One of the first things to learn in writing letters is that the form and style of the letter must be suited to the message which the letter contains, and to the relationship which exists between the person who sends the letter and the one who is to receive it. The style of business letters must be clear, direct, and dignified. With certain exceptions, as in sales letters, such letters are usually made very impersonal. On the other hand, personal letters are quite properly regarded by many as a sort of conversation in writing. In writing to friends or to relatives one usually desires to be informal. One of the ways of achieving this informality is through the use of colloquial English and contractions. In the past, many teachers of English have cautioned students against the use of contractions in letters; but an examination of the correspondence of writers whose letters are regarded as models shows that most of these authors use contractions very freely. If you will read the letters of Henry Adams, Stevenson, Gray, Henry James, Lamb, Carroll, Walpole, Keats, Emily Dickinson, Thackeray, Dickens, and others, you will see that in writing to friends and members of their families they wrote much as they would have chatted with those to whom the letters were addressed.
In general, then, contractions are to be used only in informal or friendly correspondence. In letters to strangers and in most business correspondence they should be avoided. Perhaps the best guide to the proper use of contractions is to be found in the models of writers who are famous for their personal letters.
can't "You can't be too careful." (Lamb)don't "... for, O, I don't know how long." (Stevenson)doesn't "He doesn't agree with them all ..." (Stevenson)won't "This sort of thing won't do." (H. James)it's "... It's a glorious afternoon ..." (E. Dickinson)I'm "I'm three parts through Burns; ..." (Stevenson)I'll "I'll try to improve it ..." (Stevenson)haven't "... I haven't yet had time to give ..." (H. James)you'll "You'll never guess; ..." (Carroll)isn't "It isn't like gold ..." (E. Dickinson)I've "So I've been idle." (Stevenson)we'll "We'll finish an education sometime ..." (E. Dickinson)wouldn't "... but Stephen wouldn't allow it ..." (Stevenson)didn't "... I didn't see him."(Fitzgerald)I'd "Another shot and I'd have gone tokingdom come." (Stevenson)you'd "... and I beg you'd believe me ..." (Gray)hadn't "... if you hadn't seen her ..." (H. James)hasn't "This ought to have made me gay, but it hasn't." (Stevenson)couldn't "If it were easy to write a play, I couldn't ... think of it." (H. James)wasn't "Wasn't it curious?" (Carroll)
can't "You can't be too careful." (Lamb)
don't "... for, O, I don't know how long." (Stevenson)
doesn't "He doesn't agree with them all ..." (Stevenson)
won't "This sort of thing won't do." (H. James)
it's "... It's a glorious afternoon ..." (E. Dickinson)
I'm "I'm three parts through Burns; ..." (Stevenson)
I'll "I'll try to improve it ..." (Stevenson)
haven't "... I haven't yet had time to give ..." (H. James)
you'll "You'll never guess; ..." (Carroll)
isn't "It isn't like gold ..." (E. Dickinson)
I've "So I've been idle." (Stevenson)
we'll "We'll finish an education sometime ..." (E. Dickinson)
wouldn't "... but Stephen wouldn't allow it ..." (Stevenson)
didn't "... I didn't see him."(Fitzgerald)
I'd "Another shot and I'd have gone tokingdom come." (Stevenson)
you'd "... and I beg you'd believe me ..." (Gray)
hadn't "... if you hadn't seen her ..." (H. James)
hasn't "This ought to have made me gay, but it hasn't." (Stevenson)
couldn't "If it were easy to write a play, I couldn't ... think of it." (H. James)
wasn't "Wasn't it curious?" (Carroll)
The following letters contain a large number of words which occur with relatively high frequency in correspondence, and are quite likely to be misspelled by persons of eighth grade education. They should be dictated in short phrases of three to five words without repetition, pausing after each dictated phrase for the children to write. The rate should be such, however, that the dictation and writing will be completed in the time designated in the note preceding each letter. On the average this will be about one and one-half lines per minute. A little practice will enable the teacher to dictate at this rate without difficulty.
Pupils should be able to write these letters at the given speed without hesitation or error of spelling before they have completed the work of this grade.
LETTER NO. 1
This letter should be dictated in three sections. The first exercise extends to the end of the first paragraph, including the heading and salutation, and should be written in 8 minutes. The second exercise includes the second and third paragraphs and should be written in 9 minutes. The third exercise completes the letter and should be written in 6–½ minutes.
