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Title: The high school course in English
Author: Bleyer, Willard G.
Language: English
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ENGLISH ***
HIGH SCHOOL SERIES
1. THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN ENGLISH, by Willard G. Bleyer, Ph. D.,
Assistant Professor of English. 1906. 1907.
2. THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN GERMAN, by M. Blakemore Evans, Ph. D.,
Assistant Professor of German. 1907.
3. REPORT ON THE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION, by Willard
G. Bleyer, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of English. [_In Preparation._]
4. THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN MATHEMATICS, by Ernest B. Skinner, Ph. D.,
Assistant Professor of Mathematics. [_In Preparation._]
5. THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN LATIN, by a committee of the Wisconsin
Latin Teachers Association. [_In Preparation._]
6. THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN FRENCH, by Hugh A. Smith, M. A., Professor
of Romance Languages. [_In Preparation._]
Issued bi-monthly, and entered at the postoffice, at Madison, as
second-class matter.
THE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN ENGLISH
BY
WILLARD G. BLEYER, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor of English
University of Wisconsin
REVISED EDITION
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
MADISON
1907
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 5
I. PURPOSE OF THE COURSE 7
II. ORGANIZATION OF ENGLISH WORK 9
1. Length of Course 9
2. Plan of Course 10
3. Arrangement of Classes 11
4. Conferences of Teachers 12
III. COMPOSITION 13
1. Theme Writing 13
2. Correction of Themes 17
3. Filing of Themes 19
4. Conferences on Written Work 20
5. Oral Composition 20
6. Principles of Composition 21
7. Use of Text-book 22
IV. READING 23
1. Methods of Teaching 23
2. Reading Aloud 27
3. Choice of Reading 28
4. Library Reading 29
V. FIRST YEAR ENGLISH 30
1. Composition 31
2. Grammar 32
3. Rhetorical Principles 33
4. Theme writing 34
5. Reading 35
VI. SECOND YEAR ENGLISH 37
1. Composition 37
2. Reading 39
VII. THIRD YEAR ENGLISH 40
1. Reading and History of Literature 40
2. Composition 41
VIII. FOURTH YEAR ENGLISH 42
1. Reading 42
2. The Novel 42
3. The Drama 43
4. The Lyric 43
5. The Essay 44
6. Library Reading 44
7. Composition 45
8. Writing of Verse 46
IX. OUTLINE OF HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN ENGLISH 47
X. LIST OF READINGS FOR FOUR YEARS 50
XI. OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF COMPOSITION AND STYLE 53
1. Whole Composition 53
2. Paragraphs 55
3. Sentences 57
4. Words 60
5. Figures of Speech 60
6. Qualities of Style 62
7. Forms of Discourse 62
XII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 65
1. The Teaching of English 65
2. Literature 66
3. Language and Grammar 68
4. Rhetoric and Composition 68
INTRODUCTION
This bulletin has been prepared with the purpose of offering some
practical suggestions in regard to the organization of the high school
course in English and to the methods of teaching English. As it is
designed for the principals and teachers of Wisconsin schools, the plan
and methods conform to the courses of study and conditions required of
free high schools in this state. The aim has not been to discuss
theories or to offer novel solutions for the problems of teaching, but
rather to present ways and means of accomplishing the generally accepted
purposes of the study of English in secondary schools. All the methods
and plans suggested have been shown by experience to be practical, and
are adapted to present conditions in both large and small high schools.
While the plan of the work has been made as flexible as possible in
order to adapt it to different schools, it has seemed desirable to
indicate definitely how all of the details of the course should be
organized and what methods should be used to bring about the required
results. The object has been to consider the purpose of each part of the
English work, and to show as specifically as possible what must be done
and to some extent how it must be done to accomplish this purpose. By
having a definite aim for each year’s work and by seeing clearly what is
to be accomplished in each part of the subject, the teacher of English
feels responsible for the successful completion of a specific part of
the course. At the same time the originality and ability of the teacher
need not be hampered by a definite plan but may be exercised in adapting
the work to different conditions in different schools and classes.
In discussing the course in English, the general aim and methods in
teaching the important elements, composition and reading, are taken up
first, and then the particular phases of each subject to be presented in
each year, are considered. What is presented under the general topics,
reading and composition, therefore, applies to the work of each year
unless otherwise stated, and usually is not repeated in considering each
year of the course.
A second edition of this bulletin has made possible some revision. No
essential changes have been made, but considerable new material has been
added. Some parts have been developed at greater length in order to
explain the methods more fully. The most important addition is the
outline for the study of composition and style, which has been included
for those teachers who desire to review the various phases of rhetorical
theory in preparation for teaching composition or reading. The
bibliography has been extended to include a number of standard reference
books on various phases of the English work. The books have been
selected on the basis of their practical value to the teacher in the
work actually required in the high school course in English, and of the
possibility of assisting the teacher to build up for himself, at
reasonable cost, a good working library. In order to accomplish the
latter purpose the less expensive reference books have, as far as
possible, been chosen, and the price and the publisher of each have been
given.
I
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The main objects of the teaching of English as presented in the Report
of the Committee of Ten[1], are (1) “to enable the pupil to understand
the expressed thoughts of others;” (2) to enable him “to give expression
to thoughts of his own;” (3) “to cultivate a taste for reading, to give
the pupil some acquaintance with good literature, and to furnish him the
means of extending that acquaintance.” Other subsidiary objects may be
accomplished by the study of English, the Report points out, but these
should never be permitted to encroach upon the main purposes. While
these purposes are considered separately, and are apparently separated
in arranging the course of study, the Report continues, their mutual
dependence must constantly be kept in mind. By studying the thoughts of
others as expressed in the literature read in or out of the class room,
the pupil can be led to see how to express his own thoughts more
effectively. All reading of good literature should tend to cultivate a
taste for reading, and all study of good literature should lead to a
better appreciation of what is best in expression. The survey of the
history of English and American literature accompanied by the reading
and study of characteristic selections of every period, will open up to
the pupil the whole field of literature in English and will furnish him
the means of judging intelligently of what he reads. This
interdependence of the main purposes of the study of English requires
the closest correlation of every phase of the English work.
Footnote 1:
Report of Committee on Secondary School Studies, p. 86.
Since the English work is divided into two principal parts, reading and
composition, it may be well to consider briefly the purpose of each in
relation to the main objects just considered.
The first object of the work in reading must always be to have the pupil
understand the thought expressed on the printed page. However thorough
has been his training in the grades, the average pupil on entering high
school needs to be taught how to read. Generally he gets but a hazy,
general idea from reading a paragraph, either because he fails to grasp
the meaning of each sentence, or because he does not combine the
sentence-thoughts in their relation to the topic. The aim of the reading
must be to enable the pupil to understand each idea as it is presented,
to combine these ideas to get the thought of the sentence, and to follow
the chain of thought from sentence to sentence until he grasps the
meaning of the paragraph, essay, story, or poem, as a whole. As rapidly
as the maturity of the pupil permits, other elements that aid in the
better understanding of a piece of literature may be considered in
connection with the reading. The study of the structure, the form, the
author’s purpose, his style, the revelation of the author’s personality,
the relation of the piece of literature to the age in which it was
written, and a comparison with other pieces of the same type, all give a
clearer understanding of literature. The other purpose of the reading is
to stimulate the pupils’ interest in good literature, and to lead them
to read what is worth while, on their own initiative. If interest is
aroused by the reading and study in class, of one work of an author, it
is easy to create a desire to read other works by the same author,
outside of the class room. By suggestions and advice the teacher can do
much toward directing the pupils in their outside reading. To lead
pupils to read, understand, and appreciate the best of English
literature is certainly an aim that is worth striving to accomplish.
To enable the pupil to give clear and effective expression to his own
thoughts, is the end and aim of the other important part of the English
work—composition. That composition is the expression of his own thoughts
is the first principle that must constantly be impressed upon the
pupils’ minds. The misconception that the only ideas worth expressing in
writing themes are those derived from books, must be corrected at once.
While reproductions and paraphrases of the expressed thoughts of others
may sometimes be used as exercises, the fact must be made clear to the
pupils that these are not original compositions, in as much as they are
not the expression of their own ideas.
The relation of clear thinking to clear expression is another factor to
be considered in teaching composition. Much of the instruction in theme
writing is really concerned with training the pupils to think logically
and to arrange their thoughts in an orderly manner. Pupils must be
taught that as they can give clear expression only to those thoughts
that are clear in their own minds, the first process in theme writing is
the clarifying and arranging of their ideas. The mental training given
by such systematic preparation for theme writing as the making of
outlines or other devices for grouping thoughts in a logical plan, is
invaluable, since, unlike that given by other studies, it is concerned
largely with the pupil’s own thoughts rather than with those acquired
from books.
The third important element in composition is the style or form of
expression. The first aim of teaching composition, whether written or
oral, must be to give the pupils sufficient command of simple, idiomatic
English for the needs of everyday life. If the average pupil can be
taught to express his ideas in clear, correct English, much will have
been accomplished by the four years’ training. Those pupils who show
natural ability in expression can be encouraged to develop their talent
for writing or speaking in connection with class work or with the
various outside activities of the school, and may be given considerable
assistance in their efforts by the teacher of English. It is much more
important, however, to enable the majority of high school pupils to
express themselves simply, naturally, and correctly, than to attempt to
develop literary style where there is little natural ability.
II
ORGANIZATION OF ENGLISH WORK
1. Length of Course
All high schools provide four years of instruction in English, and most
of the schools devote five periods a week to the subject in each year.
The course of study outlined in this bulletin, therefore, is arranged on
the basis of five periods a week for four years. The successful
completion of at least two years’ work in English, one-half of which
shall be devoted to composition and rhetoric, and one-half to the study
of English classics, is required of all students for graduation from
Wisconsin high schools, and for entrance to the University of Wisconsin.
The first two years of English are always required of all high school
pupils whether they pursue an elective or a prescribed course of study.
In some high schools four years’ study of English is required of all
pupils, and in most of the Wisconsin high schools the curriculum
provides for three years of English in all courses. When the course of
study is partly elective, pupils are usually advised to continue with a
third and often a fourth year of English after completing the two years
of required work. Thus practically all high school pupils pursue the
course in English for at least three years.
Whether pupils who study English for three years take up the work in the
third or the fourth year of their course, is generally determined by the
arrangement of the other subjects in the curriculum. When a choice may
be made by either third or fourth year pupils between third and fourth
year English, the principal and teacher of English can often decide for
the pupil, basing their decision in each case upon what they know of the
pupil and his plans. For some pupils the survey of English and American
literature in the third year will be most valuable since it furnishes
them the means of extending their acquaintance with literature by
independent reading. Other pupils will doubtless derive more benefit
from the intensive study of a few classics outlined for the fourth year.
2. Plan of Course
The arrangement of the several phases of the English work in the course,
and the amount of time that is to be devoted to each is as follows[2]:
Footnote 2:
For a complete outline of the course see p. 47.
First year—5 periods a week; one-half of the time to be given to
composition, and one-half to the reading and study of literature.
Second year—5 periods a week; one-half of the time to be given to
composition, and one-half to the reading and study of literature.
Third year—5 periods a week; from one-tenth to one-fifth of the time to
be given to the history of English literature during the first
three-quarters of the year and to the history of American literature
during the last quarter of the year; four-fifths of the time to be
devoted to the study of the works of representative authors in each
period of the history of English and American literature; and from
one-tenth to one-fifth of the time to be given to composition.
Fourth year—5 periods a week; four-fifths of the time to be devoted to
the study of typical examples of each of the following forms of
literature: the novel, the drama, the lyric, and the essay; one-fifth of
the time to be given to composition.
The reading and study of literature in class in each year is to be
supplemented by library reading of literature, the amount of which will
be determined by library facilities and other local conditions.
