EXERCISES

A. To which of the two general classes of composition would each of the following belong?

1.  A business letter.

2.  The story of a runaway.

3.  A description of a lake written by a geologist.

4.  A description of a lake written by a boy who was camping near it.

5.  A letter to a friend describing a trip.

6.  A text-book on algebra.

7.  An application for a position as stenographer.

8.  A recipe for making cake.

9.  How I made a cake.

10.  How to make a kite.

11.  A political speech.

12.  A debate.

B. Could a description be written for the purpose of entertaining?  Could the same object be described for the purpose of giving information?

C. To which general class do narratives belong?  Explanations?  Arguments?

+55.  Discourse Presupposes an Audience.+—­The object of composition is communication, and communication is not concerned with one’s self alone.  It always involves two,—­the one who gives and the one who receives.  If its purpose is to inform, it must inform somebody; if to entertain, it must entertain somebody.  To be sure, discourse may be a pleasure to us, because it is a means of self-expression, but it is useful to us because it conveys ideas to that other somebody who hears or reads it.  We describe in order that another may picture that which we have experienced; we narrate, events for the entertainment of others; we explain to others that which we understand; and we argue in order to prove to some one the truth of a proposition or to persuade him to action.  Thus all discourse, to be useful, demands an audience.  Its effective use requires that the writer shall give quite as much attention to the way in which that reader will receive his ideas as he gives to the ideas themselves.  “Speaking or writing is, therefore, a double-ended process.  It springs from me, it penetrates him; and both of these ends need watching.  Is what I say precisely what I mean?  That is an important question.  Is what I say so shaped that it can readily be assimilated by him who hears?  This is a question of quite as great consequence and much more likely to be forgotten....  As I write I must unceasingly study what is the line of least intellectual resistance along which my thought may enter the differently constituted mind; and to that line I must subtly adjust, without enfeebling my meaning.  Will this combination of words or that make the meaning clear?  Will this order of presentation facilitate swiftness of apprehension or will it clog the movement?"[Footnote:  Professor George Herbert Palmer:  Self-cultivation in English.]

In the preceding chapters emphasis has been laid upon the care that a writer must give to saying exactly what he means.  This must never be neglected, but we need to add to it a consideration of how best to adapt what we say to the interest and intelligence of our readers.  It will become clear in writing the following theme that the discussion of paragraph development in Chapter III was in reality a discussion of methods of adapting our discourse to the mental habits of our readers.