We often wish to explain something: for example, how to do some work, or play some game; why we believe something is true; what a word means; how some machine works.

You see an explanation is generally made for the purpose of giving some information that seems important to us. Explanation must therefore be even more exact and clear than the stories and descriptions whose chief purpose is to entertain.

Read again the explanation given on p. 35 and see how clear it is.

Exercise 118

Notice that the explanation given below tells not only how but why.

Hoeing As A Fine Art

Hoeing is quite as much of a fine art as digging, raking, and planting. Early in the season, hoe close to the row, and hoe deeply. This will loosen the soil to a considerable depth and the frequent spring rains will sink down into the earth and be stored for the dry summer months. As the season progresses, and plants begin to spread, keep farther away from the row and do not hoe quite so deeply.

Hold your hoe on a slant, with the back toward the row and the edge away from it, so that a corner always strikes the soil. By doing so, you are less likely to damage spreading roots than when the full width of the hoe strikes the soil every time.

Topics For Oral And Written Compositions

Choose one topic to write about and one as a subject for a short talk.

Select subjects thoughtfully, then make careful preparation. Think about them yourself; then, if you have not all the information you need, discuss them with other persons.

1. How to play base ball.

2. Caring for a furnace.

3. Washing dishes as a fine art.

4. How to sweep and dust a room.

5. How to set a table.

6. How to build a concrete wall.

7. Making maple sugar.

8. Making butter.

9. Raising oranges.

10. Selling newspapers.

11. Laying a cement walk.

12. How to get a big crop of some grain, fruit, flower, or vegetable.