precisely what the writer intended us to think, we must know the meanings of the words he uses.  Many of us are inclined to substitute other ideas than those properly conveyed by the words of the writer, and so get confused or incomplete or inaccurate ideas.  The ability to determine exactly what images the writer suggests, and what ideas his language expresses, is the first requisite of scholarship and an important element of success in life.

EXERCISES

A. The first step in acquiring knowledge is to determine what it is that we do not know.  Just which word or words in each of the following sentences keep you from understanding the full meaning of the sentence?  Notice that a dictionary definition will not always make the meaning clear.

1.  It is really more scientific to repeat a quotation from a political speech correctly, or to pass on a story undistorted, than it is to know of the rings of Saturn or the striation of diatoms.

2.  The process of testing a hypothesis requires great caution in order to prevent mistakes.

3.  The aerial foliage stem is the most favorable for studying stem structure.

4.  Taken collectively, isotherms indicate the distribution of mean temperature over the region embraced in the map.

5.  Vibrations of the membrane of the tympanum are “damped” by the ossicles of the middle ear, which also receive and pass on the auditory tremors to the membrane closing the oval window.

6.  In the battle which followed, the mobile Roman legion, arranged in open order three ranks deep, proved its superiority over the massive Macedonian phalanx.

7.  The narrow and dissected forms have been attributed to the scarcity of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the water.

B. Make a list of words in your lessons in other subjects for to-day that you need to look up in order to understand the lessons.  This should be done daily, whether assigned or not.

34. +Choice of Words Adapted to the Reader.+—­Words familiar to the reader should be used.  Since the reader’s ability to understand the thought of a paragraph depends to some extent upon his understanding of the words employed, it is necessary for the writer to choose words that will be understood by those whom he addresses.  Of course we cannot tell whether a particular word will be understood by our readers, but, in case there is doubt, it is well to substitute one that is more likely to be understood.  When you have written anything, it is well to ask yourself the question, Have I used words with which the reader is probably familiar?

+Theme XV.+—–­Write a theme about one of the following subjects, using words that you think will be understood by your readers:—­

1.  How we breathe. 2.  How to make a kite. 3.  The causes of the seasons. 4.  Why wood floats on water. 5.  The use of baking powder. 6.  The difference between arithmetic and algebra.

(Have you said what you meant to say?  Have you used words that your reader will understand?  Find your longest sentence.  Is its meaning clear?  Notice the short sentences.  Should some of them be united into a longer one?)