Des Moines, Iowa,
June 2, 1920.
Dear Mamma,
I suppose you feel that I have been very slow about writing, but I haven't had a minute for either letter writing or pleasure the past few days. I took my last test this forenoon—the terrible and much dreaded literature examination. It lasted from ten o'clock until noon, and though it was different from what I had expected I think I got along all right. I probably won't get an excellent grade, for I just had to make a guess at one answer I didn't know, but you can't imagine how happy I am to be all through. Tomorrow will be the last day of school and our superintendent is going to let us celebrate with a class party.
Aunt Lucy wants me to stay with her another month, but I am coming home Saturday, for I know I'll be eager to get back to the farm just as soon as we have good weather again. Last Sunday I accepted Edith's invitation to spend the day with her. She lives about thirty miles from Des Moines, and I enjoyed the drive over the country roads. I'm sure I'll never lose my love for the farm.
I must tell you, too, about Edith's brother, a lieutenant, who got his commission at the same time John did. He is personally acquainted with John's captain and knew several other men in that company. I was very much interested in his account of his army experiences.
I appreciated the check you enclosed in your last letter, for I needed some money for my new dress. I never realized before this year how much it costs to clothe a girl. I wish you were here to advise me what kind of material to get. I miss your judgment when I try to go shopping alone. Aunt Lucy's voile dress has given her a great deal of service, and so I think I'll decide on that material for my best summer dress.
Remember me to the boys when you write, and give my love to Grandmother. I do hope her rheumatism is better.
Affectionately,
Helen.
LETTER NO. 2
This letter should be dictated in two sections. The first exercise extends to the end of the first paragraph, including the heading and salutation, and should be written in 12 minutes. The second exercise completes the letter and should be written in 7 minutes.
October 18, 1920.
Iowa Land and Loan Company,
706–712 Commerce Building,
Des Moines, Iowa.
Gentlemen,
We take this occasion to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th inst., and sincerely appreciate the interest which you have shown in our association. We must find a permanent location for our Chautauqua, and believe that we have found lots which will be satisfactory,especially since they are in a really pleasant locality, convenient to the college. Since it will be necessary to investigate this business opportunity immediately, we are referring the matter to a committee and we feel the analysis of the situation will be complete. The committee to which this matter is referred will probably recommend giving a mortgage but quite certainly will receive advice on this point from representative citizens. The money to carry on the investigation is in the First National Bank, the certificate of deposit being in the hands of the treasurer of the association.
If possible the members of the association would like to issue the bulletin which contains the course by the beginning of the season, whether the matter of permanent grounds is thoroughly investigated, or not. Experience has taught us, too, that the bulletins are received with more enthusiasm at an early date.
The truly awful accident of last year in which two people were killed when the tent fell will have its influence on our present campaign for a permanent building.
Kindly give this matter your attention at your earliest convenience.
Respectfully yours,
Henry Jones.
LETTER NO. 3
This letter should be dictated in two sections. The first exercise extends to the end of the second paragraph and should be written in 7 minutes. The second exercise completes the letter and should be written in 9 minutes.
Minneapolis, Minnesota,
March 26, 1920.
Dear Father,
You can see from the article which I enclose that we did not disappoint our principal, even though it has been impossible to practice during the past week. Under the circumstances it doesn't seem possible that we could have won, but maybe our success was due to having no practice before the game. Some of the teams seemed rather over-trained.
The coach changed me to right forward, although, as you know, I usually play at guard. I suppose there was a doubt in his mind as to whether I could guard the tall forwards on some of the teams.
Our team never played together better. We didn't have so great a variety of plays as some of the other teams, but relied almost entirely upon our short passing game. What I liked especially was that there wasn't a single poor official. One of the officials was the man who spoke last fall on our community health program.
I suppose the team will reach home Saturday night. I am sure that we ought not to stay here later than Saturday noon. The teams were entertained at the various fraternity houses and the men have been very much crowded to make room for us. We certainly appreciate the good treatment we have received from these men and from everyone.
Affectionately, your son,
Harry.
LETTER NO. 4
This letter should be dictated in three sections. The first exercise extends to the end of the second paragraph, including the heading and the salutation, and should be written in 9 minutes. The second exercise includes the rest of the letter and should be written in 12 minutes. Not more than one exercise should be given in one day.
Newark, New Jersey,
December 3, 1920.
