Practical English Composition: Book II. / For the Second Year of the High School

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

21341

Title

Practical English Composition: Book II. / For the Second Year of the High School

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Practical English Composition: Book II by Edwin L. Miller serves as a vocational guide for high school students, focusing on the art of newspaper writing. Blending academic rigor with practical journalism skills, the text covers reporting, advertising, and editorial construction. Designed to bridge the gap between theoretical education and real-world employment, it teaches students to write plain, effective English for various media formats.

Summary up to 500 words

Edwin L. Miller's *Practical English Composition: Book II* serves as a vocational manual for high school students, shifting the curriculum's focus from descriptive writing to the practical arts of narration and journalism. The text demystifies the modern newspaper as a complex machine, detailing the hierarchy from the general manager down to the city editor and his staff of reporters. Miller emphasizes that successful journalism demands physical stamina, resourcefulness, and the ability to gather news while strictly avoiding libel. The book provides specific instruction on reporting diverse events, including baseball games, accidents, and speeches, teaching students how to condense oral accounts into concise, accurate written reports. A significant portion of the volume is dedicated to advertising, where Miller argues for simplicity and brevity. He advocates for the use of single-syllable words to reach the broadest possible audience, ensuring that advertisements are understood by the least educated potential customers. The text also covers the construction of editorials, distinguishing between constructive and destructive arguments, and analyzes famous speeches, such as Edmund Burke's defense of American conciliation. Throughout the book, Miller integrates rigorous exercises that require students to rewrite themes, correct errors, and analyze literary devices like metaphors and antitheses in sports reporting. The volume concludes with a clear vocational aim: to equip students with the skills necessary to earn a living as proof-readers, reporters, or editors. By mastering these elementary principles, students are expected to develop critical reading habits that improve the quality of public journalism, thereby fulfilling both social and academic goals.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• English Language
• Composition