BY EDWIN HERBERT LEWIS, PH.D. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN LEWIS INSTITUTE AND IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO It sometimes happens that the study of the principles of composition is left until the overcrowded last year of the high school, under the plea that facts ought to precede generalizations. Is it not better to have the pupil begin two or three years earlier than this to frame simple generalizations for his own future guidance? The first year student daily awakes to new experiences and problems. He demands rules and reasons: “_How_ shall he choose theme topics? _How much_ shall he put into a sentence? _Why_ is _electrocution_ in bad usage?” If the principle is asked for, should it …
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