The great soldier, the Duke of Wellington, gave this concise advise concerning composition: Have something to say and say it. Do you see that he gave two distinct rules?

"Have something to say" means, Have something worth while to say, - something that you have thought about and are interested in and want to say. When you talk, people want to hear what you think, not what some one else thinks or what you believe you ought to think. A short way to express this thought is Be sincere.

The second rule means, Choose words that say just what you mean, and put them together into sentences that are easily understood; that is, Be clear. The simplest words that express the thought exactly are generally best; and it is easier to make short sentences clear than long ones.

There are two other rules that you will surely agree to. First, Good composition must be interesting. People will not listen to you unless you say what you have to say in a way that attracts and holds their attention.

Second, Good composition must be correct. This means that it must follow the customs most common among educated persons. It will be a great disadvantage to you, as you grow older, if you cannot follow this usage. Think of some ways in which it will be bad for you if, for example, you use words in the wrong sense, or if you do not use such forms as in and are, did and done, and he and him correctly, or if you cannot follow the rules for punctuation.

Topics For Class Conversation And For Oral And Written Compositions

Talk for one or two minutes about one of these subjects. Choose one that you can get interested in, and talk as well as you can. Face the class and stand erect. Don't mind if you have to stop to think.

Choose another topic to write a paragraph of a few sentences about.

1. Different ways in which we express our thoughts.

2. A day without words. Describe an imaginary day in which you could not speak or write.

3. How Helen Keller learned of the mystery of speech.

4. Why I like to hear some one (our minister, some lecturer, or a family friend) talk.

5. The advantages of being able to talk and write well.

6. The bright thing I was too slow to say.

7. A funny mistake in the use of words made by a child learning to talk or by a foreigner learning English.

8. Which I prefer, talking or writing.

9. How my cat or dog or horse or bird talks.