ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE 13 A present participle as a verbal,on the other hand,takes the objective case. They heard him singing in the shower. The difference between a verbal participle and a gerund is not always obvious,but note what is really said in each of the following. Do you mind me asking a question? Do you mind my asking a question? In the first sentence,the queried objection is to me,as op- posed to other members of the group,asking a question.In the second example,the issue is whether a question may be asked at all. 11.A participial phrase at the beginning of a sen- tence must refer to the grammatical subject. Walking slowly down the road,he saw a woman accom- panied by two children. The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman.To make it refer to the woman,the writer must recast the sentence. He saw a woman,accompanied by two children,walk- ing slowly down the road. Participial phrases preceded by a conjunction or by a preposition,nouns in apposition,adjectives,and adjective phrases come under the same rule if they begin the sentence On arriving in Chicago, On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the he was met at the station station. by his friends. A soldier of proved A soldier of proved valor,they entrusted him valor,he was entrusted with the defense of the city. with the defense of the city Young and inexperi- Young and inexperi- enced,the task seemed enced,I thought the task easy to me. easy
E L E MEN TAR Y R U L E S 0 F USA G E [ 13 Apresent participle as a verbal, on the other hand, takes the objective case. They heard him singing in the shower. The difference between a verbal participle and a gerund is not always obvious, but note what is really said in each of the following. Do you mind me asking a question? Do you mind my asking a question? In the first sentence, the queried objection is to me, as opposed to other members ofthe group, asking a question. In the second example, the issue is whether a question may be asked at all. 11. A participial phrase at the beginning of a 8entence must refer to the grammatical subject. Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children. The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. To make it refer to the woman, the writer must recast the sentence. He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road. Participial phrases preceded by a conjunction or by a preposition, nouns in apposition, adjectives, and adjective phrases come under the same rule ifthey begin the sentence. On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station. A soldier of proved valor, they entrusted him with the defense ofthe city. Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me. On arriving in Chicago, he was met at the station by his friends. A soldier of proved valor, he was entrusted with the defense ofthe city. Young and inexperienced, I thought the task easy
14 THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE Without a friend to Without a friend to counsel him,the tempta- counsel him,he found the tion proved irresistible. temptation irresistible. Sentences violating Rule 11 are often ludicrous: Being in a dilapidated condition,I was able to buy the house very cheap. Wondering irresolutely what to do next,the clock struck twelve
14] THE ELEM-ENTS OF STYLE Without a friend to Without a friend to counsel him, the tempta- counsel him, he found the lion proved irresistible. temptation irresistible. Sentences violating Rule 11 are often ludicrous: Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap. Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve
II Elementary Principles of Composition 12.Choose a suitable design and hold to it. A basic structural design underlies every kind of writing. Writers will in part follow this design,in part deviate from it,according to their skills,their needs,and the unexpected events that accompany the act of composition.Writing,to be effective,must follow closely the thoughts of the writer, but not necessarily in the order in which those thoughts occur.This calls for a scheme of procedure.In some cases, the best design is no design,as with a love letter,which is simply an outpouring,or with a casual essay,which is a ramble.But in most cases,planning must be a deliberate prelude to writing.The first principle of composition,there- fore,is to foresee or determine the shape of what is to come and pursue that shape. A sonnet is built on a fourteen-line frame,each line con- taining five feet.Hence,sonneteers know exactly where they are headed,although they may not know how to get there.Most forms of composition are less clearly defined. more flexible,but all have skeletons to which the writer will bring the flesh and the blood.The more clearly the writer perceives the shape,the better are the chances of success. 13.Make the paragraph the unit of composition. The paragraph is a convenient unit;it serves all forms of literary work.As long as it holds together,a paragraph may 15
II Elementary Principles ofComposition 12. Choose a suitable design and hold to it. A basic structural design underlies every kind ofwriting. Writers will in part follow this design, in part deviate from it, according to their skills, their needs, and the unexpected events that accompany the act of composition. Writing, to be effective, must follow closely the thoughts ofthe writer, but not necessarily in the order in which those thoughts occur. This calls for a scheme of procedure. In some cases, the best design is no design, as with a love letter, which is simply an outpouring, or with a casual essay, which is a ramble. But in most cases, planning must be a deliberate prelude to writing. The first principle ofcomposition, therefore, is to foresee or determine the shape ofwhat is to come and pursue that shape. A sonnet is built on a fourteen-line frame, each line containing five feet. Hence, sonneteers know exactly where they are headed, although they may not know how to get there. Most forms of composition are less clearly defined, more flexible, but all have skeletons to which the writer will bring the flesh and the blood. The more clearly the writer perceives the shape, the better are the chances ofsuccess. 13. Make the paragraph the unit ofcomposition. The paragraph is a convenient unit; it senres all forms of literary work. As long as it holds together, a paragraph may 15