3. Arrangement of Classes
If the English work is being taught by several teachers, the
distribution of classes among the teachers deserves careful
consideration. No English work should be entrusted to a teacher who is
not interested in the subject and who is not adequately prepared to
teach it. It is particularly important that the first year classes
should be in charge of the best teachers of English that the school has
in its corps. The not infrequent practice of having the thoroughly
prepared and experienced teachers take charge of third and fourth year
English, and of assigning the first year classes to the young and
inexperienced English teacher, or even to teachers of other subjects who
have little or no interest in the work and who are compelled to take
classes in first year English because their time is not completely
occupied by their own subjects, generally proves extremely
unsatisfactory. If the pupils in the high schools are to have the right
attitude toward the study of English, and are to begin the subject in
the right way, the best teachers must be provided for the first year
work, since much of the success of the whole high school course in
English depends upon the manner in which the introductory work is
taught.
The number of classes in English to be assigned to the teacher and the
size of these classes must also be considered. The teaching of English
requires an unusual amount of work outside of class. First, the
preparation for each day’s teaching whether the work is in composition
or reading demands much time and energy if it is to be done as it should
be. Second, the correction of themes is a daily task that must be done
carefully and accurately and that requires the best effort of the
teacher when his mind is most keen and active. Third, personal
conferences with each pupil on his written work are now generally
conceded to be essential for successful training in writing. All these
elements must be considered in arranging the programme of classes for
teachers of English. Teachers cannot do satisfactory work if they must
prepare for five or six classes a day, teach these classes, correct
twenty-five or thirty themes daily, and hold conferences with pupils
before and after school. The teaching of many classes exhausts the
energy of the teacher and makes accurate correction after school or in
the evening, as well as the careful preparation for the next day’s
classes, extremely difficult if not impossible. Conferences on written
work should be provided for in the regular programme and should not
interfere with the teacher’s other duties before and after school. Four
classes a day, two periods daily for conference with pupils, and not
more than a hundred pupils in all classes, a number which requires the
correction of one hundred themes a week, is an arrangement of work that
makes possible effective teaching.
4. Conference of Teachers
To give unity to the four years’ work in English, it is essential that
all the teachers of English in each high school meet at frequent
intervals to discuss organization, methods, and progress of the work.
Each teacher will thus familiarize himself with the English work of the
whole school, and can do his particular part of it more intelligently
and more effectively. As the success of high school English also depends
in no small degree upon the character of the instruction which the
pupils have received in the grades, and particularly in the seventh and
eighth grades, it will be found very profitable to have similar
conferences occasionally between the seventh and eighth grade teachers
and the high school teachers of English. A closer relation ought to
exist between the English work of the last two grades and the high
school, and there seems to be no better way to accomplish this than to
bring about cooperation between the teachers through the medium of these
conferences. The benefit to the teachers and the great advantage that
results to the English work of the school repay many fold the time and
effort devoted to these conferences. If local conditions make these
meetings of grade and high school teachers impracticable, the high
school teacher of English should make every effort to familiarize
himself with the amount and character of the training which the pupils
have had before entering the high school, by visiting the schools and
conferring with the teachers in the seventh and eighth grades. The
knowledge thus acquired of the earlier training of the pupils will be of
great service to the high school teacher in planning his work both in
reading and composition.
III
COMPOSITION
The ability to write clearly and accurately can generally be acquired
only by practice. If this practice is to be really effective it can not
be confined to one semester or one year, but must extend through the
whole course in English. Training in composition naturally includes a
study of the principles of the art; and since these principles are of
different degrees of difficulty, all can not be presented in one year,
but must be developed from year to year as the ability and maturity of
the pupil makes possible the comprehension and application of them.
Practice in writing and instruction in the principles of composition,
therefore, must form a part of all instruction in English throughout the
four years.
1. Theme Writing
Since it is only by constant practice that the average pupil can learn
to write good English, it naturally follows that the essential part of
the composition work is the writing of themes. The methods by which the
pupil is given this practice are of the greatest importance. In the
first place, as has already been indicated, it should be made clear to
the pupil what original composition is, and what it is not. The belief,
all too prevalent among pupils, that ideas for compositions are to be
obtained largely if not entirely from books, should be promptly
eradicated from their minds. They must be constantly impressed with the
fact that the expression of their own ideas is the important factor in
all original composition.
The direction of the pupils to a right choice of subject for their
compositions is the first important consideration. The possibility of
writing interesting themes on the everyday incidents in the life of the
pupils and the school must be made clear to them at the beginning of the
course. After the pupils have once been made to see the inexhaustible
supply of material which their own experience affords, there will be no
temptation to turn to books for inspiration. Throughout the course in
composition it is necessary for a teacher of English to have a large
supply of good subjects for themes. To secure these subjects the teacher
must familiarize himself with local conditions, particularly as they
affect the life and interests of his pupils. It is an essential part of
the teacher’s preparation for teaching composition that he inform
himself fully upon the subjects of local interest upon which he
encourages the pupils to write. By his interest in the various
activities of the pupils and by his sympathy in their efforts, the
teacher not only comes to know what subjects to suggest for composition,
but gains the pupils’ confidence, and arouses in them a desire to tell
him of these activities in their written work. With proper encouragement
and interest on the part of the teacher, pupils will soon come to take
pleasure in writing of their everyday experiences, and the themes will
become a source of greater pleasure and satisfaction to both teacher and
pupils.
It is frequently desirable that the same subject be assigned to all
pupils, so that the results may be compared and presented to the class
as part of the regular instruction. At other times it is necessary to
give the class a number of subjects from which each pupil may select the
one that suits him best; and at still others, to suggest general topics
from which the pupil may frame his own subject. In announcing and
assigning a subject for compositions the teacher can be of much
assistance to the pupils by discussing with the class the subject under
consideration. These discussions will stimulate interest in the subject,
and will arouse a desire on the part of the pupils to write upon it. The
teacher can direct the discussion so that the pupils will be led to
consider the best method of treating the subject and can thus prevent
waste of effort. It is necessary, however, to guard against giving the
pupil so many suggestions that little original thought and observation
will be required in writing the theme.
That clear, logical thinking is prerequisite for clear expression should
also be constantly emphasized in teaching composition. Pupils must be
made to realize, as has already been said, that unless thoughts are
clear in their own minds, they cannot expect to make these thoughts
clear to others. They should be taught, therefore, to get before their
minds clearly what they desire to express before they undertake to
express it. The first step can be taken early in the course when the
pupils are writing narratives, by urging upon them the necessity of
accuracy in observing what happens and how it happens, since the degree
of completeness of the remembrance of the event depends upon the
character of the impression. In description, likewise, careful
observation of what is to be portrayed must be emphasized as the only
means of obtaining a complete mental picture that can be described to
others. The methods of exposition and argumentation presented in the
third and fourth years naturally involve a discussion of the methods of
reasoning and as much logic as the pupils can comprehend. So closely
related are thinking and the expression of thought that, as has been
pointed out before, much of the work of teaching pupils to express their
thoughts clearly and accurately is really concerned with teaching them
to think clearly and logically.
In all work of this kind the outline is of great value. An outline of a
paragraph analyzed in connection with the reading will make clear the
manner of arranging the subtopics and details in an orderly form. A
similar outline of the subject of a theme, made in class by the
cooperation of teacher and pupils, will indicate the method of grouping
the pupil’s own ideas in a logical manner. After the process has been
illustrated by such class exercises, the pupils should be required to
make outlines of their themes, without assistance from the teacher.
While it is not necessary to require that a complete outline be prepared
by the pupils for every theme that is assigned, frequent exercises in
outlining the material of the theme before it is written are desirable
throughout the course. Like all formal devices, the outline, if made
mechanically, may tend to curb the spontaneous expression of the pupils;
but rightly employed by the teacher and pupils, it will readily become a
valuable aid to clear thinking and expression.
From the beginning to the end of the course in English, the fact must be
impressed upon the pupils’ minds that the only acceptable themes are
those that are the result of thought and careful effort. Hastily and
carelessly prepared compositions and those handed in after the appointed
time, should not be accepted by the teacher. Promptness, neatness, and
earnest effort are essentials for successful theme writing that pupils
should never be permitted to neglect. While it may seem very exacting to
require that all themes be written in black ink, on paper of uniform
size, and that they be numbered or dated and indorsed in a prescribed
form, experience has shown that these details in the organization of the
work are important for economy of time and effort on the part of teacher
and pupils.
Although most of the themes will be prepared by the pupils before coming
to the class room, it is desirable to have some of them written during
the recitation period in order to give the pupils practice in thinking
and writing rapidly. At the beginning of the course the subject may be
assigned at the preceding recitation so that the pupils may consider it
carefully and come prepared to write. After the pupils have gained some
fluency of expression, impromptu themes will prove interesting and
valuable class room exercises. Considerable importance should be
attached to these impromptu themes and exercises as tests of the pupils’
ability to write rapidly and accurately.
2. Correction of Themes
Of equal importance to the writing of themes is the prompt and careful
correction of them by the teacher, and the revision or rewriting by the
pupil. While doubtless the pupil will gain some facility in expression
by writing frequently, he is not likely to learn how to write clear,
accurate, forcible English unless his work is carefully corrected and
returned to him promptly so that it may be revised or rewritten. In
correcting themes the purpose should be to indicate to the pupil the
errors and weaknesses of his style, in order that he may correct these
faults. The teacher, therefore, should not correct the pupil’s errors,
but should use some sign or abbreviation to indicate the character of
the fault. Much if not all of the benefit derived by the pupil from the
teacher’s correction is lost if he does not have the opportunity to
correct his own errors in revising or rewriting the composition. Not
only is this correction of the pupil’s mistakes by the teacher bad
pedagogically, but it takes a needless amount of the teacher’s time. It
is desirable to have a simple but complete system of signs and
abbreviations indicating the exact character of the error. In this
connection attention may be called to the value of having each school
adopt some system of correction signs and abbreviations, so that the
same marks may be used not only by all of the teachers of English, but
by the teachers of all other subjects in correcting note-books, topics,
examination papers, and all other written exercises. It is only by
insisting that high school pupils be as careful of their English in all
written work as in compositions prepared for English classes that the
best results can be accomplished.
The following sign and abbreviations used in the English department of
the University of Wisconsin for the correction of themes may serve to
indicate the character and scope of a system of correction marks:
amb ambiguous.
ant antecedent.
bal make elements balance.
ch coherence.
cst construction.
∥cst. parallel construction.
D see dictionary.
E poor English.
emp emphasis.
F. W. fine writing.
fig figure of speech.
gr grammar.
H hackneyed.
K awkward.
L loose.
MS manuscript.
p punctuation.
pc comma fault.
per make periodic.
rep repetition.
red redundant.
S sentence.
sp spelling
Th theme.
tr transpose.
U unity.
V vague.
W weak.
W. W. wrong word.
¶ paragraph.
[ ] omit.
] indention.
x obvious error.
│ divide.
╱ small letter.
≡ capital letter.
⁐ unite.
Besides indicating all the errors in every theme, the teacher should
write a concise comment on each, pointing out the faults and merits of
the theme. He should aim to make these comments as stimulating and
suggestive as possible for judicious criticism must be constructive,
encouraging the pupil in that which is praiseworthy in his efforts, as
well as aiding him to eliminate that which is undesirable. These
comments to be most helpful should be based on the teacher’s knowledge
of the pupil’s personality and of the character of his other themes, for
each piece of written work must be regarded as a step in the individual
pupil’s progress toward the more effective expression of his thoughts.
The teacher should also remember that firm insistence from the beginning
to the end of the course on correctness in the fundamentals of
expression such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, is
quite as necessary as the stimulating criticism that aims at developing
more original and spontaneous thought and expression.
In order that the pupil may get the greatest benefit from the teacher’s
correction of his themes, these should be returned for revision or
rewriting as soon as possible. If the pupil does not receive his theme
until a week or more after he has written it, the corrections and the
revision and rewriting are much less interesting and valuable than if it
is returned to him promptly. It is also easier for the teacher to
correct themes as soon as they are received rather than to allow them to
accumulate until their number makes the correction of them an exhausting
task.
