No printing date given. 1886 copyright. The author is credited as Reverend Charles Coppens, Society of Jesus, and author of The Art of Oratorical Composition. A textbook on rhetoric and poetry. Book I: Elements of Composition covers object-lessons, words, sentences, combination and punctuation of sentences. Book II covers ornamentation, such as tropes and figures. Book III covers style in literary composition. Book IV covers genres of prose: imitation, epistles, narration, description, essays, dialogues, novels, history. Book V covers versification. Book IV covers nature and varieties of poetry. Illustrative examples and exercises appear throughout. The Schultz Archive's copy only has the first 251 pages of the text, which covers Book I thru IV.
1859 printing of 1859 copyrighted work. The author is credited as Professor of English Literature in the University of Pennsylvania, Late Principal-Assistant Professor of "Ethics and English Studies" in the United States Military Academy at West Point. A textbook designed to be a complete overview of rhetoric, putting an emphasis the application of rhetorical philosophy to the practice of writing. The author credits the influence of Whately, Campbell, and Aristotle. The text discusses the history of rhetoric, Campbell's four divisions, the relations of rhetoric to aesthetics, division of poetry, oratorical discourses, other genres (history, biography, fiction, epistles), invention, argument, persuasion, arrangement, style, and qualities of style. The author uses illustrative examples from the bible and from modern English and American writers. The Schultz Archive's copy is the complete text.
No printing information given. 1901 copyright. Copeland is credited as Lecturer on English Literature and Rideout is credit as instructor in English. An impersonal overview of the freshmen composition course at Harvard, breaking down the semester chapter by chapter. It discusses how the courses are structured, how papers are graded, how feedback generally appears on these papers, and how students generally perform throughout the course. The book ends with a collection of sample essays. The Schultz Archive's copy is the entire text.
The thirteenth edition corrected and much improved, printed in 1823, copyrighted in 1821. No information on the author is given. The preface says the work has been abridged and arranged the definitions and rules (to be committed to memory) so as not to overburden the pupil. Repetition and parsing exercises are used to aid the teaching. Exercises in correcting false syntax are also used. The work is sectioned orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. Corrections for the false syntax exercises are included in the appendix. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete text.
1852 printing of the 1852 copyrighted text. Reverend W. Colegrove is credited as principal of Burton Academy and member of the board of school examiners for Geauga County. A grammar handbook following six principles: 1) Brevity, conciseness, and accuracy; 2) Simplicity in classification; 3) Perspicuity in the arrangement and adaptedness to the purposes of class recitations; 4) Freedom from superfluities; 5) Comprehensiveness in the plan; 6) Originality in design and execution of the work. The introduction says that composition should be kept separate from the teaching of grammar. Analysis, or syntactical parsing, is viewed as helpful for mental discipline and has a prominent place in the work. Authors credited for influence are Webster, Mandeville, Green, Wells, Chapin, and Whateley. The work follows the orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody divisions for its organization. The appendices includes short excerpts by respected authors for parsing exercises. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete text.
No printing or copyright year are on this copy (the dedication is dated 1820), but a handwritten note dates it to 1901 (it was long out of print, according to the preface). No information on Cobbett is given, but in the incomplete editor's preface states that Cobbett was the first to demonstrate how to write for young people and in a manner that plain people can understand (in a conversational style). The editor goes on to say that grammar should not be taught out of books, but rather by the teacher himself. This book is meant for those who are learning without a teacher, or it is for children of at least twelve. The editor says Cobbett is addressing boys fourteen and fifteen years old. The text is a written as a series of letters (epistles) and covers orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. Including are examples of false grammar, errors, and nonsense. The six additional lessons for statesmen are dated 1822. The Schultz Archive copy is missing some pages at the beginning which cut into the preface, but otherwise the entire text is complete.
1899 printing of 1899 copyrighted text. The author is credited as the author of Beginners' Readers I, II, III and Vivid Scenes in American History. The text is a teacher's manual to accompany Letters From Queer Folk, a composition book aimed at enhancing student learning by drafting correspondence with imagined people. The text covers various genres of writing such as business, social, telegrams, advertisements, receipts. It addresses particular skills such as paragraphing, vocabulary, punctuation, and arrangement. The Schultz Archive copy is the entire text.
1868 printing (40th edition, revised) of the 1864 copyrighted text. The author is credited as the Principal of Cortland Academy and author of three other books on grammar and the English language. Rather than begin with the usual brief section on orthography, the text's first part touches on words, phrases and sentences. Part two is etymology, part three is syntax, and part four is prosody. The author uses circular charts to aid students with learning grammar. Sentences are diagrammed to separate their elements. Examples, exercises and review questions are implemented throughout. There are many exercises in analysis. The Schultz Archive's copy only includes the first 67 pages of the text, which runs through all of part one and ends on the first page of part two.
1916 printing of 1902 copyrighted text. The author is credited as Principal of the High School Department of the Ethical Culture Schools, New York. An examination of the practices and assignments common in elementary and high school. According to Chubb, the purpose of the text is to provide instructors with some notion of what is being taught most commonly for the various levels of students and what the most common practices are. He indicates that his book does not advocate a specific pedagogical practice; rather, he hopes only to establish a greater continuity in English instruction throughout the educative process because a varied process can only prove detrimental to education on the whole. The book touches on reading and composition (both oral and written) from kindergarten up to high school. It addresses what sorts of literature should be assigned as reading as well as how grammar should be taught and the four kinds of writing: narrative, descriptive, exposition, and argumentative. The Schultz Archive includes the complete text, and the scans are good condition.
No printing information given. Copyrighted 1857. No information on the author is provided. As the lengthy title suggests, Chesterfield's text is directed at any student who wants or needs to learn how to compose an effective letter. The author claims that the book may prove useful for students young and old, as well as for students who wish to learn to write polite letters for society or business letters for monetary purposes. No matter the student or cause, Chesterfield claims that all people may benefit from an increased knowledge of how to write letters. The text offers instruction on all aspects of letters, including grammar, style, arrangement, concluding, and more. Examples of different genres of letter are provided, such as business or love letters. The Schultz Archive includes the complete letter-writing section (with the exception of pages 50-51 and 58-59), but the text seems to continue beyond the letter-writing portion. Some highlighter obscures text throughout, but the quality is good nonetheless.