16 THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE be of any length-a single,short sentence or a passage of great duration. If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it briefly,there may be no need to divide it into topics.Thus,a brief description,a brief book review,a brief account of a single incident,a narrative mere ly 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,examine it to see whether divi- sion will improve it. Ordinarily,however,a subject requires division into top- ics,each of which should be dealt with in 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 that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached As a rule,single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs.An exception may be made of sen- tences of transition,indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or argument In dialogue,each speech,even if only a single word,is usually 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-edited works of fiction.Sometimes a writer,seeking to create an effect of rapid talk or for some other reason,will elect not to set off each speech in a sep- arate paragraph and instead will run speeches together. The common practice,however,and the one that serves best in most instances,is to give each speech a paragraph of its own As a rule,begin each paragraph either with a sentence that suggests the topic or with a sentence that helps the transition.If a 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 first sentence.Sometimes,however,it
16] THE E L E MEN T S 0 F STY L E be of any length-a single, short sentence or a passage of great duration. Ifthe subject on which you are writing is ofslight extent, or if you intend to treat it briefly, there may be no need to divide it into topics. Thus, a brief description, a brief book review, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea-any one ofthese is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, examine it to see whether division will improve it. Ordinarily, however, a subject requires division into topics, each ofwhich should be dealt with in 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 that a new step in the development ofthe subject has been reached. As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An exception may be made ofsentences of transition, indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or argument In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is usually 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-edited works of fiction. Sometimes a writer, seeking to create an effect ofrapid talk or for some other reason, will elect not to set off each speech in a separate paragraph and instead will run speeches together. The common practice, however, and the one that serves best in lTIOSt instances, is to give each speech a paragraph of its own. As a rule, begin each paragraph either with a sentence that suggests the topic or with a sentence that helps the transition. Ifa paragraph forms part ofa 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 first sentence. Sometimes, however, it
PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION 17 is expedient to get into the topic slowly,by way of a sentence or two of introduction or transition In narration and description,the paragraph sometimes begins with a concise,comprehensive statement serving to hold together the details that follow. The breeze served us admirably. The campaign opened with a series of reverses. The next ten or twelve pages were filled with a curious set of entries. But when this device,or any device,is too often used,it becomes a mannerism.More commonly,the opening sen- tence simply indicates by its subject the direction the para- graph is to take. At length I thought I might return toward the stockade. He picked up the heavy lamp from the table and began to explore. Another flight of steps,and they emerged on the roof. In animated narrative,the paragraphs are likely to be short and without any semblance of a topic sentence,the writer rushing headlong,event following event in rapid suc- cession.The break between such paragraphs merely serves the purpose of a rhetorical pause,throwing into promi- nence some detail of the action. In general,remember that paragraphing calls for a good eye as well as a logical mind.Enormous blocks of print look formidable to readers,who are often reluctant to tackle them.Therefore,breaking long paragraphs in two,even if it is not necessary to do so for sense,meaning,or logical development,is often a visual help.But remember,too,that firing off many short paragraphs in quick succession can be distracting.Paragraph breaks used only for show read like the writing of commerce or of display advertising.Moder- ation and a sense of order should be the main considera- tions in paragraphing
PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION [17 is expedient to get into the topic slowly, byway ofa sentence or two of introduction or transition. In narration and description, the paragraph sometimes begins with a concise, comprehensive statement serving to hold together the details that follow. The breeze served us admirably. The campaign opened with a series ofreverses. The next ten or twelve pages were filled with a curious set of entries. But when this device, or any device, is too often used, it becomes a mannerism. More commonly, the opening sentence Simply indicates by its subject the direction the paragraph is to take. At length I thought I might return toward the stockade. He picked up the heavy lamp from the table and began to explore. Another flight ofsteps, and they emerged on the roof. In animated narrative, the paragraphs are likely to be short and without any semblance of a topic sentence, the writer rushing headlong, event follOwing event in rapid succession. The break between such paragraphs merely serves the purpose of a rhetorical pause, thrOwing into prominence some detail of the action. In general, remember that paragraphing calls for a good eye as well as a logical mind. Enormous blocks ofprint look formidable to readers, who are often reluctant to tackle them. Therefore, breaking long paragraphs in two, even if it is not necessary to do so for sense, meaning, or lo~ical development, is often a visual help. But remember, too, that firing offmany short paragraphs in quick succession can be distracting. Paragraph breaks used only for show read like the writing of commerce or of display advertising. Moderation and a sense of order should be the main considerations in paragraphing