+83.  Emphasis.+—­If we desire to make one part of a theme more emphatic than another, we may do so by giving a prominent position to that part.  In debating we give the first place and the last to the strongest arguments.  In simple narration the order in which incidents must be related is fixed by the time-order of their occurrence, but even in a story the point gains in force if it is near the close.  Because these two positions are the ones of greatest emphasis, a poor beginning or a bad ending will ruin an otherwise good story.

Emphasis may also be affected by the proportional amount of attention and space given to the different parts of a theme.  The extent to which any division of a theme should be developed depends upon the purpose and the total length of the theme.  A biography of Grant might appropriately devote two or three chapters to his boyhood, while a short sketch of his life would treat his boyhood in a single paragraph.  In determining the amount of space to be given to the different parts of a composition, care must be taken that the space assigned to each shall be proportional to its importance, the largest amount of space being devoted to the part which is of greatest worth.

Emphasis is sometimes given by making a single sentence into a paragraph.  This method should be used with care, for such a paragraph may be too short for unity because it does not include all that should be said about the topic statement, and though it makes that statement emphatic, fails to make its meaning clear.

Clearness, unity, and coherence are of more importance than emphasis, and usually, if a theme possesses the first three qualities, it will possess the fourth in sufficient measure.

+84.  The Outline.+—­An outline will assist us in securing unity, coherence, and emphasis.

1.  The first step in making an outline has relation to unity.  Unity requires that a theme include only that which pertains to the subject.  There are always many more ideas that seem to bear upon a subject than can be included in the theme.  We may therefore jot down brief notes that will suggest our ideas on the subject, and then we should reject from this list all that seem irrelevant or trivial.  We should also reject the less important ideas which pertain directly to the subject if without them we have all that are needed in order to fulfill the purpose of the theme.

Which items in the following should be omitted as not necessary to the complete treatment of the subject indicated by the title?  Should anything be added?

My First Partridge

Where I lived ten years ago. 
Kinds of game:  partridge, quail, squirrels. 
Partridge drumming. 
My father went hunting often. 
How he was injured. 
Birch brush near hemlock; partridge often found in such localities. 
Loading the gun. 
Going to the woods. 
Why partridge live near birch brush. 
Fall season.