In addition to the careful correction of compositions by the teacher,
other methods may be used to call attention to the merits and faults of
the pupils’ themes. The teacher may have the pupils copy on the
blackboard the themes which they have prepared before coming to class,
and the recitation period may be devoted to the criticism of these
compositions by teacher and pupils. The pupils may occasionally be
required to correct each other’s written work, either in or out of the
class room. A recitation period can sometimes be used to advantage for
the rewriting by the pupils of themes corrected by the teacher, who by
passing from one pupil to another during this exercise can assist each
in correcting and improving his work. While these methods often prove
interesting and valuable, they should not be regarded as an adequate
substitute for the prompt and accurate correction of themes by the
teacher.
3. Filing of Themes
After themes have been either rewritten or revised by pupils, they
should be returned to the teacher, who must glance over them to be sure
that the pupils have made the necessary changes. If the themes are
rewritten, the original as well as the rewritten form should be returned
to the teacher for the purpose of this comparison. It is also desirable
to have some method of filing themes after they have been returned to
the teacher. A simple method of keeping them is to use looseleaf
note-books similar to the laboratory note-books in science. With this
system the themes are first handed in on separate sheets of uniform
size, and, after they have been corrected by the teacher and revised or
rewritten by the pupil, are fastened in the note-book. If the themes are
rewritten or corrected on the blank page of the note-book facing the
original copy, the teacher can readily compare the two forms and can
determine the character of the revision. Another plan adopted by a
number of schools is to have a large filing case with a compartment for
the themes of each pupil in the school. All the themes should be
preserved until the end of the year, when they may be returned to the
pupils.
4. Conferences on Written Work
In order to accomplish the best results in theme writing and correcting,
it is desirable that the teacher talk over the written work with each
pupil as frequently as his time permits. If the English teacher’s
programme of recitations is properly arranged, he should have sufficient
time to have conferences with all his pupils once a month. Regular
appointments should be made with each pupil for holding these
conferences during those periods in which both pupil and teacher have no
recitation. At the conference the teacher can go over with the pupil the
written work of the month, can answer questions, and give helpful
suggestions for improving the pupil’s composition and class work.
5. Oral Composition
Although the term “composition” as used in connection with English work
usually refers only to written expression, it is evident that the oral
expression of the pupils’ thoughts is worthy of consideration. Generally
no particular provision is made in high school work for so-called oral
composition, nor does it seem necessary to provide a distinct place for
it in the outline of the course. The importance of the form of the
recitation in every subject is emphasized by all good teachers. The
topical recitation now so frequently required in all high school
studies, if properly conducted, is the most effective kind of oral
composition that can be given. A teacher of English, of course, should
give especial attention to the form of recitation in English classes.
Pupils, after some encouragement, will express their ideas freely in the
course of the discussions which inevitably arise in connection with the
reading and composition. Their attention should be directed to the fact
that the same principles govern the clear and forcible expression in
spoken, as in written language. The correction of common faults in
recitation, such as the “and”, “and then” habit, will assist in
eliminating these errors from the written work as well as in improving
greatly the oral expression. During the first year the pupils may be
assigned simple topics in connection with the reading and should be
taught how to collect the material and arrange it in an outline form
from which to present it in the class room. After they have acquired the
ability to present topics with the aid of notes, they should be
encouraged to speak without any of these aids. The same method may be
applied to the daily recitation. In fact, it is often best to begin by
having the pupils outline the subject matter of the lesson and come to
class prepared to recite upon any topic in the outline. In this manner
the recitations in English and in practically all of the other subjects
of the high school course may be used to give the pupils the necessary
training in oral composition.
6. Principles of Composition
In connection with the writing and correction of themes must be studied
the principles of composition and their application. These rhetorical
principles may be presented either inductively or deductively. The pupil
may either learn them from a definite statement in the text-book, which
illustrates their application by selected examples, or he may be led to
discover the principles of effective expression from the literature that
he is studying in class as a part of the work in reading. While much may
be said for the merits of each of these methods, the inductive plan
seems to commend itself particularly, since it makes possible a close
and effective correlation of the two elements of the English
work—composition and reading.
During the first two years, when particular attention is given to the
principles of sentence and paragraph construction in the composition
work, these principles can be developed and their application readily
illustrated from the selections that are read and studied in class. The
object of the work in reading, as has already been stated, is to teach
the pupil to get the thought clearly from the printed page. In order to
do this effectively, it is necessary to study with some degree of care
the sentence and paragraph structure of the selection which he is
reading. To get the thought of each sentence it is necessary to
understand clearly the relation of all its parts. By noting the separate
ideas as expressed in words, phrases, and clauses, and by determining
their relation in the sentence as the expression of the whole thought,
the pupil is taught the principles of sentence unity and coherence. If
his attention is properly drawn to these principles as they are
exemplified in the literature before him, the importance and application
of them may be clearly demonstrated without spoiling the masterpiece of
literature. In fact the appreciation of the skill of the literary artist
is thereby increased, provided the teaching is done in a proper manner.
To follow the chain of thought in the paragraph, it is necessary to see
clearly the relation of each thought as expressed in the sentence to the
preceding and succeeding thoughts in order that the development of the
topic may be clear, and that the pupil may grasp the subject in its
entirety. In teaching the pupil to get the whole thought in the
paragraph, it is necessary to consider the whole topic treated in the
paragraph; that is, to study the unity of the paragraph; and also to
consider the relation of each thought to the one central topic; that is,
the principle of paragraph coherence. Thus, in the effort to teach the
pupil how to get the thoughts of others by reading, the essential
principles of composition are absolutely necessary. In a similar manner
all the principles of narration, description, exposition, and
argumentation may be developed inductively from the reading. By seeing
the application of the rhetorical principles in literature, the pupil
comes to realize their importance in effective writing, and is impressed
by the varied forms of their application as he is not likely to be by
selected examples isolated from their context, in text-books.
7. Use of Text-book
If the principles of composition may be developed from the masterpieces
that are studied in class, the question naturally suggests itself, “Is
it necessary to have a text-book at all in studying the principles of
rhetoric and composition?” It is entirely possible to teach composition
successfully without a text-book, but owing to difficulties in the
organization of the schools, and the not infrequent change of teachers,
it is often desirable for the sake of uniformity of work to make use of
a text-book. It is also convenient, even where these difficulties do not
exist, to have a good text-book to which the teacher may direct the
pupil for a detailed statement of the principles after they have been
developed and exemplified in the reading; that is, to use it as a
reference book. In order that it may be used thus for reference, the
text-book selected should take up the principles of composition and the
forms of discourse in a logical manner, treating each fully and
systematically in a separate division. Text-books of this character can
be used throughout the first two years at least, and some of them are
sufficiently complete to supply all the material needed for four years’
study of composition.
It is generally conceded that text-books in rhetoric and composition
have very often been used to poor advantage by having the pupils
memorize the definitions and statements of principles, and by devoting
much of the period set aside for composition to recitation upon the
subject matter of the text book. The principles of rhetoric and
composition, of course, have little value except as the pupil is able to
apply them in his own work or to recognize the application of them in
the work of others. The real test of his knowledge of the subject matter
of the text-book therefore is not made by having him recite what the
book contains, but by requiring him to apply it in his own work and to
perceive examples of it in that of others.
IV
READING
1. Methods of Teaching
The purposes already indicated for the reading are “to enable the pupil
to understand the expressed thoughts of others,” “to cultivate an
acquaintance with good literature, and to furnish him with a means of
extending that acquaintance.” It is evident that the only way to teach
the pupil to understand the expressed thoughts of others is to have him
understand each unit of that expression. The meanings of words,
allusions, and figures of speech, as the expressions of the idea, must
be clearly understood. The intelligent use of the dictionary and the
usual books of reference should therefore be taught at the very
beginning of the course of reading. Whenever the origin and history of a
word are helpful for a better understanding of its meaning, these may be
called to the pupil’s attention, and he should be encouraged to observe
in the dictionary the etymology of words as he looks for their meaning.
While the importance of knowing the significance of proper names,
allusions, etc., is to be impressed on the pupil’s mind, the preparation
of the reading lesson must not be allowed to degenerate into a mere
searching for the meaning of all unknown terms in the assignment. Pupils
should be warned against the practice of making a list of all the
unknown words in the lesson and of consulting the dictionary and other
books of reference for information, without considering the context in
which the words are used.
From the very beginning of the course in reading, the teacher should
make sure that each pupil gets a clear conception of the thought
expressed in each sentence. Without undue emphasis on grammatical
analysis, the pupil should be encouraged to note the form in which the
principal proposition is expressed, and the manner in which it is
modified by the subordinate elements, for it is only by the careful
consideration of the syntactical relations that the pupil can get
accurately the thought expressed. The development of the thought through
a series of sentences constituting a paragraph must be analyzed with
equal care, so that the pupil may see clearly the development of the
thought and the relation of each sentence to the preceding and
succeeding ones and to the paragraph topic. The amount and character of
analysis in each assignment of reading should be carefully determined by
the teacher as he prepares his work for each day, and he must beware of
having the reading lesson become merely a formal analysis of sentence
and paragraph structure, for nothing more effectively kills the pupil’s
interest in reading than too much of this formal analytical drill on
detail.
Various methods may be used to assist the pupil in grasping the thought
expressed in the literature. In narration, the retelling of the story,
paragraph by paragraph, from memory, will lead the pupils to get the
details of the story in logical groups. In description, the pupils
should be required to visualize the scene, object, or person portrayed
in words. Boys and girls can readily be interested in exercises of this
kind and will respond eagerly when asked to describe the mental pictures
which they obtain from a given piece of description. Sketches on the
blackboard to make clear the position of the details in the description
and other devices tend to emphasize to the pupil the importance of
reading carefully and accurately in order to get the whole thought of
the author.
After the pupil has been taught to get the thought accurately, the
analysis may be extended to the forms of discourse and the qualities of
style. In short stories, novels, and dramas the analysis of plot, the
delineation of character, and similar consideration of the principles of
narration and description will naturally receive due attention. In
essays and orations the study of corresponding principles of exposition
and argumentation gives the pupil a clearer conception and better
appreciation of the writer’s purpose and the means that he uses to
accomplish it. A study of metre and verse form is necessary for an
appreciation of the poetry read and studied in class. The study of all
these details, designed as it is to help the pupils to understand the
author’s thought, part by part, ought always to lead to a better
understanding and appreciation of the meaning and purpose of the whole.
A study of literature that emphasizes details to such an extent that the
theme and significance of the story, the drama, or the poem, as a whole,
is neglected, fails to bring out the vital element.
The value of the ideas and ideals which find expression in the
literature must not be overlooked in planning the work in reading. As a
portrayal of life in its various activities, literature presents to the
pupil many types of character and action, and thus gives the boys and
girls a broader view of life than their own experience affords. The
analysis of character, motives, and actions forms an interesting and
valuable part of the study of literature. Since good literature is also
an interpretation or “criticism” of life, it presents life in its true
relations and shows their significance. The author’s interpretation of
life, his judgment upon its various phases, and the emotional coloring
which he gives it, are all to be considered in a manner best adapted to
the maturity and understanding of the pupils. The formative influence
exerted upon the character of the boys and girls by the characters and
actions portrayed in their reading, as well as by the emotional element
of literature is undoubtedly of importance, and by some teachers is
emphasized in all their work. The ideals of conduct presented in good
literature, and the close relation between conduct and the emotions
aroused by the reading, are often factors in the ethical training of the
pupils, but the indirect and unconscious influence of these elements is
generally much more effective than many efforts to teach lessons in
ethics based on literature.
Since the study of literature involves the consideration of all these
various elements, the result accomplished in reading will depend largely
upon the methods of the teacher in preparing his work for each day’s
reading. Before beginning the reading and study of a piece of literature
with a class, the teacher should make a careful study of the whole,
analyzing and outlining it, so that the relation of each part to the
expression and development of the theme may be clearly determined. With
this outline before him the teacher can plan each day’s reading more
readily and intelligently. Every recitation in reading should be
carefully planned by the teacher in order that each part of the work may
receive emphasis proportionate to its importance and that something
definite may be accomplished toward a better appreciation of the whole.
