the time for broiling. Allow twelve to fifteen minutes for a steak an inch and a half thick. When the rack and the pan are hot, place the steak on the rack and put it as near the flames as possible without having it touch. As soon as it is seared and brown on one side, turn, and sear and brown on the other. Now turn again. Remove the rack three or four slides down, but do not reduce the heat. Cook for five minutes. Turn the steak and broil for five minutes longer, and it is ready to season and serve.

You may not see any connection between these straightforward and plain instructions for broiling a steak and a story; but if you examine them, you will see that they are the story of the process, and that the explanation relates from first to last all the things that were done by some one who cooked a steak in exactly the right way. This resemblance is mentioned because it shows you that clear statement of events in their right order is as necessary in this sort of exposition as in story telling. Every one who writes good instructions for going through some process, either consciously or unconsciously imagines himself doing what he explains. In the above example, the writer has imagined herself broiling a steak, and has set down, step by step, everything she does. This is a very good plan to follow. You will find that it simplifies any difficulty in your mind, when you are a little confused as to what comes next, if you will ask yourself, "If I were actually doing this, what would be the very next thing I should do?"

Remember that your reader is ignorant of the process, and do not forget any details that must be cared for, or there will be a gap in your directions over which he cannot cross. Use the simplest, plainest terms possible, and do not fear to be too minute. You will have a tendency to forget some necessary instruction rather than to add one that is not needed.

It is often well to make a broad statement of general conditions first, before going on to detailed instructions. For instance, suppose you are writing to a boy who has always until now lived in the South, in order to tell him how to make a snow man. Before you begin to tell him about starting with a small ball and rolling it about till it grows large, you should say that he should try to make a snow man only when the snow is somewhat damp, for no matter how clear your instructions are, he can accomplish nothing by following them if the snow be dry and powdery.

Exercise 127.—Write an explanation of the following processes, as if to a person wholly ignorant of them:—

1. How to make a dam in a brook; to make a snow man; a snow fort (with blocks pressed into shape in boxes); to set up a tent; to irrigate a garden; to hang wall paper; to teach a pet animal tricks; to build a fire out of doors.

2. How to make cocoa, soup, bread, butter, cheese, cake, custard.

3. How to grow flowers indoors; in a hot bed. How to plant and grow lettuce, tomatoes, tobacco, corn, mushrooms, celery, nasturtiums, crocuses, potatoes.

4. How to harness a horse. How to get a trunk from your house to your cousin's in another town. How to develop an exposed photographic plate.

Probably you have been able to treat the subjects above directly from your own experience or observation. In the following subjects you will probably need to consult some books, but be careful not simply to repeat their language. Look up the subject, inform yourself of all necessary details of manufacture or use, and then write an exposition (as if to some one younger than yourself), explaining any terms that would be new to him and stating the facts in the simplest, plainest way.

Exercise 128.—Write as if in answer to any one of the following questions from a child:—

1. How are bricks made? paper? glass? ink? iron? steel? gold leaf? shingles? baseballs? hairbrushes? mirrors?

2. Why are fishhooks made in the form they are? saws? wheels?

3. Why does an ice house keep the ice from melting?

4. How does a water wheel work? a windmill? a well sweep? scissors? Why does a chimney "draw"? What makes popcorn pop?

Exercise 129.—I. Explain, with a diagram or drawing, the mechanism of the following objects. Letter or number the different parts of your diagram, and refer to them in that way. Plan your exposition as if trying to make the matter clear to a younger brother or sister.

A pump, lamp, candle, stove, furnace, cistern, switches on a railroad track, city waterworks, refrigerator, ice-cream freezer, silo, limekiln.

II. Explain how a book is bound; how a horse is harnessed; how windows are hung; what makes a window shade go up when you pull the string; how thread is spun and cloth woven; how grain is ground into flour; how salt is obtained.

III. Give instructions (using, if necessary, a lettered diagram): for making a snare for rabbits; a mouse trap; a bear trap; a mole trap; a box; a basket; a bow and arrow; a needlebook; a cover for a book; a kite; a baseball diamond; a tennis court; a doll's hat; a springboard; a picture frame; a toboggan slide; a hasty shelter of boughs for camping; a doll's dress (with pattern).

