Whenever it is possible in your writing or talking, you should tell what you have found out for yourself. It is often well, in doing this, to compare what you have thought and observed with what other persons have said about the subject. But there are some topics that you must learn about chiefly from books. The story of the life and work, or the biography, of a person who hved long ago is such a subject. You cannot get first-hand knowledge about it, and so must go to books. But when you are asked to write about such a topic, do not make a common mistake. Do not form your composition by putting together sentences and paragraphs that you have copied from books. You must go to books for facts, but you should think these facts over until it almost seems as if you had always known them; then you should tell them in your own fashion. Have in mind some special audience that you wish to interest, then tell your story in a way to hold the attention of these persons.

If in your reading you find some especially good passage that you very much want your audience to hear, you may use it in your composition; but you must show clearly that you did not write it yourself, but have quoted it.

During the month of February, write the biography of some one of these persons: Washington, Lincoln, Longfellow, Whittier.

When you have decided which one you wish to write about, read whatever you can find about him. Keep a list of the accounts you read sc that you can find them again. Then think what different topics you wish to write about. You may, perhaps, choose these: childhood, youth, later life, work, character.

What you write about each topic may form a chapter in your finished biography. You will have to get all the information for some of the chapter from books, but in others you can express your own opinions.

Perhaps the entire class will decide to write about the same person and will choose the same chapter titles. In this case, after each chapter is written, you can decide who has done the best work; and, finally, these best chapters may be copied and bound into a book and left in the school library or given to your teacher.