Elementary Composition

by Dorothy Canfield Fisher; George R. Carpenter

The body of your argument comes next, and you might begin by stating that a holiday would be beneficial to school work. Support the statement by pointing out, first, that the twenty-second of February comes in the midst of a long stretch of uninterrupted school, just at the time when both pupils and teachers are tired and would do better work after a rest; second, that the weather is apt to be brisk and bracing, and such as would tempt every one to be out of doors.

Your next general argument might be a statement of the value of honoring in every way possible the great men of the nation, and of not allowing them to be forgotten. Three good reasons as proofs of this statement are, first, that we owe them great gratitude for what they have done for us; second, that they furnish the best examples for our own action; third, that they make us patriotic by making us proud of our country.

Having established the desirability of honoring our great men, your next need is to show that granting a holiday to school children does honor them. To prove this, you might make a word picture of the great importance which a holiday has in a school; how every one looks forward to it, plans for it, enjoys it, and remembers it,—so that it is felt that the occasion of a holiday must be a very notable man. Show how even the little children are impressed with the greatness of Washington's name (because of the holiday) before they know much about him, so that they are all prepared to realize instinctively how prominent he was in our history when they come to study about him. See if you cannot show how much more valuable is an instinctive feeling like this than any amount of mere knowledge of what we owe to him, illustrating by the affection a child feels for a relative—a cousin or an aunt—whom he has always known, compared with his affection for a relative whom he learns to know after he has grown up.

A second reason to prove the advisability of granting a holiday to honor the memory of a great man is based on one of the most universally acceptable of proofs. It is good to do a thing when other people do it and always have done it. This is usually one of the first proofs which come into your mind, as is shown by the fact that the average child, on being refused something, says immediately, "Why, all the other boys have it!" So your second reason is that in our own country and abroad no better way has been found to celebrate an anniversary than to grant a holiday on that date. Cite Christmas, the Fourth of July, the Fourteenth of July in France, etc., collecting as many instances as you can, from all sources. This is a very important form of proof, although it should rarely be placed first in your argument.

Now, having shown that great men should be honored, and that holidays are a good form of honoring them, you need to prove that Washington should be specially selected from among our great men for such honors. There are various reasons you might cite here, a few of which are that he was the greatest of the founders of our nation; that his private character was noble and dignified; that he was the first American to receive world-wide recognition; that we might not be a nation without him; that, at the present day, we need more than ever to look back to his integrity and devotion to the patriotic cause, etc.

You have now given enough proofs to make up the main body of your discussion. The end of an argument is called the conclusion, and sums up in a brief way, but as forcibly as possible, the main proofs, and the way in which they lead to the conclusion you desire.

90. The Outline.—The outline of the argument which has just been sketched for you would be set down in a form something like this.

A holiday should be granted to this school on Washington's Birthday.

A. Introduction.
It is taken for granted that holidays are desirable at times;
we are to prove in this case that the twenty-second of February
is a good time for a holiday.
B. Proof.
I. It would be beneficial to school work,
1. because the day comes at a time when a break in the
routine is needed;
2. because it comes usually in good winter weather, when
outdoor life is possible.
II. It is desirable to honor the great men of a nation,
1. because of our gratitude to them;
2. because they set a good example to us;
3. because they help us to be patriotic.
III. A holiday is a suitable means for honoring the memory
of a great man,
1. because it is an important occasion for all pupils,
and fixes their attention on the reason for granting it;
2. because all over the world holidays are given and
always have been given as the best way of making a
day memorable.
IV. Washington should be selected for this honor,
1. because he was the founder of the nation;
2. because he was the first well-known American;
3. because he was the first president, etc.
C. Conclusion.
I. Summing up of the arguments.
II. Statement of the conclusion.

91. The Plea.—This is an outline of that form of argument which is sometimes called a plea; an argument, that is, which aims to induce somebody to take action.