Mr. Frank A. Hardy, Managing Editor,
National Insurance Journal,
Boston, Massachusetts.
My dear Mr. Hardy,
I am glad to make an immediate reply to your inquiry of December 1, regarding Miss Henry's qualifications.
It is now eight years since Miss Henry first took a position with us. She began as mail clerk, working up rapidly through the ranks, until she became private secretary to Mr. Baldwin, President of the Central Insurance Company, in which capacity she has served for four years, becoming an important part of the institution. We have found her always courteous, thoroughly efficient in her work, and absolutely reliable.
She is well equipped for a position on an insurance publication because of her magazine writing, which she has been doing in connection with a course in journalism at the university this year. She has been most successful in this work and hopes to find time to do more of it during the summer term if her schedule will permit. It was only because of her great desire to continue her education that we were willing to accept her resignation, and we knew that this year's work at the university would mean a broader field for her in the future.
I am enclosing a record of Miss Henry's work, on the usual form kept for each employee, showing the approximate progress she made during her eight years with us and her increased value to the company, and I am also sending under separate cover Miss Henry's photograph, as you suggested.
Hoping I may hear from you further if there is any additional information you require, I am
Very sincerely yours,
John Smith.
As a part of the course of study in spelling, there isoccasionally found a provision for word study and for teaching certain rules and definitions. The following supplement is added as a guide in schools which make such a requirement. Ordinarily such topics as derivation of words, root prefixes, suffixes, homonyms, antonyms, synonyms, and hyphens are taught, either as a part of composition or as a part of dictionary exercises.
The value of teaching spelling rules is still somewhat a matter of controversy, although the weight of experimental evidence seems to indicate that children do not profit from a study of the rules in spelling, as much as they profit from the same amount of time spent in the direct study of the important words covered by these rules. However, since some city and state courses of study require the teaching of the rules, it seems advisable to put the more important rules in this supplement.
An effort has been made to state these rules in the simplest manner possible, within the limits of accuracy. Great care has been taken, also, to tabulate, for each rule, the words frequently used in correspondence, which are exceptions.
The teacher should understand clearly that it is not the intention of the authors to have these rules take the place of the direct teaching of any word. Rather they are to be regarded as supplementary exercises. It is doubtful whether much attention should be given to rules before grade seven.
Often one word is built up from several words or syllables. The most important part of such a built-up word is called the root, or base. This root or base had an original meaningwhich is usually clear, especially in purely English words, as in-side, happi-ness, etc. Many built-up or derivative words are from other languages. A few examples may help to illustrate:
1. international—Latin inter (between) plus nation (nation) plus al (pertaining to)—between nations, pertaining to intercourse between nations.The root is "nation."2. extraordinary—Latin extra (on the outside, out of) plus ordinarius (ordinary)—out of the ordinary, unusual.The root is "ordinar."3. provide—Latin pro (before) plus vid (to look or see)—to look before or ahead, to look out for in advance.The root is "vid."4. convention—Latin con (together) plus ven (to come) plus tion (act of)—act of coming together—meeting.The root is "ven."Many roots or bases are taken directly from the English:1. out-come—act of coming out—that which comes out of something else—result.2. in-side—inner side or surface.3. cheer-ful—full of cheer.4. happi-ness—state of being happy.
1. international—Latin inter (between) plus nation (nation) plus al (pertaining to)—between nations, pertaining to intercourse between nations.
The root is "nation."
2. extraordinary—Latin extra (on the outside, out of) plus ordinarius (ordinary)—out of the ordinary, unusual.
The root is "ordinar."
3. provide—Latin pro (before) plus vid (to look or see)—to look before or ahead, to look out for in advance.
The root is "vid."
4. convention—Latin con (together) plus ven (to come) plus tion (act of)—act of coming together—meeting.
The root is "ven."
Many roots or bases are taken directly from the English:
1. out-come—act of coming out—that which comes out of something else—result.
2. in-side—inner side or surface.
3. cheer-ful—full of cheer.
4. happi-ness—state of being happy.
In studying these words, you may have noticed that something besides the root or base is needed to make the meaning clear. The other two parts which help to make up words are called prefixes and suffixes. These will be taken up separately.
A prefix is a word or syllable placed before another word, and so completely joined to it that it changes the meaning of the basic word.
Note to Teacher:—Have the pupils select in the lessons of your grade, words which have similar prefixes.
