Second Year English

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LAWS OF THE PARAGRAPH. The principles which so plainly bring paragraphs and order out of chaos are the very same which, applied habitually and under different conditions, make the difference between good sentences and bad. Wendell: English Composition. 12. Nature of Paragraph Laws. ?Thus far...
More Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LAWS OF THE PARAGRAPH. The principles which so plainly bring paragraphs and order out of chaos are the very same which, applied habitually and under different conditions, make the difference between good sentences and bad. Wendell: English Composition. 12. Nature of Paragraph Laws. ?Thus far our examination of the paragraph has shown that it is an organic, complete unit of discourse with distinct parts and definite structure. These facts are the basis of the laws which govern its arrangement. Matter is subject to the laws of physics. The human body in its well-being is governed by laws of health, in that its best development is secured by observance of the demands for proper food, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, and other necessities of our systems. The paragraph is not dissimilar, since it is no less dependent upon specific laws grounded in the peculiar nature of its structure. No paragraph can be properly constructed without careful regard to questions of its unity, coherence, sequence, proportion, emphasis, and variety. In so far as any one of these demands is not met, a sentence-group lacks the right form and proper content of a paragraph. We have therefore to consider the methods by which these laws are applied, and the means of avoiding violations of their requirements. 13. Unity. ? Unity of the paragraph demands that one phase of thought be consistently treated; that this phase be fully presented; and that no other subject be admitted. The attainment of these ends depends upon the ideas included, and upon the tone of the paragraph. i. Unity of Idea. This quality is secured by making each sentence bear directly upon the topic. A series of details or particulars may be included, provided there is a close relation in space or time. Simil...