Owing to the fact that the study of literature is radically different
from any other subject which the high school pupils pursue, much
attention must be given to teaching them how to read and study a piece
of literature. In assigning the lesson in reading, the teacher should
indicate clearly to the pupils what they are to do, and as far as
possible, how they are to do it. Failure of the pupils to understand
clearly what is desired of them, is the cause of many a poorly prepared
recitation in English. A well planned outline with the important points
to be considered in studying the day’s lesson, or a series of questions
concerning these points, will serve to give direction to the pupils’
preparation from day to day, and in the end will teach them how to read
and study literature.
In connection with the reading, pupils should be encouraged to memorize
the whole or parts of many of the pieces of literature studied in class.
In every year of the course the teacher should select passages from the
reading that are worth memorizing, and should urge the pupils to learn
them. To make a task of this memorizing is not desirable, nor is it at
all necessary, for pupils will usually respond willingly to the
teacher’s suggestion as to the value of learning choice selections of
prose and poetry. The value of knowing and being able to quote many of
the finest passages in English and American literature cannot be
overestimated.
2. Reading Aloud
Some attention should generally be given to reading aloud intelligently.
A part of each recitation may be devoted to giving the pupils practice
in distinct, accurate pronunciation, and in reading with sufficient
expression to interpret the meaning. The teacher can do much toward
showing the pupils how to read by reading to them from time to time, and
then having them read the same selection. The frequent practice of
devoting a considerable part of the recitation period to reading aloud
in class by the pupils without individual correction or helpful
suggestion by the teacher is a waste of time. As few high school pupils,
particularly in the first two years of their course, read sufficiently
well to interpret a piece of literature for their classmates continued
reading aloud in class by the pupils is an uninteresting exercise that
is more likely to decrease than increase the pupils’ interest, pleasure,
or appreciation. If the assignment has been read and studied carefully
by the pupils in preparation for the recitation, the only purpose of
having any portion of it read aloud in class must be to give the pupils
practice in reading clearly, accurately, and intelligently. To be of
value this practice must be systematic and must be regarded as an
exercise in expression. Careful preparation by the pupils including
practice in reading aloud at home, and helpful criticism by the teacher,
are as essential for success in exercises in reading aloud as in other
forms of expression. Since training in reading aloud is neither the
primary nor the secondary aim of the study of literature, the time to be
devoted to these exercises in the class room must necessarily be very
limited.
As the ability to read well depends in part upon the management of the
voice, some attention may be given from time to time to the fundamental
principles of vocal expression. Occasional instruction in class in
correct breathing, the control of the voice, the position of the vocal
organs in the formation of the different sounds, and the care of the
voice, supplemented by exercises for individual practice, will aid
materially in improving the character of the vocal expression not only
in reading but also in recitation and conversation.
3. Choice of Reading
To carry out effectively the plan for the correlation of the reading and
composition work, and to provide a well graded course of reading adapted
to the maturity and ability of the pupils, the greatest care must be
exercised in the selection of masterpieces of literature to be read and
studied in class. Beginning with the simple prose narrative in the form
of short stories, tales, and sketches in the first year, the work should
proceed by regular gradations to more difficult types. For the first two
years of the course, during which one-half of the time allotted to
English is devoted to work in composition, the reading should be chosen
with regard to the principles of composition and forms of discourse that
are to be considered, so that a close correlation may be made between
the two elements of the course. In the third year the study of the
history of English literature will determine the order in which the
authors are to be taken up, but the character and maturity of the pupils
must be considered in the choice of authors and selections for reading
and study in class. Again in the fourth year the same elements must
determine the choice. It is impossible to prescribe certain books to be
read in each year, since the character of the pupils in different
schools and in different classes in the same school, makes necessary a
selection of reading adapted to local conditions.
Although in the number and variety of the books the list of college
entrance requirements in English is now sufficiently large to meet the
needs of the average school, it is not necessary to confine the
selection of material for study in class to this list. On page 50 of
this bulletin is given a list of the selections adapted for reading and
study, together with suggestions as to the years in the course in which
they can be read to the best advantage.
In selecting editions of the masterpieces for reading in class, the
purpose and methods of the reading should not be forgotten. If the pupil
is to be taught to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words, figures,
and allusions, it is undesirable to give him this information on every
page in the form of foot-notes explanatory of many things that with a
little effort he might find in reference books. Elaborate introductions
in which the structure and style of the masterpiece are fully discussed
are equally undesirable, since they tend to make unnecessary any
original thought or analysis on the part of the pupils. The text of the
masterpiece with a few notes explanatory of unusual difficulties is all
that is necessary in order to carry on successfully the study of any
selection.
4. Library Reading
Throughout the course in English, the pupils ought to be urged, if not
actually required, to read considerable good literature in addition to
that read and studied in class. A list of standard books as large and as
wide in range of subjects as the library facilities of the school make
possible, should be prepared each year, and the pupils should be
encouraged to read as many of these books as their time permits. Reading
that is done on the pupil’s own initiative is many times more valuable
than that which he does simply because of a formal requirement. If the
plan is followed of requiring that a certain number of books be read,
precaution must be taken against making the outside reading a formal
task rather than a pleasure. The teacher can do much toward interesting
the pupils in the library reading. By reading aloud to the class a
chapter or two of a book, he may lead many of the pupils to read the
whole book. By referring in the class work to the characters, plots, and
other details of the books on the reading list, or by quoting from them,
he will often arouse the pupils’ curiosity and create a desire to read
the books. By considering the tastes and needs of the individual pupils,
he can suggest to each the books most likely to be of the greatest
interest and value. To create and develop the desire to read good
literature outside of the class room, is one of the greatest privileges
of the teacher of English.
In general the plan of having a written review, outline, or summary of
these books, either as a part of the composition or the reading work, is
to be discouraged. Since the writing of a book review is a difficult
task for a man or woman of broad education, it is too much to expect
that the immature high school pupil will be able to do it with any
degree of intelligence or interest. The fact constantly emphasized by
such a method, that every book which he reads must serve as material for
a book review, a summary, or an examination, often defeats the purpose
of his outside reading, since it tends to create a dislike rather than a
love for reading. The books read by pupils may sometimes be discussed in
class, however, as a means of arousing interest in the outside reading,
and frequently pupils may be led to express their opinions freely, and
spontaneously concerning the books under discussion. If the pupils can
be turned from an oral to a written discussion of the book more or less
spontaneously, there is less danger in having an occasional written
exercise based on the library reading.
V
FIRST YEAR ENGLISH
In outlining the work of the first year, it is assumed that English will
be pursued for five periods a week throughout the year. Of this time
one-half should be devoted to composition, and one-half to reading.
These two phases of the first year English, as has already been
indicated, should be closely correlated, and must, of course, be taught
by the same teacher. By suggesting that one-half of the time be devoted
to each phase of the subject, it is not intended, as has already been
said, that the time should be formally divided. Instead of setting aside
two or three periods a week for composition it is frequently more
satisfactory to devote a portion of each period to a study of the
principles of composition as exemplified in the reading or to a
discussion of subjects for composition, and thus not to interrupt the
continuity of the reading.
In Wisconsin high schools the present course of study for one course,
generally called the English course, presents one serious difficulty in
connection with first year English; i. e., the arrangement by which
grammar and composition for five periods a week and reading and
composition for five periods a week are required of all pupils in this
course. It is manifestly undesirable for any pupils in the first year to
pursue two courses in English for ten periods a week throughout the
year. This arrangement gives the pupils in this course seven and
one-half periods of composition work during the second semester if the
course in grammar and composition is divided so that grammar is required
in the first semester and composition in the second. It also divides the
composition work between two separate classes, part of the instruction
in composition being given in the course in grammar and composition and
part in the course in reading and composition. Since instruction in the
principles of composition without practice is of little value especially
for the immature pupils in the first year, and since from five to seven
and a half periods is too much time to devote to composition when the
amount of practice that is possible or even desirable is necessarily
limited, the best solution of the problem seems to be to devote the time
to additional reading and not to attempt to give more than two and a
half periods, the amount assigned for other courses, to composition
work. The question of teaching grammar is considered on page 32.
1. Composition
The object of the first year in composition should be to encourage
pupils to express freely their own ideas and impressions. Fluency of
expression is to be encouraged by every possible means. The most
effective method of developing this free and fluent expression is to
have the pupils write on subjects in which they are most interested. It
is sometimes said that the difficulty in writing themes in the first
year lies in the fact that the pupils have nothing to write about from
their own experience, and that therefore subjects must be drawn largely
from the reading; that is, pupils must reproduce others’ thoughts rather
than express their own. It seems doubtful whether this paucity of ideas
really exists, for it is indeed a stupid girl or boy in the first year
at high school who is not interested in many things in active everyday
life, and who does not talk constantly of these things to schoolmates
and friends. It is doubtless true that the pupil often does not consider
his simple experiences of sufficient importance to be the subjects of
his compositions and must therefore be led by the teacher to see the
possibilities which they contain. It is the duty of the teacher of
composition, as has been said, to familiarize himself with the
surroundings of his pupils, and to interest himself in their various
activities in and out of school. It is only by such sympathy and
interest that he can get his pupils to express themselves freely in
their themes. Experience has shown that the daily life of the individual
pupil, and the varied activities of the school can be made to furnish
practically all of the theme subjects not only for first year
composition, but also for that of the other three years.
While fluency and spontaneity of expression should be encouraged in
every way possible, the teacher must also insist on accuracy in details
of expression. The common errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization,
punctuation, and other matters of form should be corrected constantly,
and by the end of the first year all such mistakes should be fairly well
eliminated from the average pupil’s work. In connection with the
correction of errors in the themes, the rules of spelling,
capitalization, punctuation, and grammar may be reviewed to advantage
from time to time.
2. English Grammar
It is not desirable to take up formally the study of English, grammar as
a regular part of first year English. Whenever the plan of devoting a
semester or a term to English grammar has been tried, it has been
conceded that the course has not been very successful. The cause of this
is not far to seek. Since the pupils have been drilled in grammar in the
seventh and eighth grades, a repetition of the subject at the beginning
of the high school course invariably proves distasteful, and it is
extremely difficult if not practically impossible to arouse any interest
in the subject. High school pupils in the first year are too immature to
take up the subject from a point of view materially different from that
from which it was studied in the grades. The work, consequently, is done
in a perfunctory manner, and seems to have little practical result in
the pupils’ written or spoken English. It is the general experience,
nevertheless, that a number of pupils entering the high school are
deficient in their knowledge of the most elementary principles of
English grammar, and that they are therefore somewhat handicapped in
taking up the study of composition. If the present system of promotion
permits some pupils to enter the high school without a sufficient
knowledge of the elements of English grammar to make possible an
intelligent study of high school English, it seems very doubtful whether
the high school course in English should be planned to provide for
pupils whose preparation is deficient. If provision must be made for the
deficient ones, a special class in grammar should be organized for their
benefit, and well-prepared pupils should not be compelled to repeat this
grade work. This special review of grammar for poorly prepared pupils
should not form a part of the regular English work of the first year,
and it may be questioned whether it should be credited for graduation
from high school. For pupils of required preparation the only study of
grammar necessary in the first year may be taken up in connection with
the correction of errors made by the pupils in composition. Syntax must
be studied in connection with the construction of sentences in
composition work. A consideration of the grammatical construction of
sentences required for effective work in reading and composition, with
such review of grammar as is made necessary by the actual errors of the
pupils, will generally be sufficient training in grammar for the first
year.
3. Rhetorical Principles
The study of rhetorical principles in the first year should be confined
to the consideration of the simpler principles of sentence and paragraph
construction. In connection with the study of grammatical construction
of sentences, the violation of the principles of sentence unity and
sentence coherence in the pupils’ written work will offer opportunity
for enlarging upon the application of these principles. If, in the first
year, pupils can be taught to express simple ideas in sentences the
parts of which are logically connected, much will have been
accomplished. In paragraph construction unity and coherence must also be
emphasized; that is, the pupils should be taught that the paragraph
consists of a series of closely related sentences developing a single
topic. The unity of the paragraph as emphasized by the part of the
definition referring to the single topic, and the principle of
coherence, as brought out by the idea of a series of related sentences,
constitute the important points regarding paragraph construction to be
developed in the first year.
