Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

for the writer to know beforehand how he intends to divide his material into paragraphs is of great value; otherwise he might be giving to some comparatively minor point - which for the moment assumes interest for him a separate paragraph, as if, for example, Mr. Burroughs had dwelt at length on the interesting location of trees on ledges. In other words, this second kind of outline is valuable chiefly in its arrangement and placing of material. Its service in making the original choice is not so immediately apparent. It has also the advantage that it indicates pretty well what kind of expression is to be used in the expanded form.

para

The third type of outline, which many writers prefer to either of the others, indicates both the topics to be treated and the division into paragraphs. It may be constructed in either of two ways: first, the topic sentences may be stated in their regular order, with the subdivisions of the thought as they appear in the indented outline grouped under the topic sentences; or in the indented outline the graphs may be indicated by the regular sign for the paragraph at any point where a new division is to be made. That is, in the first of the two outlines that follow, the first paragraph might be indicated in the first outline as including I and I, A; the second as including II and II, A; the third as including II, B, 1, a, b, etc. Or, in the second outline the subheadings of the first might be indicated under the various topic sentences. The value of this type of outline is obviously that it both shows the logic of the thought and the divisional arrangement for presentation in paragraphs. With such an outline the chances that you could go wrong, in even a long theme on a difficult subject, are slight.

Do not fail, therefore, when your theme is to be of any considerable length, or when the subject is at all difficult, to make an outline. There is no greater pleasure in the world than that of creative effort when the creator knows what he is about. But when the ideas are hazy, when the

writer does not know exactly what he wishes to do and what impression he wishes to make - then the process of creation is anything but pleasant. And since the outline presents a pattern of your work, since with it you cannot fail to see what your intentions are and what the requirements of your subject, regard it as your best writing friend and make use of the rights of friendship and require service.

66

FIRST OUTLINE OF AN IDYL OF THE HONEY-BEE"

I. A colony of bees increases our interest in a wood.

A. The secret of the hidden golden store of honey is pleasing.

II. The hunt is most interesting, especially in the autumn. A. Nature, as we tramp with luncheon and with bait, is in her greatest glory.

B. We are stimulated by the odds against our finding the tree.

1. Determining the direction of the tree is a problem. a. It is easy to catch the first bee and watch it devour the bait.

b. But to be sure of its rapid flight home requires sharp eyes and concentrated watching.

c. Only after three or four trips of the first bee do others discover the secret of our bait and join in establishing the necessary "line" to the tree.

2. Determining the distance of the tree requires skill. a. From another point we make a new "line" that meets the first at the tree.

1'. This is called "cross-lining."

b. It is easy to pass by the tree even when we know about where it is.

C. Once found, the tree must be attacked boldly.

1. Bees do not sting a bold person.

2. But when a sting is touched, even on a dead bee,

it hurts.

3. Honey is the best cure for the sting.

D. The actions of the bees are interesting.

[ocr errors]

1. Those which are away from home do not recognize the ruins of their own hive, and begin to eat.

a. At last they pathetically understand.

2. Robber bees come for plunder.

a. Bumble-bees arrive in large numbers.

1'. Compared with honey-bees they are clumsy.

III. Two examples from experience show the chances for missing and the delights of triumph.

[ocr errors]

A. Both trees were hemlocks.

B. Both were in interesting situations.

C. Both yielded good store of honey.

IV. Special facts, occasioned by the habits of bees, need to be re

membered.

A. In the woods, the hunter must stop, every little while, to test his "line."

1. Sometimes he is baffled, because the bees do not know the woods from the ground side.

B. Bees hunt for honey far from home.

1. Usually it is easier to find a tree half a mile away

than from only a few yards.

C. Since bees like water, a careful hunter looks along creeks

and near springs.

V. Wild honey is better than tame because it tastes of the adventure of finding it.

SECOND OUTLINE OF "AN IDYL OF THE HONEY-BEE"

1. The presence of a colony of bees in a wood gives it interest. 2. The fall is the best time to start with luncheon and bait off across the fields a-hunting.

