A. Arrange the subjects in each of the following groups so that the most general ones shall come first:—­

  1.  The intelligence of wild animals. 
    How a fox escaped from the hounds. 
    How animals escape destruction by their enemies. 
    Animals.

  2.  The benefits that arise from war. 
    The defeat of the Cimbri and Teutons by Marius. 
    War. 
    The value of military strength to the Romans.

  3.  Pleasure. 
    A summer outing in the Adirondacks. 
    Value of vacations. 
    Catching bass.

B. Narrow ten of the following subjects until the resulting subject may be treated in a single paragraph:—­

1.  Fishing. 2.  Engines. 3.  Literature. 4.  Heroes of fiction. 5.  Cooking. 6.  Houses. 7.  Games. 8.  Basketball. 9.  Cats. 10.  Canaries. 11.  Sympathy. 12.  Sailboats. 13.  Baseball. 14.  Rivers. 15.  Trees.

C. A general subject may suggest several narrower subjects, each of which would be of interest to a different class of persons; for example—­

  General subject,—­Education. 
  Specific subjects,—­
    1.  Methods of conducting recitations. (Teachers.)
    2.  School taxes. (Farmers.)
    3.  Ventilation of school buildings. (Architects.)

In a similar way, narrow each of the following subjects so that the resulting subjects will be of interest to two or more classes of persons:—­

Subjects               Classes
1.  Vacations.         1.  Farmers.
2.  Mathematics.       2.  High School Pupils.
3.  Picnics.           3.  Ministers.
4.  Civil service.     4.  Merchants.
5.  Elections.         5.  Sailors.
6.  Botany.            6.  Girls.
7.  Fish.              7.  Boys.

+Theme XXXII.+—­Write a paragraph about one of narrowed subjects.

(Does your paragraph have unity of thought?  What methods of development have you used?  Have you selected a subject which will be of interest to your readers?)

+61.  Selecting a Title.+—­The subject and the title may be the same, but not necessarily so.  The statement of the subject may require a sentence of considerable length, while a title is best if short.  In selecting this brief title, it is well to get one which will attract the attention and arouse the curiosity of a reader without appearing obviously to do so.  A peculiar or unusual title is not at all necessary, though if properly selected such a title may be of value.  Care must be taken not to have the title make a promise that the theme cannot fulfill.  If it does, the effect is unsatisfactory.

EXERCISES

A. Discuss the appropriateness of the titles for the subjects in the following:—­

1.  Title:  “My Kingdom for a Horse.” 
    Subject:  An account of a breakdown of an automobile at an inconvenient
             time.