The simplest principles of narration, such as the choice, order, and
connection of incidents, may be emphasized and developed in the pupils’
composition work. Examples of the application of these principles will
be noted constantly in the short stories read in class. During the
second semester the elementary principles of description can be
developed from the reading, and pupils can be led to add a descriptive
element to their narrative themes, or even to write short descriptive
themes. After studying the descriptive methods used in the portrayal of
a character or scene in the story read in class, the pupils may very
naturally be encouraged to write descriptions of persons or places with
which they are familiar. The knowledge and application of these
principles of composition, thoroughly mastered, is all the rhetoric that
is necessary for the first year.
4. Theme Writing
In the first year one or two short themes a week will give sufficient
practice in composition. A short theme should consist of one
well-rounded paragraph of about 150 words. The one-paragraph theme of
this length has several advantages. First, the pupil is taught from the
beginning of his high school composition work to regard the paragraph as
a unit of some length, which may be complete in itself. Second, the
pupil usually has enough ideas for a short theme, and can present them
simply and directly without writing to fill space, as he sometimes must
do when longer themes are required. Third, a teacher can correct these
short single page themes in less time, and yet see clearly the pupil’s
faults, for he is likely to make the characteristic errors as evident in
one page as in three or four. If the teacher has time to correct
carefully two short themes a week, one of these may be prepared outside
the class room, and the other may be written during part of one of the
recitation periods. This plan gives the pupil practice in carefully
prepared written work for the writing of which he has plenty of time,
and also in writing rapidly in class when he has time to prepare but a
single draft of his theme.
As in all composition work, these themes must be promptly and carefully
corrected by the teacher; and the errors, as has already been pointed
out, should be indicated by signs and abbreviations so that the pupil
may have the benefit of correcting his mistakes. This correction by the
pupil may be done either by rewriting the theme or by revising it and
making corrections neatly between the lines, or in some other convenient
place. In either case, the work should be returned to the teacher so
that he may glance over the original and rewritten forms, or the
original as revised, and may see whether the errors have been corrected
and the changes properly made.
In the first year the conferences of teacher and pupil on composition
work are of great importance. By talking over the work, the teacher can
do much towards encouraging a pupil who becomes disheartened because of
the difficulties in expressing his ideas in writing. In these
conferences, also, the teacher can learn much concerning the pupil’s
interests and character, and by sympathy and insight can be as helpful
to the excellent pupil as to the mediocre or poor one.
5. Reading
The selection of suitable masterpieces for reading and study in the
first year must be made with particular care, since the pupils’ attitude
toward the reading and study of literature is often influenced for some
time by their first impressions. As the purpose of the reading is not
only to have the pupils understand what they read by teaching them to
read carefully and accurately, but also to interest them in reading good
literature, it is desirable to begin on material that does not present
too many difficulties. The length of the selection is also an important
element. The piece of literature must not be so long that interest in it
flags or that the pupil can not grasp it in its entirety and study it as
a unit. Short stories, tales, and narrative and descriptive sketches
combine more of the desired elements than other forms of literature.
Prose narratives of this type also make possible the close and effective
correlation of the reading and composition, the importance of which has
already been emphasized. Among the short stories and sketches that have
been used successfully in the first year and that may be taken as
typical are Hawthorne’s “Twice Told Tales”, Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”
and “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Holmes’ “My Hunt After the Captain”,
Warner’s “A-Hunting of the Deer”, Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.
Mythology and folk tales have also been tried with considerable success
in the first semester of the first year; the available selections
include Hawthorne’s “Wonder Book”, Church’s “The Story of the Iliad” and
“The Story of the Odyssey”, Peabody’s “Old Greek Folk Stories”, Bryant’s
translations of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” and Palmer’s translation
of the “Odyssey”.
The advantages of using prose for reading and study in the first year in
preference to poetry or the poetical drama, are important ones. In the
first place since it is desirable to teach pupils to get the whole
thought contained in what they read, it is undoubtedly best to begin
with those forms in which ideas are expressed in the usual order, which,
of course, is that of prose rather than that of poetry or the poetical
drama. The training in following and grasping in their entirety the
expressed thoughts of others as they appear in the simplest logical
order of prose should be one of the first aims of the first year
reading. In the second place poetic inversions and figurative
expressions increase so greatly the pupils’ difficulties in
understanding what they read, that at the beginning of the course it
makes too great a task of that which should be a source of interest and
pleasure. To pass over these difficulties and emphasize simply the story
or description in the study of poetry is to encourage the bad habit of
careless, inaccurate reading. If the pupil is taught to understand fully
the prose that he reads in the first year, his progress in reading
poetry in the following years will be much more rapid. These advantages
together with close correlation possible between the study of prose and
the theory and practice of composition should determine the choice of
reading for the first year.
What has already been said in regard to the reading in general (p. 23)
applies particularly to the first year work.
VI
SECOND YEAR ENGLISH
1. Composition
In the second year the composition and the reading which have been begun
in the first year may be continued in about the same proportion, that
is, about one-half of the five periods a week may be devoted to each.
The work should be largely a development and expansion of that of the
first year. In the study of the rhetorical principles the consideration
of sentence construction should be continued, and the principle of
emphasis and its application should be studied. The several types of
sentences, such as long, short, loose, periodic, and balanced, and their
uses should receive considerable attention, and the importance of
variety in sentence structure may be emphasized. In the discussion of
paragraph structure more study may be given to the details of its
construction by developing the importance of the principles of emphasis,
as well as by considering again the principles of unity and coherence.
The methods of developing the paragraph topic will naturally form a part
of the work of paragraph construction, particularly in the second
semester, when the principles of exposition are studied. The application
of the same principles of unity, emphasis, and coherence to the whole
theme, where it consists of a number of paragraphs, may also be
developed, for in the second year it is desirable to have the students
write longer themes, as well as the short ones.
The forms of discourse, narration and description, studied in the first
year, will also be developed and expanded during the second year, and
more emphasis can be placed upon the several forms of description. From
description the pupil can be led by gradual steps to the study of
exposition, and this subject may be developed as fully as the maturity
of the pupils will permit. It is also possible in some schools to
undertake the elementary forms of argumentation toward the end of the
second year, particularly if there is considerable interest and activity
in the school debating society, but it is not desirable to undertake
much of this work with immature pupils.
The reading of the second year will also furnish material for a study of
words and figures of speech. In the analysis and writing of description
it is natural to note the effects of different kinds of words, and to
discriminate between the general, colorless term and the specific,
picture-making expression. In description, likewise, the effectiveness
of contrast, or of a comparison in the form of a simile or metaphor may
be pointed out. In exposition emphasis must be given to the importance
of using the exact term to make clear the idea, and to the dependence of
clearness upon this accurate choice and use of words. The use of
comparisons, contrast, and other figures of speech, may also be studied
in relation to exposition.
In the second year, as in the first, the subjects for composition should
be drawn largely if not entirely, from the pupil’s own experiences. In
narrative and descriptive themes the pupil, after his practice in the
first year, will find little difficulty in choosing the right kind of
subjects. In exposition he can be encouraged to write explanations of
those subjects with which he is thoroughly familiar. Simple
manufacturing processes, the operation of machinery or of mechanical
devices generally, methods of doing any kind of work, directions for
playing games, and many other similar subjects that the pupil
understands thoroughly, furnish excellent material for simpler
expository themes. If argumentation is undertaken, the pupil may be led
to discuss questions constantly arising in connection with the life of
the school and the community, and thus he can obtain most of his
material from his own experiences.
The plan of having one or two paragraph themes of from 150 to 200 words
each week should be continued throughout the second year. Every month or
six weeks pupils should write a longer theme of from 600 to 800 words,
that is, a theme of four or five paragraphs. Both the short and the long
theme should be promptly and carefully corrected by the teacher and
revised or rewritten by the pupil. In the second year a careful revision
of the corrected themes by the pupils is usually sufficient, but all
themes that can be sufficiently improved to make rewriting worth while,
should be rewritten.
2. Reading
The general purpose and the character of the reading in the second year
are the same as in the first. During the first part of the year
narrative and descriptive material should be read, and during the second
semester some of the simpler types of essays may be used as a basis of a
study of exposition. As has already been indicated in connection with
the composition, the pupils’ attention should be directed to the use of
words and figures of speech in the masterpieces. The plot and its
development, and the form in which the story is told can be studied in
more detail than in the first year.
Methods of describing persons and places and of delineating character,
taken up in connection with description, will frequently be exemplified
in the reading. Direction may be given to the study of essays by
considering them as examples of exposition. All this analytical work
ought to be carried on with a view not only to developing inductively or
illustrating the principles of composition which it is desired to have
the pupils apply in their own writing, but also to having the pupils
understand the author’s purpose and the methods which he uses to
accomplish it; that is, to understand fully what they are reading.
The following may be taken as typical of the character of the reading
best adapted for the purposes outlined: Irving’s “Sketch Book” and
“Tales of the Alhambra”, Poe’s “Gold Bug”, Thoreau’s “The Succession of
Forest Trees”, Burroughs’ “Birds and Bees” and “Sharp Eyes”, Macaulay’s
“Lord Clive” and “Life of Samuel Johnson”, Lincoln’s “Gettysburg
Speech.” If at the end of the first semester the pupils have learned to
read prose of average difficulty, it is often advantageous during the
second semester to study a play of Shakespeare’s, and “Merchant of
Venice” or “Julius Caesar” is well adapted for this purpose. Narrative
poetry such as Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”, Arnold’s “Sohrab and
Rustum”, Coleridge’s “Ancient Mariner”, or Scott’s “Lady of the Lake”
may also be used successfully during the second semester.
VII
THIRD YEAR ENGLISH
1. Reading and History of Literature
The plan for the third year reading provides for a survey of English and
American literature, in which about three-fourths of the time is to be
devoted to English literature, and one-fourth to American literature. In
designating the reading as a study of English and American literature,
it is not intended that the history of literature, as such, should
occupy any considerable portion of the time. It is not desirable to
devote more than one-tenth to one-fifth of the time, that is, from
one-half to one period a week, to text-book work in the history of
literature. The greater part of the time (about four periods a week)
should be spent in the reading of selections from representative
authors. In the study of the history of literature, emphasis should be
placed upon general movements and tendencies in literature, and their
relation to national conditions and ideals. In each period one or two
typical authors should be selected whose works are to be studied in the
class room. Selections from writers contemporary with these authors may
be read by the pupils as library reading. In a course of this kind it is
much more important to have the pupils read the literature than to have
them read about literature. It is also much more important to lead the
pupils to perceive the characteristics of the author in a selection read
in or out of the class room than to have these characteristics called to
their attention by the teacher or by reading criticism. In connection
with the course in the history of literature, a list of books for
outside reading should be prepared, and the pupils should be encouraged
to supplement the class room study by reading other works of the authors
studied in class. It seems desirable to follow as far as possible the
chronological order in the reading done in and out of the class room so
that the pupil may be led to see the development of English and American
literature and the relation of the work of one author to that of those
preceding and succeeding him.
The detailed study of selections from the most important English and
American authors, is a large task for one year’s work, but experience
has shown that much can be accomplished toward widening the pupils’
knowledge and appreciation of literature by a course of this kind. After
two years of intensive study of the elements of expression, the average
pupil will be able to comprehend more readily what he reads, and less
time will have to be spent on the details. The selections studied may
also be regarded from a somewhat different point of view from that taken
during the first two years. The piece of literature may be considered in
relation to the author’s personality and the age in which it was
written, as well as in comparison with other literature that has been
read by the pupils.
In the history of English literature characteristic selections from most
of the following authors should be studied in class: Chaucer,
Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Pope, Addison, Goldsmith, Gray, Burns,
Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, Browning, Lamb,
George Eliot, Dickens, and Thackeray.
In the survey of American literature the same general method should be
followed. As the pupils have generally read considerable of the poetry
of Longfellow, Whittier, Bryant, and Holmes, as well as selections from
the prose of Irving, Hawthorne, and Thoreau, a brief review of these
will be sufficient. The class work should therefore consist largely of
the reading and study of works of authors not previously read in class,
such as the poems and short stories of Poe, essays of Emerson, Lowell,
and Holmes, and novels of Hawthorne and Cooper.
