CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| Index to Admonitions | [ix] | |
| I. | Why Learn to Write | [1] |
| II. | How to Write | [7] |
| III. | Ideas for Compositions | [12] |
| IV. | The Whole Composition | [17] |
| V. | The Paragraph | [31] |
| VI. | Grammar | [42] |
| VII. | Sentence Correctness | [58] |
| VIII. | Sentence Clearness | [ 88] |
| IX. | Sentence Vigor | [100] |
| X. | Words | [114] |
| XI. | Spelling | [132] |
| XII. | Punctuation | [139] |
| XIII. | Mechanics | [151] |
TO INSTRUCTORS
Writing and Rewriting is based on the conviction that college freshmen can be taught to see and to correct their own errors and faults.
Criticism by means of marginal numbers, referring to pieces of advice in a rhetoric or a manual, has long been utilized to economize the instructor’s time. It has not been generally realized, however, that this method, which requires the student to inspect and rewrite a faulty sentence in the light of an illustration in his book, is successful also in teaching him to rewrite faulty sentences before he submits his manuscript to his instructor.
The best device to encourage the student in self-correction is the preliminary copy or rough draft. This may be written rapidly in pencil on theme paper or on scratch paper, with lines far apart to leave room for modifications. After this is written the student should read it with his eyes open for the appearance of his pet blunders, and should do his own rewriting. If the rough draft is submitted with the finished copy, the instructor can discover whether the student is endeavoring to correct his own faults.