81. Explanation of Games.—One form of exposition which you have often used is the explanation of games and contests; and you have probably suffered from having other people give you imperfect and confused directions for playing a game unfamiliar to you, finding at some critical time in the contest that a detail or rule has been forgotten.

The following is an exposition of a game which will almost certainly be unfamiliar to you, but which is a great favorite in Spain:—

Pelota is an old Basque game, resembling hand ball, which of late years has come greatly into fashion in Spain. It is given over to professionals, and it is said that none can continue it more than three or four years, so severely does it tax the constitution.

Pelota is played in large glass-roofed buildings, one side of which is devoted in all its breadth to the asphalt court. The side wall of the court at Madrid is 175 feet long and the end walls are 50 feet broad and 40 feet high.

The wall fencing the players has a rib of metal along it, about a yard from the pavement, and another near the top, which limit of height is carried along the longitudinal wall opposite the spectators.

A ball is only in play when it hits the first wall between these lines or the long wall below the prescribed limit. The court is marked off by lines at regular distances of about four yards. The spaces from four to seven are important, for the ball when first played must drop from the wall between these two spaces.

The ball, which weighs about four ounces, is thrown from a basket-work gauntlet or cesta, with a leather glove attached for fastening to the hand, and during a game I have seen the ball sent with such terrific force that it has rebounded from the wall at one end of the court against that at the other. There are usually four players, two on each side, and the aim of the players is to cause the ball to rebound from the wall into so remote or unexpected a place in the court that it will be impossible for their opponents to reach it in time to return it again to the wall. The time that the ball is in play, that is, the time that both sides are successful in keeping the ball in motion, is called a "rally." There are frequently, between good players, rallies of sixteen strokes or more. During a match game of fifty up, the players will wear their shoes right through.

Pelota is popular in most Spanish towns and villages, and one frequently sees notices on church walls to the effect that it is forbidden to play pelota against them.—E. Main: Cities and Sights of Spain.

Are there any questions that you would like to ask about pelota after reading this explanation? Do you feel that you would need to know more about it before trying to play? If so, remember to make your own treatment of the following subjects complete enough to satisfy a child in the Philippines, who knows no more about marbles than you do about pelota.

Exercise 130.—Tell how to play baseball; football; checkers; dominoes; basket ball; marbles; tag; hide-and-seek; drop the handkerchief; any game peculiar to your neighborhood. Explain how a field-day is conducted. What is a handicap? How do little girls play keep house? What do you mean by "playing Indians"?

Exercise 131.—I. Following the model below, give good instructions for learning how to swim, to sail a boat, to ride a bicycle, to drive, to shoot a rifle, a revolver, to fish, to run a sewing machine, to paddle a canoe, to ride horseback, to go on snowshoes.

Use a diagram, if necessary, and give all the information you yourself would like to have in beginning a new process, mentioning mistakes usually made by beginners and telling how to avoid them.

II. Tell as well as you can how to bandage a cut, how to treat a burn, how to make a road, how to lay asphalt, brick, or macadam pavements, how to shoe a horse.

The first thing in learning to skate is to be sure that your skates are properly attached to your foot. If you fasten them on with straps, do not pull the buckle too tight, as this stops the circulation of the blood and may end in frozen toes; if by clamps, see that they are very firmly fastened, or the skate may be wrenched off in some sudden movement, giving you a fall. Also be sure that the blades are sharp, as it is very hard to skate with dull blades. After you have attended to these matters, one of the best ways to begin is to skate with some one who is strong enough to hold you up, or if you cannot arrange this, to push a chair in front of you, until you have confidence enough to go alone.

The feet are placed at right angles to each other with the toes turned out and the body bent slightly forward. Each foot is then raised alternately and set down slightly on the inside edge. It slides forward of its own accord and this motion is increased by pushing on the other foot, which is at right angles to your forward movement and so does not slide. You should keep your feet perfectly level when raised and set down, turning the forward foot a little on the outer edge as it slides, and keeping the other foot turned to the inside edge. A great help in keeping your balance is to swing your arms across your chest, with each forward slide, to the opposite side from the foot which is advancing. Never look at your feet, as it is almost impossible to keep your balance when doing so. Look straight in front of you at a spot about level with your eyes.