2. Composition
During the third year about one-fifth of the time, or one period a week,
should be devoted to English composition. One short theme a week, and
one long composition once in six weeks will furnish the necessary
practice in writing. While the narrative and descriptive work of the
first two years may be continued, more emphasis should be placed upon
expository composition, in continuation of the study of exposition begun
in the second semester of the second year. Besides explaining the
various processes and simple mechanical devices with which he is
familiar, the pupil may be encouraged to express his own opinions in
regard to what he reads in literature. If the conditions are favorable,
the kind of elementary argumentation suggested for the second year, may
also be used in theme work.
VIII
FOURTH YEAR ENGLISH
1. Reading
In the fourth year about four-fifths of the time should be allotted to
reading and about one-fifth to composition. The time assigned to the
reading may most profitably be devoted to an extensive study of a few
typical examples of the most important forms of literature. The novel,
the drama, the lyric, and the essay, may be taken as the types to be
studied. The maturity of the pupils in the fourth year will make
possible a detailed analysis of the essential elements of these forms,
which cannot be undertaken earlier in the course. By a careful study of
a few of the best examples of each form to be found in English
literature, the pupils not only come to know and appreciate some of the
best literature in our language but are given some canons by which to
judge what they read independently after they leave school.
2. The Novel
The novel is a convenient form with which to begin the fourth year work.
George Eliot’s “Silas Marner” is one of the novels which lends itself
admirably to intensive study. The kind of novel, the theme, the author’s
point of view, the plot, the characters, the setting, and other
important elements are all to be carefully studied. In the detailed
analysis of plot, the introduction, the situation, the development of
the plot, the secondary plots, the interweaving of principal and
subordinate plots, the means of sustaining interest and suspense, the
climax of the action, the unraveling, the denouement and the probability
and plausibility of action, should receive consideration. The study of
character presented in the novel will include the interaction of plot
and character, the types of character, the grouping of characters, the
methods of delineation, the truth to life, and similar points. It is
also important to consider the novel as the expression of the author’s
personality, of his attitude toward life, and of his interpretation, or
“criticism,” of life.
Since time will permit of the detailed analysis, in class, of but one
novel, use for comparison may be made of other novels which the pupils
have read or are reading as a part of their library work. Novels of such
different types as Goldsmith’s “Vicar of Wakefield,” Dickens’ “Tale of
Two Cities,” Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” and “Talisman,” Thackeray’s “Henry
Esmond,” Hawthorne’s “House of Seven Gables,” and George Eliot’s
“Romola,” will furnish ample supplementary material.
3. The Drama
The consideration of plot, character, etc., in the novel will prepare
the way for a similar study of the drama. Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” offers
excellent opportunity for thoughtful study. The important elements in
the technique of dramatic construction may be brought out inductively in
the course of the reading. The indirect and suggestive method of
describing character of the drama will give rise to much discussion, for
pupils will naturally differ in their estimates of the characters as a
result of different interpretations which they give to the words and
actions of the characters. To give a better conception of the drama as
it is to be acted, important scenes may be presented in the class room
by the pupils. The greater appreciation of the drama and dramatic action
which comes from the preparation for an informal presentation of this
kind, makes it well worth undertaking.
Some attention should also be given to the style and the versification
in so far as these are necessary for a better understanding of the
author’s methods.
4. The Lyric
The study of lyric poetry, although often difficult alike to teacher and
pupils, should be undertaken during the second semester of the fourth
year. Much of the success will depend upon the character of the lyrics
selected for reading and study. Palgrave’s “Golden Treasury of Songs and
Lyrics,” containing as it does much of the best English poetry of this
type, is the most convenient book to use. While interpretative reading
and the memorizing of these poems often lead to a real appreciation of
their music, and the emotions which they express, a judicious analysis
of metrical structure and poetic expression will result in a better
understanding of the essentials of good poetry.
5. The Essay
The expository essay, as the most difficult form of literature for high
school pupils, may well be left until the last part of the fourth year.
The analysis of the logical development of the subject of the essay is
of particular value at this stage of the course. The outlining of the
plan of the essay with its divisions into sections, sub-sections,
topics, subtopics, and details is excellent practice. Macaulay’s essays,
Burke’s “Speech on Conciliation,” and Webster’s “First Bunker Hill
Oration” although, of course, the latter two are orations rather than
essays, afford material for this kind of study. Burke’s “Speech on
Conciliation,” although difficult for young pupils, is particularly well
adapted for analysis of logical structure, and may be used to study
methods of exposition and argumentation.
The elements and qualities of prose style illustrated in the essays
should also be considered. Balance, parallelism, antithesis, hyperbole,
climax, terse and epigrammatic expression, methods of transition and
connection, and similar elements of Macaulay’s style are sufficiently
obvious to be readily recognized by the high school pupil after his
attention has once been called to them. The rhetorical qualities of
Burke’s or Webster’s style are also evident enough to make possible the
study of them by high school pupils.
6. Library Reading
The library reading for the fourth year can be arranged to supplement
the work done in class. Several standard novels, two or three plays of
Shakespeare, considerable lyric poetry, and a number of essays may be
assigned from time to time so that the library and class room reading
will run parallel. Reference by teacher and pupils to these pieces of
literature by way of comparison with those under consideration, will
lead to a close correlation of these two phases of the reading.
7. Composition
The fourth year is in some respects the most important for the work in
composition. The ability to write good English fluently, acquired by
most of the pupils from several years of constant practice; the maturity
of the pupils; their larger stock of knowledge and wider experience; and
the possibility of making practical application of their ability to
write in preparing orations and debates, reporting for local newspapers,
or editing the school publications; all tend to make composition a more
attractive and significant subject in the fourth year than it seems to
be at any other period of the course. The emphasis will naturally be
shifted from the mechanical details of expression which necessarily
occupy the greater portion of the time in the earlier years of the
course, to the larger and more interesting problems of expression. The
study of the principles of exposition and argumentation, and of the
development of the theme, as they appear in the plan and outline of the
essay, take on new significance when their application to the writing of
a debate or a commencement oration is made clear. The pupil discovers
that the periodic sentence, parallel construction, climax, and other
rhetorical devices, are effective means that he may use to accomplish
his ends. For those with literary inclinations the study of plot,
characterization, and poetic form and expression furnishes new
inspiration for their own work. The teacher who fails to take advantage
of this new interest in writing for practical purposes, by correlating
it closely with all the English work of the fourth year, is losing the
best opportunity of the course to teach the art of effective expression.
The amount of written work should be about the same as in the third
year; that is, a weekly theme of about 250 words, or a fortnightly one
of from 400 to 500 words; and a long theme of from 800 to 1200 words at
intervals of six weeks. The subjects chosen for both long and short
themes, in the course of the year should give practice in all the forms
of discourse, narration, description, exposition, and argumentation,
especially in combinations as they are found in the literature that is
read in and out of the class room. The writing of a short story or of a
chapter of a novel proves an interesting form of composition when
fiction is being studied. The consideration of problems of character in
the novels and dramas read and studied, permits pupils to express their
opinions in essay form, while debates on questions growing out of class
room discussions will give practice in argumentation. The preparation of
commencement essays and orations, as has already been suggested, can
readily be made a part of theme writing during the second semester.
8. Writing of Verse
The writing of verse has frequently been tried in the fourth year, and
has generally proved an interesting and valuable exercise. The reading
of poetry in the third and fourth years makes necessary some study of
metre and verse forms, and with the information thus obtained as a
basis, many pupils, it has been found, can write creditable verse.
Exercises beginning with blank verse, octosyllabic and heroic couplets,
and continuing with the quatrain, the triolet, the rondeau, the
Spenserian stanza, and possibly the sonnet, can be given from time to
time in place of weekly themes and will usually arouse considerable
interest. Efforts to write verse, whether entirely successful or not,
give the pupils a keener feeling for rhyme and rhythm, a better
understanding of metrical forms, and of the nature of poetical
composition; and to that extent should heighten their appreciation of
poetry.
IX
OUTLINE OF HIGH SCHOOL COURSE IN ENGLISH
The following outline is designed to show in general the amount and
character of each part of the English work to be considered in each year
of the course. The order in which the details are arranged in each year
is not intended to be the order in which these parts of the subject are
to be taken up in the class room.
First Year
A. COMPOSITION (one-half of the time).
I. Grammar, Punctuation, Capitalization.
1. Work based on errors in pupils’ written work.
2. Occasional review of general principles.
II. Sentence.
1. Grammatical construction.
2. Unity.
3. Coherence.
III. Paragraph.
1. Length.
2. Unity (topic, selection of material).
3. Coherence (order, connection).
IV. Forms of Discourse.
1. Narration.
2. Description.
V. Theme Writing.
At least one and not more than two, one-paragraph themes of from
150–200 words, every week; to be carefully corrected by teacher and
to be rewritten by pupil.
B. READING (one-half of the time).
Short stories and descriptive sketches.
Second Year
A. COMPOSITION (one-half of the time).
I. Sentence.
1. Length (long, medium, short).
2. Rhetorical form (loose, periodic, balanced).
3. Unity.
4. Coherence.
5. Emphasis.
II. Paragraph.
1. Unity.
2. Coherence (subtopics, order, and connection).
3. Emphasis (selection, proportion, position).
4. Methods of developing topic.
III. Whole Composition—Unity, Coherence, Emphasis.
IV. Words.
V. Figures of Speech.
VI. Forms of Discourse.
1. Narration.
2. Description.
3. Exposition.
VII. Theme Writing.
At least one and not more than two, one-paragraph themes of from
150–200 words, every week; and one four or five paragraph theme of
from 600–800 words, every six weeks; both long and short themes to
be carefully corrected by teacher and to be revised or rewritten by
pupil.
B. READING (one-half). Descriptive and expository essays.
Third Year
A. READING (four-fifths).
1. History of English Literature (one-fifth to one-tenth for ¾ of
year).
2. History of American Literature (one-fifth to one-tenth for ¼ of
year).
3. Study of selections from representative English and American
authors (three-fifths to four-fifths).
B. COMPOSITION (one-fifth to one-tenth).
I. Exposition.
1. Kinds.
2. Methods.
II. Structure of Whole Composition.
1. Unity.
2. Coherence (transition, connection).
3. Emphasis (proportion, position).
III. Words, figures of speech, sentences, and paragraphs.
IV. Theme Writing.
One short theme not exceeding 500 words every week; and one long
theme of from 700–1000 words every six weeks; to be carefully
corrected by teacher and to be rewritten or revised by pupil.
Fourth Year
A. READING (four-fifths).
Study of typical examples of the novel, the drama, the lyric, and the
essay.
B. COMPOSITION (one-fifth).
I. Narration, Description, and Exposition.
II. Argumentation.
Methods.
III. Words, figures of speech, sentences, paragraphs, and whole
composition.
IV. Verse writing.
V. Theme writing.
One short theme not exceeding 500 words, every week; and one long
theme of from 800–1200 words every eight weeks; to be carefully
corrected by teacher and revised or rewritten by pupil.
X
LIST OF READINGS FOR FOUR YEARS
The following list contains the college entrance requirements in English
for the years 1906 to 1911, and other selections adapted for reading and
study in high school English classes. The Roman numerals following the
titles indicate the year or years of the course herein outlined, in
which the books may most profitably be read:
Addison’s De Coverley Papers. II, III.
Addison and Steele’s Spectator. II, III.
Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum. II.
Bacon’s Essays. III.
Blackmore’s Lorna Doone. IV.
Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part One. I, III.
Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon, and Mazeppa. III.
Browning’s Cavalier Tunes, The Lost Leader, How They Brought the Good
News from Ghent to Aix, Evelyn Hope, Home Thoughts From Abroad, Home
Thoughts from the Sea, Incident of the French Camp, The Boy and the
Angel, One Word More, Hervé Riel, Pheidippides. III.
Bryant’s Translation of the Iliad and Odyssey (selections). I, II.
Burrough’s Birds and Bees, Sharp Eyes, A Bunch of Herbs, etc. I, II.
Burke’s Conciliation With America. IV.
Carlyle’s Essay on Burns. III, IV.
Carlyle’s Heroes and Hero Worship. III, IV.
