Author Description

An excerpt from the beginning of the first chapter: 1. Introduction.- Literary composition is the art of expressing thought or feeling effectively by words. The thinking must be done first; ideas and opinions must be formed before the attempt is made to put them into words; the writer should know beforehand exactly what he means. Hence interest and experience in a subject are essential to him. What he wants, as Professor Raleigh remarks "is not an abundance of facts so much as the connexions between the facts. It is the connexion of things with each other, the ability to go from point to point, which marks literature." Thus the art of composition is governed. by certain principles and methods which the young writer must learn and carry into practice in order to write well. The aim of the following pages js to explain the most important of these principles with, special reference to the writing of Essays. 2. Classification ol Essays. - Essays may be divided into four classes:- I. Narrative Essays, or Essays that consist of the narration of some event. Such events may be historical or legendary occurrences; or they may be stories true or imaginary; or they may be biographical sketches of some well-known person. II. Descriptive Essays, or Essays that consist of the description of some place or thing. These may be animals, plants, fruits, or minerals; towns, ports, ships, and buildings of all kinds, as towers, temples, museums, bridges; countries, islands, mountains, seas; rivers, canals; aspects of nature; or, lastly, manufactured articles. III. Reflective Essays, or Essays that consist of reflection upon some topic, which is generally of an abstract nature. These topics may be habits, qualities, feelings, and capacities; or they may be subjects of a social and political character. IV. Expository Essays, or Essays that consist of the exposition or explanation of subjects. These may be comprised under the head of