Note to Teacher:—Have the pupils select in the lessons of your grade, words which have similar prefixes.
As you can see in the list below, the final consonant of a prefix has often been changed to make the pronunciation easier, but does not disappear when added to the stem. Thus, ad-cord became ac-cord, ad-fect became af-fect, etc.
A suffix is a syllable or word which is added to the end of another word to change the meaning of the basic word.
Note to Teacher:—As the suffix is often closely connected with the root of the word, not much stress will be laid on learning suffixes by themselves. A few of the more common ones will be noted.
Note to Teacher:—As the suffix is often closely connected with the root of the word, not much stress will be laid on learning suffixes by themselves. A few of the more common ones will be noted.
A homonym is a word pronounced exactly like another, but differing from it in meaning. A few homonyms are spelled in the same way, as "weed," a garment, and "weed," a plant. Only a small group of the more common type will be given here.
Note to Teacher:—It has been deemed advisable to omit giving an extensive list of homonyms here. You may refer the pupils to the lists of homonyms which occur in the regular spelling lessons of the first five grades. For example, the following lists are among those which contain homonyms:—16 in grade I; 18, 19, 20, in grade II; 12 words in 28 of grade III; 32 in grade IV; etc.
Note to Teacher:—It has been deemed advisable to omit giving an extensive list of homonyms here. You may refer the pupils to the lists of homonyms which occur in the regular spelling lessons of the first five grades. For example, the following lists are among those which contain homonyms:—16 in grade I; 18, 19, 20, in grade II; 12 words in 28 of grade III; 32 in grade IV; etc.
Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning. If you were to look up the simple words "cut" and "ask" you would find the following synonyms:
For "cut"—carve, lance, bite, dissect, snip, saw, slice, slit, slash, etc.
For "ask"—beg, crave, entreat, beseech, implore, move, plead, solicit, etc. No two of these synonyms mean exactlythe same thing, but they express different shades of the same meaning.
Practice Exercises: Find as many synonyms as you can for the following words:
bestdecideeffortdeceiveimaginedarktimeformpleasurepublic
bestdecideeffortdeceiveimaginedarktimeformpleasurepublic
Any lesson in the book may be used for an exercise in discovering synonyms.
Words of opposite meaning are called antonyms. For example, black—white; big—little; and open—closed, are so named.
Practice Exercises: Try to think of antonyms for the following words:
coldcomedullinsidefatfrontgoodhighinlargeuplongnewpoorslowspringsweettallwetwinter
coldcomedullinsidefatfrontgoodhighinlargeuplongnewpoorslowspringsweettallwetwinter
Authorities differ in regard to the use of the hyphen. However, there are two rules which always hold good: (1). The hyphen is used to separate compound adjectives; (2). The hyphen is used to show, at the end of a line, that a word has been divided. (Such a word must be divided between syllables.) In other cases, when you cannot decide whether or not to use a hyphen, consult the dictionary used in your school. It is much less frequently used than formerly.
I. Formation of Possessives
1. The following list is made up of words in the singular number. To form the possessive, add an apostrophe and "s."
horse's headman's coatgirl's dressboy's shoessoldier's uniformchild's laughsheep's woolsister's hat
horse's headman's coatgirl's dressboy's shoessoldier's uniformchild's laughsheep's woolsister's hat
2. The following list is made up of plural nouns that do not end in "s." To form the possessive, add an apostrophe and "s."
children's clothesmen's shirtswomen's praisegentlemen's plans
children's clothesmen's shirtswomen's praisegentlemen's plans
3. The following list is made up of plural nouns ending in "s."
To form the possessive, add only an apostrophe.
miles' walkgirls' clothingyears' wordpupils' attention
miles' walkgirls' clothingyears' wordpupils' attention
II. Treatment of the final consonant before a suffix
1. The following list contains words of one syllable. Notice that each word ends in a consonant, and that in every word there is a single short vowel preceding it. In all such words, the final consonant is doubled before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
big—bigg (er) (est)drop—dropp(ed) (ing)stop—stopp(ed) (ing)plan—plann(ed) (ing)begin—beginn(er) (ing)
big—bigg (er) (est)drop—dropp(ed) (ing)stop—stopp(ed) (ing)plan—plann(ed) (ing)begin—beginn(er) (ing)
2. The following list contains verbs of more than one syllable. Each verb is accented on the last syllable, and ends in a single consonant preceded by a single short vowel. In such verbs, the final consonant is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel.