Chaucer’s Prologue. III.
Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner. II, III.
Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans. II, III.
De Quincey’s Joan of Arc, and The English Mail Coach. III, IV.
Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. II, IV.
Dickens’ Christmas Carol. I.
Emerson’s Essays (selected). III, IV.
Franklin’s Autobiography. I, II, III.
Mrs. Gaskell’s Cranford. III, IV.
George Eliot’s Silas Marner. IV.
Goldsmith’s The Deserted Village. II, III.
Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield. II, III.
Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. II, III.
Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales. I.
Irving’s Life of Goldsmith. II, III.
Irving’s Tales of a Traveler. I, II.
Irving’s Alhambra. II.
Irving’s Sketch Book. I, II.
Lamb’s Essays of Elia. II, III.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Speech, etc. II, IV.
Longfellow’s The Courtship of Miles Standish. I, II.
Lowell’s Vision of Sir Launfal. II.
Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome. II.
Macaulay’s Essay on Addison. III, IV.
Macaulay’s Lord Clive. II, IV.
Macaulay’s Life of Johnson. II, IV.
Milton’s Lycidas, Comus, L’Allegro, and II Penseroso. III, IV.
Palgrave’s Golden Treasury (First Series) Books II and III with
special attention to Dryden, Collins, Gray, Cowper, and Burns. III,
IV.
Palgrave’s Golden Treasury (First Series) Book IV with special
attention to Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley. III, IV.
Poe’s Poems. III, IV.
Poe’s Short Stories. II, III.
Pope’s The Rape of the Lock. III.
Pope’s Essay on Man and Essay on Criticism. III.
Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies. II, III.
Scott’s Ivanhoe, Lady of the Lake, and Quentin Durward. II, III.
Shakespere’s Julius Caesar. II, III.
Shakespere’s Macbeth. IV.
Shakespere’s As You Like It, Henry V., Twelfth Night, and Midsummer
Night’s Dream. III.
Shakespere’s Merchant of Venice. II, III.
Spenser’s Faerie Queene (selections). III.
Stevenson’s Treasure Island. I, II.
Thoreau’s Succession of Forest Trees. I, II.
Tennyson’s Gareth and Lynette, Lancelot and Elaine, The Passing of
Arthur. II, III.
Thackeray’s Henry Esmond. IV.
Warner’s A-Hunting of the Deer. I.
Washington’s Farewell Address. II, IV.
Webster’s First Bunker Hill Oration. II, IV.
XI
OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF COMPOSITION AND STYLE
The following is a fairly complete outline of the essential elements of
rhetorical theory as applied in composition work and in a study of
structure and style. As such, it is designed primarily for the teacher
who desires to review any part of the subject in preparation for
teaching composition. Many portions may be used in the class room in a
simplified form, to supplement or summarize parts of the text-books in
rhetoric and composition. The books to which references are given are in
general the most convenient and comprehensive manuals for the particular
parts of the subject with which each deals.
The references as abbreviated in the outline are as follows:
(P), Pearson, Principles of Composition. Heath, Boston ($.50).
(W), Barrett Wendell, English Composition. Scribner, New York. ($1.50).
(M), Minto, Manual of English Prose Literature. Ginn, New York. ($1.50).
(C), Cairns, Forms of Discourse. Ginn, New York. ($1.15).
(BI, BII), Bain, English Composition and Rhetoric, 2 Vols. American Book
Co., New York. ($1.20 a vol.).
1. Whole Composition
I. SUBJECT. 1. What is it? 2. Is it indicated by title? 3. Is it
stated at the beginning? 4. Is it proportionate to the length of the
composition? P. 11–12.
II. PURPOSE. 1. What is it? 2. Is it stated? 3. Is it accomplished?
III. INTEREST. 1. Is it an interesting subject? 2. Is it made
interesting? 3. How is it made interesting?
IV. KIND OF COMPOSITION. 1. Narration, Description, Exposition,
Argumentation, or Persuasion? 2. A combination of forms?
V. PLAN. 1. What are the main divisions of the composition? 2. How is
the subject introduced? 3. What are the subdivisions in the body of
the composition? 4. How is the composition concluded?
VI. TITLE. 1. Accurate? 2. Concise? 3. Attractive? P. 12–13.
A. UNITY. P. 15–25. W. 155–162.
1. Selection of Material.
_a._ Subject and Purpose?
_Violations of unity of selection._
(1) _False Introduction._ P. 18.
(2) _Tag Conclusion._ P. 42.
(3) _Digressions._ P. 20.
2. Unity of Expression.
_a._ Point of View? P. 25.
_a′._ Point of view evident? P. 25.
B. COHERENCE. P. 26–33. W. 162–178.
1. Arrangement. W. 162–166.
_a._ Order of parts of composition. P. 26.
_b._ Arrangement evident? P. 29.
_c._ Announcement. P. 31.
_d._ Summary. P. 30. cf. P. 44.
2. Connection. W. 173–178.
_a._ Devices for Transition and Connection.
(1) Transition words, phrases, and sentences.
(2) Transition paragraphs. P. 30.
(3) Repetition.
(4) Parallel construction. W. 174.
(5) Retrospective and prospective reference.
C. EMPHASIS. P. 34–45. W. 166–172.
1. Selection of Material. P. 34.
_a._ Important details chosen?
2. Proportion. P. 34.
_a._ Parts given space proportionate to their importance?
3. Arrangement. P. 38–43.
_a._ Important parts in emphatic positions?
_a′._ At end.
_b′._ At beginning.
_c′._ Summary.
_d′._ Climax.
_e′._ Antithesis.
2. Paragraphs
P. 53–60. W. 114–149. M. 11; 53–55; 89–97; 152. BI, 91–134.
A. FORM.
1. Related Paragraph.
2. Independent Paragraph.
3. Transition Paragraph.
4. Paragraph in Conversation.
B. LENGTH. W. 121–126.
1. Short—100 words or less.
2. Medium—100–300 words.
3. Long—300 words or more.
C. UNITY. P. 53–60. W. 122–126.
I. Topic.
1. Definition of Topic (i. e. determination of its limits).
2. Division of Topic (i. e. subtopics).
3. Topic Sentence. P. 57. W. 124.
4. Do first and last sentences give substance of the paragraph? P.
71–75. W. 128.
II. Selection of Material.
1. Topic and subtopics?
2. Point of View?
_Violations of unity of selection._
(1) _False Beginning._ cf. P. 18.
(2) _Tag Conclusion._ cf. P. 42.
(3) _Digressions._ P. 56–57.
III. Unity of Expression (cf. Paragraph Coherence).
1. Uniformity of Construction.
_Violations._
(1) _Needless change of voice or tense of verbs._
(2) _Needless change of subject of sentences._
D. COHERENCE. P. 61–70. W. 133–146.
I. Arrangement. P. 61–65. BI, 114–120.
1. Order of Parts.
_a._ Related ideas brought together? W. 135.
2. Arrangement evident?
_a._ Subtopic and transition sentences.
II. Connection. P. 65–70. W. 142–146. BI, 94–108.
1. Devices for Coherence.
_a._ Connective words, phrases, and clauses.
_b._ Transition sentences.
_c._ Repetition.
_d._ Parallel construction. W. 137–142.
_e._ Retrospective and prospective reference.
2. Position of Connectives. W. 144.
_a._ At beginning of sentences.
_b._ Imbedded in midst of sentences.
E. EMPHASIS. P. 71. W. 126–133. BI, 121–134.
I. Selection of Material.
1. Most important parts chosen? cf. P. 34.
II. Proportion. W. 131. cf. P. 34.
1. Parts given space proportionate to their importance?
III. Arrangement. P. 71–78. W. 126–131.
1. Position of parts.
2. Position of important parts.
_a._ At end.
_b._ At beginning.
_c._ Climax.
_d._ Summary.
_e._ Antithesis.
F. VARIETY.
1. In sentence construction.
_a._ Grammatical.
_b._ Rhetorical.
2. In sentence beginnings.
3. In devices for coherence.
4. In devices for emphasis.
3. Sentences
P. 83–116. W. 76–113. M. 3–11; 50–53; 87–89; 149–152. BI, 55–90.
A. LENGTH. W. 84; 89–94. M. 7. BI, 84–85.
I. Short Sentence—15 words or less.
1. Use; _e. g._:—
_a._ Single short sentence.
_a′._ Topic sentence.
_b′._ Subtopic sentence.
_c′._ Conclusion.
_d′._ Transition sentence.
_e′._ For emphasis.
_b._ Series of short sentences; _e. g._:—
_a′._ Rapidity.
_b′._ Excitement and suspense.
_c′._ Abruptness; staccato effect.
II. Medium Sentence—15–30 words.
III. Long Sentence—30 words or more.
1. Use; _e. g._:—
_a._ To group minor details.
_b._ Climax.
_c._ Rhythmical effect.
B. CONSTRUCTION.
I. Grammatical.
1. Simple. 2. Complex. 3. Compound.
II. Rhetorical.
1. Loose Sentence. P. 86–89. W. 84–89. BI, 55–63.
_a._ Effect and use of loose sentence.
2. Periodic Sentence. P. 86; 106–112. W. 84–89. M. 4.
_a._ Means for securing periodic effect.
_a′._ Essential parts at end of sentence.
_b′._ Phrases and dependent clauses at beginning.
_c′._ Use of correlatives.
_b._ Effect and use of periodic sentences.
3. Balanced Sentence. P. 112. W. 95. M. 8. BI, 66–74.
_a._ Means for securing balanced effect.
_a′._ Parallelism.
_b′._ Use of correlatives.
_b._ Effect and use of balanced sentences; e. g.:—
_a′._ Antithesis.
_b′._ Epigrammatic expression.
C. UNITY. P. 83–93. W. 96–99. M. 10. BI, 85–90.
I. Unity of Thought.
_Violations._
(1) _Digression._
(2) _Separation of parts of thought into independent sentences._
P. 89–92.
II. Unity of Expression. (cf. Sentence Coherence).
1. Relation of Parts.
_a._ Grammatical construction evident?
_b._ Parallelism of construction. P. 102–3.
_c._ Subordination in predication. P. 86. W. 108–9.
_d._ Implied predicate (no sentence).
D. COHERENCE. P. 94–104. W. 105–110.
I. Order. W. 105–106.
1. Collocation accurate? (i.e. words closely related in thought
placed together).
_a._ Modifiers in accurate relation to modified elements?
_Violations._
(1) _Squinting construction._
(2) _Participle in false relation._
(3) _Misplaced adverbial modifier._
_b._ Reference exact? P. 94–96.
_Violations._
(1) _Ambiguous reference._
(2) _No antecedent._
(3) _Disagreement._
_c._ Correlatives properly placed? P. 100–101.
_d._ Collocation close?
_Violation._
(1) _Awkward separation of essential parts._
II. Construction (i. e. elements similar in significance similar in
form). P. 102–104.
_a._ Balance.
_b._ Parallel construction.
_Violations._
(1) _Needless change of voice or tense of verbs._
(2) _Needless change of grammatical subject._
III. Connection. W. 108–110.
_a._ Accurate expression of relation of parts by connectives.
(1) Subordination indicated? (cf. subordination in predication
under sentence unity. P. 86).
(2) Co-ordination accurately expressed?
E. EMPHASIS. P. 105–115. W. 99–103. BI, 74–84.
I. Arrangement of Parts.
1. Important parts in emphatic positions?
_a._ At beginning.
_b._ At end.
_c._ In other positions more emphatic.
2. Suspense—periodic effect.
3. Antithesis—balanced construction.
4. Climax. P. 113.
II. Subordination in Predication, (cf. Sentence Unity. P. 86.)
4. Words
P. 119–129. W. 50–75. M. 1–3; 49–50; 87; 147–149. BI, 27–54.
A. VOCABULARY.
I. Size.
1. Actual?
2. Relative? W. 50–52.
II. Range.
1. Narrow or wide? (cf. Kinds of words.)
III. Character.
1. General classes of words.
_a._ Long or short? W. 57–58.
_b._ Anglo-Saxon or classical? W. 52–57.
_c._ Common or learned?
