Chapter I.—Forms of Discourse

• Composition
• English Composition
• Composition, Written and Oral
• Conventions of Composition
• Five Forms of Discourse
• Definitions
• Difficulty in distinguishing
• Purpose of the Author

Chapter II.—Choice of Subject

• Form and Material
• Author’s Individuality
• Knowledge of Subject
• Common Subjects
• Interest
• The Familiar
• Human Life
• The Strange

Chapter III.—Narration

• Material of Narration
• In Action
• The Commonest Form of Discourse
• Language as a Means of Expression
• Without Plot
• Plot
• Unity, Mass, and Coherence
• Main Incident
• Its Importance
• Unity
• Introductions and Conclusions
• Tedious Enumerations
• What to include
• xiv Consistency
• An Actor as the Story-teller
• The Omniscience of an Author
• The Climax
• Who? Where? When? Why?
• In what Order?
• An Outline
• Movement
• Rapidity
• Slowness
• Description and Narration
• Characters few, Time short
• Simple Plot
• Suggestive Questions and Exercises

Chapter IV.—Description

• Difficulties of Language for making Pictures
• Painting and Sculpture
• Advantages of Language
• Enumeration and Suggestion
• Enumerative Description
• Suggestive Description
• Value of Observation
• The Point of View
• Moving Point of View
• The Point of View should be stated
• Mental Point of View
• Length of Descriptions
• Arrangement of Details in Description
• The End of a Description
• Proportion
• Arrangement must be natural
• Use Familiar Images
• Simile, Metaphor, Personification
• Choice of Words. Adjectives and Nouns
• Use of Verbs
• Suggestive Questions and Exercises

Chapter V.—Exposition

• General Terms difficult
• Definition
• Exposition and Description distinguished
• xv Logical Definition
• Genus and Differentia
• Requisites of a Good Definition
• How do Men explain? First, by Repetition
• Second, by telling the obverse
• Third, by Details
• Fourth, by Illustrations
• Fifth, by Comparisons
• The Subject
• The Subject should allow Concrete Treatment
• The Theme
• The Title
• Selection of Material
• Scale of Treatment
• Arrangement
• Use Cards for Subdivisions
• An Outline
• Mass the End
• The Beginning
• Proportion in Treatment
• Emphasis of Emotion
• Phrases indicating Emphasis
• Coherence
• Transition Phrases
• Summary and Transition
• Suggestive Questions and Exercises

Chapter VI.—Argument

• Induction and Deduction
• Syllogism Premises
• Terms
• Enthymeme
• Definition of Terms
• Undistributed Middle
• False Premises
• Method of Induction
• Arguments from Cause
• Arguments from Sign
• Sequence and Cause
• Arguments from Example
• Selection of Material
• Plan called The Brief
• xvi Climax
• Inductive precedes Deductive
• Cause precedes Sign
• Example follows Sign
• Refutation
• Analysis of Burke’s Oration
• Suggestive Questions

Chapter VII.—Paragraphs

• Definition
• Long and Short Paragraphs
• Topic Sentence
• No Topic Sentence
• The Plan
• Kinds of Paragraphs
• Details
• Comparisons
• Repetition
• Obverse
• Examples
• Combines Two or More Forms
• Unity
• Need of Outline
• Mass
• What begins and what ends a Paragraph?
• Length of opening and closing Sentences
• Proportion
• Coherence and Clearness
• Two Arrangements of Sentences in a Paragraph
• Definite References
• Use of Pronouns
• Of Conjunctions
• Parallel Constructions
• Summary
• Suggestive Questions

Chapter VIII.—Sentences

• Definition and Classification. Simple Sentences
• Compound Sentences
• Short Sentences
• Long Sentences
• Unity
• xvii Mass
• End of a Sentence
• Effect of Anti-climax
• Use of Climax
• Loose and Periodic
• The Period
• Periodic and Loose combined
• Which shall be used?
• Emphasis by Change of Order
• Subdue Unimportant Elements
• The Dynamic Point of a Sentence
• Good Use
• Clearness gained by Coherence
• Parallel Construction
• Balanced Sentences
• Use of Connectives
• Suggestive Questions

Chapter IX.—Words

• Need of a Large Vocabulary
• Dictionary
• Study of Literature
• Vulgarisms are not reputable
• Slang is not reputable
• Words must be National. Provincialisms
• Technical and Bookish Words
• Foreign Words
• Words in Present Use
• Words in their Present Meaning
• Words of Latin and Saxon Origin
• General and Specific
• Use Words that suggest most
• Synecdoche, Metonymy
• Care in Choice of Specific Words
• Avoid Hackneyed Phrases
• “Fine Writing”
• In Prose avoid Poetical Words

Chapter X.—Figures of Speech

• Figurative Language
• Figures based upon Likeness
• Metaphor
• Epithet
• Personification
• xviii Apostrophe
• Allegory
• Simile
• Figures based upon Sentence Structure
• Inversion
• Exclamation
• Interrogation
• Climax
• Irony
• Metonymy
• Synecdoche
• Allusion
• Hyperbole
• Exercises in Figures

Chapter XI.—Verse Forms

• Singing Verse
• Poetic Feet
• Kinds of Metre
• Stanzas
• Scansion
• Variations in Metres
• First and Last Foot
• Kinds of Poetry
• Exercises in Metres

APPENDIX

1. Suggestions to Teachers
2. The Form of a Composition
3. Marks for Correction of Compositions
4. Punctuation
5. Supplementary List of Literature