beginn(ing)referr(ed) (ing)occurr(ed)forgott(en)remitt(ance)
beginn(ing)referr(ed) (ing)occurr(ed)forgott(en)remitt(ance)
III. Adding suffixes to words ending in "e"
1. A word ending in silent "e" drops the "e" before a vowel, as:
come—cominghope—hopingserve—servingappreciate—appreciatingvote—voting
come—cominghope—hopingserve—servingappreciate—appreciatingvote—voting
2. When a suffix beginning with a consonant is added to a word ending in "e," the "e" is kept.
announce—announce-menthope—hope-fullate—late-lycare—care-lesslone—lone-some
announce—announce-menthope—hope-fullate—late-lycare—care-lesslone—lone-some
3. "E" is retained to keep the soft sound of "c" and "g" before "a" and "o" as in notice—notice-able, and advantage—advantage-ous.
Exceptions:
Of the words commonly used in writing letters the following exceptions are to be made:
a. When a suffix beginning with a consonant is added to a word ending in "e":
(1) Only three words drop "e" before adding "ment": judgment, acknowledgment, argument.
(2) Only one word drops "e" before adding "ful": awful.
(3) Only three words drop "e" before adding "ly":
true—trulydue—dulywhole—wholly
true—trulydue—dulywhole—wholly
b. When the last syllable of a word ends in "le," "ly" does not make a new syllable, as: probable—-probably, possible—possibly, simple—simply.
(When "ly" is added to words ending in "l," both "l's" are retained, as: practical—practically, careful—carefully.)
IV. Treatment of the final "y"
1. To form the plural of a noun ending in "y" preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" and add "es."
lady—ladiesquantity—quantitiesquality—qualities
lady—ladiesquantity—quantitiesquality—qualities
2. When a verb ends in "y" preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" and add "es" to form the third person singular of the verb. To form the past tense of the verb, change the "y" to "i" and add "ed."
fry—friescry—criesbury—buriedcarry—carried
fry—friescry—criesbury—buriedcarry—carried
3. When a word ends in "y" preceded by a vowel, form the plural by adding "s."
turkey—turkeyschimney—chimneysvalley—valleys
turkey—turkeyschimney—chimneysvalley—valleys
4. When "y" is preceded by a consonant, change it to "i" before a suffix which does not begin with "i," as in business, readily, happiness, etc.
Retain "y" in such words as: hurrying, crying, flying, etc.
V. Treatment and use of the apostrophe
1. Put the apostrophe in the place of the absent letter or letters: aren't, don't, didn't, can't, I'll, etc.
2. Possessives of personal pronouns have no apostrophe, as: its, hers, ours, yours, etc.
VI. Irregular Plurals
Some words ending in "f" or "fe" form their plurals by changing the "f" or "fe" to "v" and adding "es."
half—halvesknife—kniveslife—livesleaf—leavescalf—calveswife—wives
half—halvesknife—kniveslife—livesleaf—leavescalf—calveswife—wives
VII. Confusion of "ei" and "ie"
Note to Teacher:—Experimental evidence does not seem to show that this rule is very effective, but if it is taught, the following presentation is recommended.
Note to Teacher:—Experimental evidence does not seem to show that this rule is very effective, but if it is taught, the following presentation is recommended.
Whenever "i" and "e" occur together in one syllable, and are pronounced as "[=e]" or "[)e]," it is always "i" before "e" except after "c" (see). When sounded like "[=a]" it is always "e" before "i." Some have used the following jingle to help fix the rule:
"i" before "e"Except after "c"Or when sounded like "a"As in neighbor or weigh.
"i" before "e"Except after "c"Or when sounded like "a"As in neighbor or weigh.
Four of the words most commonly used in writing letters are exceptions to these rules: neither, leisure, foreign, height.
Transcriber's NotePunctuation errors have been corrected.All misprinted reference pages throughout the book have been corrected (vii-xvi).Pg17Added missing "opening quotation" before "Remember" in "Remember that the purpose of this test ..."Pg97Removed ")" after "I didn't see him.")" and added "(" before "Fitzgerald"Pg97Corrected spelling of "kindom" to "kingdom" in "... gone to kindom come"Pg103Corrected spelling of "expecially" to "especially" in "... expecially since they are in ..."Pg109Corrected spelling of "occassionally" to "occasionally" in "... there is occassionally found ..."