_d._ General or specific? P. 121–129. W. 58–60.
_e._ Connotative or denotative? W. 71–75.
2. Kinds of words.
_a._ Literary.
_b._ Scientific.
_c._ Technical.
_d._ Colloquial.
_e._ Cant.
_f._ Slang.
_g._ Coined.
_h._ Archaic.
_i._ Foreign.
5. Figures of Speech
M. 11–14; 55–60; 97–104; 152–159. BI, 135–233.
(See Bradley, Classification of Rhetorical Figures, Modern Language
Notes, Vol. I, pp. 280–284.)
A. TERM FIGURES (accentuated designation of object of thought).
I. Figure of Contrast.
1. Antithesis.
II. Figures of Resemblance.
1. Simile (resemblance affirmed).
2. Metaphor (resemblance assumed).
3. Personification (resemblance of inanimate to animate).
III. Figures of Contiguity and Association.
1. Synecdoche (part and whole, genus and species).
2. Antonomasia (individual with type of its class).
3. Metonymy (sign or symbol, cause and effect).
4. Transferred epithet (fancied sympathy or participation).
B. MODAL FIGURES (accentuated statement of proposition).
I. Interrogation.
II. Exclamation.
III. Apostrophe (absent addressed as if present).
IV. Vision (absent represented as if present).
V. Hyperbole (statement stronger than intent).
VI. Innuendo (statement weaker than intent).
VII. Irony (statement negatory to intent).
C. SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH FIGURES (Co-ordination and gradation of
terms or propositions):
I. Figures of Co-ordination.
1. Balance.
2. Parallelism.
II. Figures of Gradation.
1. Climax (ascending series).
2. Anticlimax (descending series).
6. Qualities of Style
A. INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES. M. 15–19; 60–68; 104–109; 159–161. W.
193–233. BI, 233–257.
I. Simplicity. Relation to elements of style.
II. Clearness. Relation to elements of style.
1. Perspicuity (general clearness).
2. Precision (minute clearness).
B. EMOTIONAL QUALITIES. M. 19–23; 64–81; 109–115; 162–167. W. 234.
I. Strength. Relation to elements of style.
1. Animation, vivacity, liveliness, rapidity.
2. Nerve, vigor, force, energy, fervor.
3. Dignity, stateliness, splendor, grandeur, magnificence,
loftiness, sublimity.
II. Pathos. M. 20.
III. The Ludicrous. M. 23. BII, 236–279.
1. Humor.
2. Wit.
3. Satire.
C. AESTHETIC QUALITIES. M. 23–26; 71–72; 115; 167–169. BII, 280–294.
W. 272–307.
I. Melody (sound or modulation).
II. Harmony (sound expressive of sense).
III. Taste.
7. Forms of Discourse
A. NARRATION. C. 58–112.
I. Kind.
1. Narration without plot. C. 58–67.
2. Narration with plot. C. 67–93.
II. Form. C. 59; 78–88.
III. Purpose. C. 59; 68.
IV. Interest. C. 65–68; 69–71.
V. Methods.
1. Number and choice of details. C. 63–64; 89–90. 2. Order of
details. C. 65; 88–89.
_a._ Beginning. C. 65; 86–88.
_b._ Development. C. 65–66; 74–78.
_c._ Culmination. C. 67.
3. Diction. C. 66–67; 91.
B. DESCRIPTION. C. 113–169.
I. Kind.
1. Circumstantial. C. 142.
2. Dynamic. C. 143.
3. Suggestive. C. 144.
4. Objective. C. 148.
5. Subjective. C. 149.
II. Subject. C. 123–142.
III. Purpose. C. 113; 147.
IV. Methods.
1. Point of view.
2. Number and choice of details. C. 147–149.
3. Arrangement of details. C. 151.
4. Diction. C. 153.
C. EXPOSITION. C. 170–226.
I. Kind.
1. Subject.
_a._ Scientific or technical.
_b._ Popular.
2. Treatment.
_a._ Scientific or technical.
_b._ Popular.
II. Form. C. 170; 194–207.
III. Purpose. C. 170–171.
IV. Methods for Term. C. 172.
1. Definition. C. 172–174.
_a._ Logical definition. C. 174–178.
(1) Complete logical definition.
(2) Incomplete logical definition. C. 182.
_b._ Incomplete definition. C. 178–186.
(1) Repetition (synonyms). C. 179.
(2) Exclusion (what not).
(3) Comparison. C. 180–182.
(4) Contrast. C. 180–182.
(5) Example. C. 179.
(6) Logical description (particulars and details). C. 185–186.
2. Division. C. 186–191.
_a._ Classification. C. 187–190.
_b._ Partition. C. 190–191.
V. Methods for Proposition. C. 191–194.
1. Exposition of terms (cf. Methods for term).
2. Repetition.
3. Obverse.
4. Example.
5. Analogy.
XII
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Teaching of English
A bibliography of some thirty pages consisting of all the important
books, pamphlets, and magazine articles published before 1903, that
treat of the different phases of English work in elementary and
secondary schools is appended to Carpenter, Baker, and Scott’s “The
Teaching of English”, and will be of great assistance to those who
desire material on any part of the work since the references are
classified under such heads as, rhetoric and composition, literature,
grammar, spelling, college entrance requirements, etc. The volumes of
the educational periodicals such as “Education”, “Educational Review”,
“School Review”, etc., that have appeared since 1903, also contain many
articles on English work. The following are the most important books on
the teaching of English in the high school:
Carpenter, G. R., Baker, F. T., and Scott, F. N. The Teaching of
English, Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1903. ($1.50). The best
discussion of every phase of English work in elementary and
secondary schools, with excellent bibliographies.
Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English, Macmillan, New York, 1902.
($1.00). A valuable discussion of the aims, ideals, and methods in
teaching English in elementary and secondary schools.
Hinsdale, B. A. Teaching the Language-Arts: Speech, Reading,
Composition. Appleton, New York, 1896. ($1.00). A comprehensive
treatment of all the elements in the study of language.
Laurie, S. S. Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the
School. 2d edition, revised. Macmillan, New York, 1893. ($1.00). An
excellent presentation of the value, the purposes, and the methods
of language study.
Report of Committee on Secondary School Studies (The Committee of Ten)
U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington, 1893. This report has been
the basis of most of the present courses in English for secondary
schools.
Other books bearing more or less directly on the teaching of parts of
the English work are:
Bates, Arlo. Talks on Teaching Literature. Houghton, Mifflin Co.
($1.50). Practical methods are given for teaching literature in the
high school.
Bates, Arlo. Talks on the Study of Literature. Houghton, Mifflin Co.
($1.50).
Bates, Arlo. Talks on Writing English. First and Second Series.
Houghton, Mifflin Co. ($1.50 a vol.).
Corson, H. Aims of Literary Study. Macmillan. ($.75).
Corson, H. Voice and Spiritual Education. Macmillan. ($.75).
Copeland and Rideout. Freshman English and Theme Correction at Harvard
College. Silver, Burdett & Co. ($1.00). Some of the suggestions for
theme writing and theme correcting can be adapted to high school
composition.
Palmer, G. H. Self-cultivation in English. Crowell. ($.35).
2. Literature
The following list contains the standard histories of English and
American literature, the biographical and critical works on some of the
writers to whom especially attention is generally given, and volumes on
the history and development of the various types of literature.
Brooke, Stopford. English Literature to the Norman Conquest.
Macmillan. ($1.50). A review of Anglo-Saxon literature with
translations of many Anglo-Saxon poems.
Cook, A. S. and Tinker, C. Translations of Old English Poetry. Ginn.
($1.00). Translations of parts of Beowulf and of all the important
Anglo-Saxon poems.
Schofield, W. H. English Literature from the Norman Conquest to
Chaucer. Macmillan. ($1.50).
Saintsbury, G. History of Elizabethan Literature. (1557–1660).
Macmillan. ($1.50).
Gosse, E. Eighteenth Century Literature. (1660–1780). Macmillan.
($1.50).
Saintsbury, G. History of Nineteenth Century Literature. (1780–1895).
Macmillan. ($1.50).
Ward, H. English Poets, 4 vols. Macmillan. (Students’ edition $4.00).
Brief biographies, good criticisms, and representative selections of
all the English poets from Chaucer to Tennyson.
Bronson, W. C. History of American Literature. Heath. ($.90). A good
handbook for American literature.
Wendell, B. and Greenough, C. N. History of Literature in America.
Scribner. ($1.40.) A good short history of American literature.
Pollard, A. W. Chaucer Primer. Macmillan. ($.35). A convenient little
handbook on Chaucer’s life and work.
Sweet, H. Second Middle English Primer. Oxford Univ. Press. ($.50). A
very good handbook for the pronunciation of Chaucer with a phonetic
transcription of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
Dowden, E. Shakespeare Primer. American Book Co. ($.35). A very useful
little manual of Shakespearean criticism.
Lee, Sidney. Life of Shakespeare. Macmillan. ($1.75). An invaluable
critical analysis of all biographical material relating to
Shakespeare.
Moulton, R. G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Oxford Univ. Press.
($1.90). A detailed consideration of the motives, plots, and
characters of a number of Shakespeare’s plays.
Symonds, J. A. Shakespeare’s Predecessors in the English Drama.
Scribner. ($2.00). An excellent account of the origin and the
development of the English drama.
Baker, G. P. The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist. Macmillan.
($1.75). A discussion of the Elizabethan stage, the public, and
other conditions in relation to the development of Shakespeare’s
dramatic art.
Freytag, G. The Technique of the Drama. Scott, Foresman & Co.,
Chicago. ($1.50). A comparative study of drama as a literary form
with considerable discussion of the plays of Shakespeare.
Raleigh, W. History of the English Novel. Scribner. ($1.25). An
interesting account of the development of the English novel to
Scott.
Cross, W. L. The Development of the English Novel. Macmillan. ($1.50.)
A history of English fiction from the Arthurian romance to
Stevenson.
Perry, Bliss. A Study of Prose Fiction. Houghton, Mifflin Co. ($1.25).
A suggestive discussion of plot, characters, setting and other
elements in the novel and short story, with suggestions for original
work in construction and analysis.
Alden, R. M. Specimens of English verse. Holt. ($1.25). A practical
handbook of poetics with numerous selections.
Gayley, C. M. Classic Myths in English Literature. Ginn. ($1.50). An
excellent collection of Greek, Roman, Norse, and German mythological
stories.
3. Language and Grammar
Sweet, H. New English Grammar; Vol. I., Phonology and Accidence.
($2.60). Vol. II. Syntax. ($.90). Oxford Univ. Press. The most
complete logical and historical grammar.
Emerson, O. F. History of the English Language. Macmillan. ($1.25).
Greenough and Kittredge. Words and their Ways in English Speech.
Macmillan. ($1.10). An interesting popular account of the origin and
development of language and of changes in the meaning of words.
Trench, R. C. The Study of Words. Armstrong, N. Y. ($1.00). An
excellent introduction to the study of the development of the
meaning of words.
4. Rhetoric and Composition
Bain, A. English Composition and Rhetoric. 2 vols. American Book Co.
($1.20 a vol.). A discussion, with numerous illustrations, of all
the elements and qualities of style in prose and poetry.
Brewster, W. T. Studies in Structure and Style. Macmillan. ($1.10). An
analysis of the structure and style of seven modern English essays.
Cairns, W. B. Forms of Discourse. Ginn. ($1.15). A consideration of
the various forms of narration, description, exposition,
argumentation, and persuasion.
Genung, J. F. Working Principles of Rhetoric. Ginn. ($1.40). A
comprehensive discussion of rhetorical principles.
Minto, W. Manual of English Prose Literature. Ginn. ($1.50). A
detailed analysis of the styles of Macaulay, De Quincey, and
Carlyle, with briefer discussions of the style of all English prose
writers to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Scott, F. N. and Denney, J. V. Paragraph-Writing. Allyn and Bacon.
($1.00.) An interesting discussion of paragraph structure with many
examples.
Wendell, Barrett. English Composition. Scribner. ($1.50). A suggestive
explanation of the principles of unity, coherence, and mass or
emphasis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
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