There are various ways of stopping yourself. One is to dig the heel of your skate in the ice and turn the other foot sidewise. Another is to direct your course around a circle and to stop your forward pushing; but perhaps the best way is to turn your toes in, thus putting the line of your skate across the direction of your forward movement.

Try to take as long strokes as possible and not to use the right leg more than the left, keeping your stroke steady and even. Always lean a little forward in ordinary skating and far forward if you wish to go fast.

It is a good thing for beginners to force themselves to turn the advancing foot on the outer edge of the skate. It is a little more difficult to keep your balance in this way, but if once you become fixed in the habit of using the inner edge only, you will never be able to do any fancy or figure skating.

82. Exposition of Abstract Ideas.—All the exercises in explanation you have had thus far have been with regard to simple, material things, that is, things you can touch or see. There are, however, very many subjects which need clear and accurate explanation, but which deal with abstract ideas, with principles, or with emotions. These are much harder to write of than material things, largely because it is harder to think of them quite clearly in your own mind. This is not because you do not have all the information you need, but because you have never tried to think out clearly and analyze the knowledge that you have. For instance, if some one should ask you, What is cheerfulness? although you would feel that you knew perfectly well what that quality is, you might have some difficulty in expressing it.

83. Exposition by Example.—There are many ways to bring out the meaning of an abstract term. One good device is the use of examples. If it is someone in your family who asks you the question, you can give at once a good idea of what cheerfulness is by saying, "Aunt Kate is a cheerful person." But if you are speaking to some one who does not know your Aunt Kate, you must then proceed to describe the quality in her which you call cheerfulness. You will find this use of example a very convenient method of exposition.

Another device is comparison with something that is similar but not quite the same. In explaining the exact difference between the two you define the subject of your exposition. For instance, suppose you are asked by a child to explain the meaning of parsimony. You can take a word which he knows, like saving or economy, and by showing the difference between the two, you can give him a clear notion of the meaning, explaining that economy is wise and reasonable saving of expense, and parsimony is foolish and exaggerated saving. The following paragraph shows the use of this method, the author comparing cheerfulness to mirth.

I have always preferred cheerfulness to mirth. The latter I consider as an act, the former as a habit of the mind. Mirth is short and transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent. Those are often raised into the greatest transports of mirth who are subject to the greatest depressions of melancholy. On the contrary, cheerfulness, though it does not give the mind such an exquisite gladness, prevents us from falling into any depths of sorrow. Mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds and glitters for a moment. Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.—Joseph Addison: The Spectator.

Exercise 132.—Using this device of comparison, and adding to it examples, try to explain the following subjects:—

1. Courage. Compare with rashness or foolhardiness, using as example the character of Hobson as compared with that of a man who goes over the Niagara Falls in a barrel.

2. Joy. Compare with contentment, using as example a mother perfectly contented with her home and children, who is suddenly overjoyed by a heroic deed of a son.

3. Perseverance. Compare with obstinacy, using as examples a hen sitting patiently till her chicks are hatched out; and another sitting week after week on china eggs.

4. Extravagance. Compare with liberality, using as example a man who gives away so much to strangers that he has not enough left to care for his family.

5. Industry. Compare with drudgery, using as examples a man who carries stone for road-mending, and the military punishment of making an offender carry stones from one side of the road to another.

84. Exposition by Repetition.—Another good method of explaining an abstract idea is to repeat in several different ways your first statement or definition. First, you define your subject as accurately as possible, by telling to what kind or order of thing it belongs, and then by pointing out differences between this individual example and others of the same kind. For instance, you are asked by a child to define a snob. First, you give some general idea of the meaning of the term by saying, "A snob is a vulgar person with bad manners." But there are vulgar persons with bad manners who who are not in the least snobs, so that after stating the general order of the persons to which a snob belongs, you must separate him from all other varieties of that class. You go on, therefore, "He pays a foolish and exaggerated respect to social position and money, and cannot understand that a noble character has any value in a poor or uncultivated person."

You have now given a general definition of your subject, and one good way to proceed with your explanation is, as stated above, by means of repetition in other words of your first statement, thus:—

A real snob values the opinion of an ignorant rich person more than that of an intelligent poor one. He is fawning and meanly polite to influential men, and rude and overbearing to those who have no recognized position. A snob will run hat in hand to open a door for a wealthy woman of rank, and will not give a helping hand to a poor woman who has fallen down.

