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STRATTON D. BROOKS Superintendent of Schools, Boston, Mass.
MARIETTA HUBBARD Formerly English Department, High School La Salle, Illinois
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1905
STRATTON D. BROOKS.
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London.
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Brooks's Rhet.
W.P. 10
To MARCIA STUART BROOKS Whose teaching first demonstrated to the authors that composition could become a delight and pleasure, this book is dedicated……
The aim of this book is not to produce critical readers of literature, norto prepare the pupil to answer questions about rhetorical theory, but toenable every pupil to express in writing, freely, clearly, and forcibly,whatever he may find within him worthy of expression.
Three considerations of fundamental importance underlie the plan of thebook:—
First, improvement in the performance of an act comes from the repetitionof that act accompanied by a conscious effort to omit the imperfections ofthe former attempt. Therefore, the writing of a new theme in which, thepupil attempts to avoid the error which occurred in his former theme is ofmuch greater educational value than is the copying of the old theme forthe purpose of correcting the errors in it. To copy the old theme is tocorrect a result, to write a new theme correctly is to improve a process;and it is this improvement of process that is the real aim of compositionteaching.
Second, the logical arrangement of material should be subordinated to theneeds of the pupils. A theoretical discussion of the four forms ofdiscourse would require that each be completely treated in one place. Sucha treatment would ignore the fact that a high school pupil has daily needto use each of the four forms of discourse, and that some assistance ineach should be given him as early in his course as possible. The book,therefore, gives in Part 1 the elements of description, narration,exposition, and argument, and reserves for Part II a more completetreatment of each. In each part the effort has been made to adapt thematerial presented to the maturity and power of thought of the pupil.
Third, expression cannot be compelled; it must be coaxed. Only underfavorable conditions can we hope to secure that reaction of intellect andemotion which renders possible a full expression of self. One of the mostimportant of these favorable conditions is that the pupil shall writesomething he wishes to write, for an audience which wishes to hear it. Theauthors have, therefore, suggested subjects for themes in which highschool pupils are interested and about which they