8. Divide words at line-ends, in accordance with their formation and pronunciation.
If there is room at the end of a line for one or more syllables of a word, but not for
the whole word, divide the word, unless this involves cutting off only a single letter,
or cutting off only two letters of a long word. No hard and fast rule for all words
can be laid down. The principles most frequently applicable are:
a. Divide the word according to its formation:
know-ledge (not knowl-edge); Shake-speare (not Shakes-
peare);
de-scribe (not des-cribe); atmo-sphere (not atmos-phere);
b. Divide "on the vowel:"
edi-ble (not ed-ible); propo-sition; ordi-nary; espe-cial;
reli-gious; oppo-nents; regu-lar; classi-fi-ca-tion (three
divisions possible); deco-rative; presi-dent;
c. Divide between double letters, unless they come at the end of the simple form of the
word:
Apen-nines; Cincin-nati; refer-ring; but tell-ing.
The treatment of consonants in combination is best shown from examples:
for-tune; pic-ture; presump-tuous; illus-tration;
sub-stan-tial (either division); indus-try; instruc-tion;
sug-ges-tion; incen-diary.
The student will do well to examine the syllable-division in a number of pages of
any carefully printed book.
III. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION
9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.
If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it
very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief
description, a brief summary of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a
narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any one of
these is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, it
should be examined to see whether subdivision will not improve it.
Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should
be made the subject of a paragraph. The object of treating each topic in a paragraph
by itself is, of course, to aid the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal
to him that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached.
The extent of subdivision will vary with the length of the composition. For example,
a short notice of a book or poem might consist of a single paragraph. One slightly
longer might consist of two paragraphs:
A. Account of the work.
B. Critical discussion. A report on a poem, written for a class in
literature, might consist of seven paragraphs:
A report on a poem, written for a class in literature, might consist of seven
paragraphs:
7
A. Facts of composition and publication.
B. Kind of poem; metrical form.
C. Subject.
D. Treatment of subject.
E. For what chiefly remarkable.
F. Wherein characteristic of the writer.
G. Relationship to other works.
The contents of paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem. Usually, paragraph
C would indicate the actual or imagined circumstances of the poem (the situation), if
these call for explanation, and would then state the subject and outline its
development. If the poem is a narrative in the third person throughout, paragraph C
need contain no more than a concise summary of the action. Paragraph D would
indicate the leading ideas and show how they are made prominent, or would indicate
what points in the narrative are chiefly emphasized. A novel might be discussed
under the heads:
A. Setting.
B. Plot.
C. Characters.
D. Purpose.
A historical event might be discussed under the heads:
A. What led up to the event.
B. Account of the event.
C. What the event led up to.
In treating either of these last two subjects, the writer would probably find it
necessary to subdivide one or more of the topics here given.
As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An
exception may be made of sentences of transition, indicating the relation between the
parts of an exposition or argument.
In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a paragraph by itself; that is,
a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker. The application of this rule,
when dialogue and narrative are combined, is best learned from examples in well-
printed works of fiction.
10. As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the
beginning.
Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here recommended enables him to
discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain the
purpose in mind as he ends it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of
paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which
a. the topic sentence comes at or near the beginning;
b. the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the
statement made in the topic sentence; and
c. the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic
sentence or states some important consequence.
Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is particularly to be avoided.
If the paragraph forms part of a larger composition, its relation to what precedes, or
its function as a part of the whole, may need to be expressed. This can sometimes be
done by a mere word or phrase (again; therefore; for the same reason) in the topic
sentence. Sometimes, however, it is expedient to precede the topic sentence by one
or more sentences of introduction or transition. If more than one such sentence is