This sort of repetition serves to make perfectly clear the idea involved in your first statement.

85. Exposition by Contrast.—A further device in explanation is contrast, showing the ways in which the subject of your exposition differs from its opposite. The explanation of the snob might be continued by contrasting him with a perfect gentleman, thus bringing out more clearly the offensive qualities. Or, you might go back to the sort of comparison you used in explaining courage, perseverance, etc., and compare the snob to a person thoroughly rude, a boor, showing how he differs: the snob is rude only to people who, he thinks, have no means of punishing him for it; whereas a boor is rude to every one.

Exercise 133.—1. Bearing in mind these two new methods for explanation (repetition and contrast), as well as the methods previously explained (comparison and examples), explain the use and value of the study of geography, arithmetic, history, manual training, music, drawing, gymnasium work, military drill, sewing, reading aloud, spelling, a foreign language.

2. Explain (as if to a boy or girl younger than you, who asks, "What is it for?") the purpose and value of the following:—

A debating society; a literary club; a nature study club; a "Do as you would be done by" association; amateur theatricals; athletic contests; an aquarium; zoological gardens; city parks; public libraries; foreign travel; picture galleries.

86. Exposition by a Figure of Speech.—One of the most forcible and graceful means of exposition is by the development of a figure of speech,—a simile or metaphor.

I consider the human soul without education like marble in the quarry, which shows none of its inherent beauties until the skill of the polisher fetches out the colors, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, and vein that runs through the body of it. Education, after the same manner, when it works upon a noble mind, draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection, which without such helps are never able to make their appearance.... Aristotle tells us that a statue lies hid in a block of marble, and that the art of the statuary only clears away superfluous matter and removes the rubbish. The figure is in the stone; the sculptor only finds it. What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. The philosopher, the saint, the hero, the wise, the good, or the great man, very often lie hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a proper education might have disinterred and brought to light.—Joseph Addison: The Spectator.

Exercise 134.—I. Proverbs are really only figures of speech, and explanation of these should be based to some degree on the model above. Try to explain fully, as if to your younger brother or sister, the true meaning of any of the following expressions, using all the devices for exposition which you have been studying. Think carefully before you begin to write and make sure that you fully grasp the real meaning. You will find examples and anecdotes illustrating your point particularly useful in this sort of explanation.

1. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 2. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. 3. A rolling stone gathers no moss. 4. The more haste the less speed. 5. Birds of a feather flock together. 6. Better an empty house than a bad tenant. 7. Make hay while the sun shines. 8. Enough is as good as a feast. 9. A burned child dreads the fire. 10. Strike while the iron is hot. 11. He laughs best who laughs last. 12. He that lives in a glass house should not throw stones. 13. Necessity is the mother of invention.

II. Expound in the same way the following quotations, as if you were trying to give a full realization of all that they mean to some one who sees them for the first time and does not quite understand them:—

1. Sweet are the uses of adversity.—Shakspere.
2. He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses
more; but he who loses his courage loses all.—Cervantes.
3. He who knows most, grieves most for wasted time.—Dante.
4. The wicked flee when no man pursueth.
5. A soft answer turneth away wrath.
6. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
7. Books are the best things well used; abused, among the
worst.—Emerson.
8. Charity is a virtue of the heart, not of the hands.

Exercise 135.—I. Try to explain what Washington's Birthday means to us; St. Valentine's Day; April Fool's Day; Commencement Day at a school; Arbor Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas; New Year's; Labor Day; Fourth of July; Decoration Day. An exposition of this sort may be very straightforward and simple, only a paragraph long, or it may be as elaborate a composition as you can make it; but in either case you should try to express sincerely the deep feeling which underlies most of these festivals. Choose some favorite of yours in the above list and try to express why you are fond of it and impressed by it.

II. Following the same method, look up the facts in regard to some foreign customs, and write an explanation of what you imagine to be the feeling underlying All Souls' Day in Paris; the pilgrimage to Mecca of the Mohammedans; the pilgrimage in India to the Ganges; cherry-blossoming time in Japan; Primrose Day in England; the Fourteenth of July in France; and other festivals of which you can learn.