3. After two miles we catch several bees and watch them start for home with our honey.

4. After several trips, other bees that have discovered the secret arrive.

5. With one line established, we move on, establish another, find the tree and attack it.

6. Boldness in handling bees is essential.

7. Bees that are away from home when their tree is attacked

have considerable difficulty in recognizing it.

8. Robber bees join the plundered to eat all the remnants of honey. 9. A neighbor honey-bee leads to another store in a hemlock. 10. Another tree in the vicinity, also a hemlock, had a superb situation.

11. The honey in this tree was most pleasing to see and to carry home.

12. In lining bees one must stop every little while and test his line; bees puzzle sometimes by their actions since they know the woods only from above.

3

13. Bees discover their home to the hunter better when they are caught at some distance from the tree.

14. Since bees like water, it is well to hunt along brooks and near springs.

15. Wild honey is sweeter than tame.

EXERCISES

I. Select the words and phrases in the selection from Pulvis et Umbra which immediately help to accomplish the controlling purpose of the essay.

[ocr errors]

II. From what grade in the intellectual and social world does Stevenson select his examples in the paragraph beginning: If the first view of this creature, etc.? Why? From what grade would you select examples for a similar paragraph if you intended the creation of despair as your controlling purpose? What common qualities are found in all Stevenson's examples through the selection? Why does he strive for this quality?

III. Make an outline of "An Idyl of the Honey-Bee," using the ma

terial which now appears, but placing the accent of the essay upon the difficulty of obtaining the honey, instead of upon the pleasures of the hunt, as it is now placed in other words, outline the essay with change of controlling purpose.

[ocr errors]

IV. Write the first paragraph of the essay, and the last one, as you would wish them to appear if your intention were to make difficulty rather than joy the controlling purpose.

V. 1. Make an outline for "Solemn-Looking Blokes" with the controlling purpose of bringing out the romantic nature of the presence of American troops in England.

2. Make an outline such as would suit the expression of an American who had been living in England since the declaration of war in 1914 and had been taunted with the apathy of the United

States government, and now was supremely proud to see United
States troops in England.

VI. Write a final paragraph of "Solemn-Looking Blokes" to express any of the following controlling purposes:

1. Joy at the union of the old and the new worlds in a common

cause.

2. Heartache at the awfulness of soldiers' sailing 3000 miles to die because an autocratic government precipitated war.

3. The pride of an American resident in London over the physique of the United States soldiers.

4. The astonishment of a London school-boy who has just read in his history how the American colonies rebelled.

5. The apprehension of a British Tory lest aristocracy be doomed when the troops of a great democracy appear so far away from home to battle against autocracy.

VII. Write outlines and themes on any of the following subjects to accomplish the different controlling purposes:

1. The Scientific Reduction of Noise.

1. To show the social duty of engineers.

2. To show the wonder of man's analytical powers.

3. To show the seriousness of the difficulties that must be faced.

2. The Growing Appreciation of Good Architecture in America. 1. To show the good educative work of our architects.

2. To show the influence of European travel.

3. To show the effect of the general rise in standards of education.

8. The Popular Magazines.

1. To show the general looseness of thinking.

2. To show the senseless duplication of material and ideas.

3. To show the opportunity for a host of authors.

4. The Effects of the Big Mail-Order Houses.

1. To show how they ruin the small country store.

2. To show how they increase the opportunities of the small buyers.

3. To show how they help give employment in the large cities. 5. Is Religion Declining?

1. To show the shifting of responsibility from creeds to deeds. 2. To show the changed status of the church.

3. To show the effect of increased education on religion.

6. "Best Sellers."

1. To show the relation of their immediate popularity to
their final valuation.

2. To indicate the qualities necessary to a "best seller.”
3. To show the effect upon the thinking of a nation that has
many "best sellers."

« FöregåendeFortsätt »