ach volume will be found exercises that involve each of the four
forms of discourse; but emphasis is placed in Book I on description, in
Book II on narration, in Book III on exposition, and in Book IV on
argumentation. Similarly, while stress is laid in Book I on
letter-writing, in Book II on journalism, in Book III on literary
effect, and in Book IV on the civic aspects of composition, all of these
phases of the subject receive attention in each volume.

In every lesson of each book provision is made for oral work: first,
because it is an end valuable in itself; second, because it is of
incalculable use in preparing the ground for written work; third,
because it can be made to give the pupil a proper and powerful motive
for writing with care; and, fourth, because, when employed with
discretion, it lightens the teacher's burden without impairing his
efficiency.

Composition is not writing. Writing is only one step in composition. The
gathering of material, the organization of material, criticism,
revision, publication, and the reaction that follows publication are
therefore in these volumes given due recognition.

The quotation at the head of each chapter and the poem at the end are
designed to furnish that stimulus to the will and the imagination
without which great practical achievement is impossible. On the other
hand, the exercises are all designed on the theory that the sort of
idealism which has no practical results is a snare. Indeed, the books
might be characterized as an effort to find a useful compromise between
those warring types of educational theory which are usually
characterized by the words "academic" and "vocational."

The specific subject of this volume is newspaper writing. The author has
himself had enough experience in practical newspaper work to appreciate
the difficulties and to respect the achievements of the journalist. He
knows that editors must print what people will buy. It seems probable,
therefore, that instruction in the elementary principles of newspaper
writing, in addition to producing good academic results, may lead pupils
to read the papers critically, to discriminate between the good and the
bad, and to demand a better quality of journalism than it is now
possible for editors to offer. If this happens, the papers will improve.
The aim of this book is therefore social as well as academic. It is also
vocational. Some of the boys and girls who study it will learn from its
pages the