My classics must be Woodhouse, and my amusements summing an infinite series. Farewell; and tell Selina and Jane to be thankful that it is not a necessary part of female education to get a headache daily without acquiring one practical truth or beautiful image in return. Again, and with affectionate love to my father, farewell wishes your most miserable and mathematical son, T. B. MACAULAY. CHAPTER III. EXERCISES FROM EXTRACTS. - Composition generally Distasteful. It is probable that many pupils from every class will appreciate the assistance they have received from instruction on letter writing, that they will note the improvement in their letters, and that they will take intense satisfaction in the consciousness of having learned something of value in the practical affairs of life. However, the problem of writing an essay is still unsolved; and it is true that the composition has often been made a bugbear, haunting the pupil's life whenever the thought is suggested or the name mentioned. If one could hear all the complaints made at home, and read all the thoughts of a class from which an essay is due, he would be sorely tempted to agree with the pupil's views, that compositions do more harm than good, by destroying the temper and worrying the life of well-meaning boys and girls. Essay Writing Necessary. Fortunately or unfortunately, it is quite impossible to do away with essays and compositions; for ability in writing can be secured only by constant practice. The few letters that a boy or girl has to write in the course of a week or month do not furnish a significant fraction of the practice necessary to gain proficiency; and one quickly wearies of writing letters to imaginary persons, or on make-believe occasions. The teacher, therefore, cannot do away with the aid of composition exercises; but some way must be found for removing the difficulties that often beset the pupil's path in this line of work; and with that end in view, let us analyze the complaints most commonly heard, get at the real difficulties, and, if possible, overcome them. Common Complaints. If members of the class are left to choose their own subject, the majority will at once complain that they are unable to find anything to write about. If the subject is chosen for them, the general complaint is that they have nothing to say on that subject. Under all circumstances there will be found some who maintain that they "never could write a composition, anyway," and that they "don't see the use in it," because they have nothing worth saying. Complaints Analyzed and Answered. Now we have already learned that the usefulness of composition exercises lies in the practice in writing which they afford, such practice being absolutely necessary for attaining proficiency in writing, and proficiency in writing being the foremost requisite of an education. In reviewing the complaints just enumerated, it is clear that the main difficulties of composition lie not so much in the pupil's inability to put his thoughts in writing, as in the absence of suitable thoughts. What man or woman, even though possessing great genius as an author, could write anything worth reading on a subject in which he had little interest, and on which he had meager information? Arouse in any intelligent youth a keen interest in a topic within his mental grasp, show him where to find information on that topic, fill his mind with ideas, so that he is able to converse with intelligence on the subject, and if he can handle a pen and spell, he will be able to write an intelligent compo sition. In other words, nine tenths of the difficulties lie in the pupil's mistaken idea that he can write on a subject before he has secured any information on that subject, or that he must start to write his thoughts on paper before he has any thoughts in his mind. Thoughts, then, being the first requisite in essay writing, we must first of all study the various methods of furnishing ourselves with ideas. I. REPRODUCTION. Method Explained. The simplest method of securing ideas for an exercise in composition is to take a short extract from the writings of another, read it over until we have become familiar with the subject matter, and then try to reproduce in writing the thoughts of the original passage. It is necessary to become sufficiently familiar with the extract to retain a clear impression of the thoughts expressed; but, of course, if the matter is learned by heart, the exercise of writing is simply one in spelling and penmanship. In order to remember the matter without committing sentences to memory, it is well to read a short passage over but a single time, or longer passages two or three times, making brief notes that will suggest each paragraph without giving its exact words. Advantages from Exercises in Reproduction. — The advantages of exercises in reproduction are to be seen at a glance. In the first place, the student starts his work at once, knowing exactly what to do; and besides having thoughts in his mind, he has in his memory the sound of well-formed sentences and well-chosen words. If an occasional phrase or sentence is remembered SCH. ENG. - 12 word for word, writing this and weaving it in with other sentences of his own making will improve the quality of his writing; and he will, thus, unconsciously set a higher standard for his own work. This method of learning to write has been of great use to many students; and it is of especial interest to American boys to know that Benjamin Franklin, whose success in many branches of life was due to indomitable perseverance, acquired his proficiency in writing by the use of this method, which is described in the following extract from his "Autobiography." After relating the circumstances of a debate which he was carrying on with one named Collins, Franklin proceeds: "Three or four letters of a side had passed, when my father happened to find my papers and read them. Without entering into the discussion, he took occasion to talk to me about the manner of my writing; observed that, though I had the advantage of my antagonist in correct spelling and pointing (which I owed to the printing-house), I fell far short in elegance of expression, in method, and in perspicuity, of which he convinced me by several instances. I saw the justice of his remarks, and thence grew more attentive to the manner in writing, and determined to endeavor at improvement. "About this time I met with an odd volume of the 'Spectator.' It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view, I took some of the papers, and making short hints of the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared |