eath every bed.

THE USES OF IRON

No other metal is put to so many uses and is so indispensable as
iron.

The opening sentences of a composition should be able to stand
alone; their meaning or clearness should not depend upon reference
to the title.

Bad:

THE VALUE OF LATIN IN THE HIGH SCHOOL

There is a rapidly growing belief _that this study_ has too large
a place in our high-school courses of study.

Good:

THE VALUE OF LATIN IN THE HIGH SCHOOL

There is a rapidly growing belief _that Latin_ has too large a place
in our high school courses of study.

182. UNITY IN THE COMPOSITION. Unity is an essential element of
the whole composition as well as of the paragraph, and its demands
here are in general the same. Nothing must be brought into the
composition which does not fall well within the limits of the subject.
In the different subdivisions, also, nothing must be discussed
which properly belongs to some other division of the topic.

As in the paragraph, a definite point of view should be adopted
and adhered to. There must not be a continual changing of relation
of parts of the composition to the subject, nor of the writer's
relation to the subject.

A consistent point of view is especially necessary in a narrative.
If the writer is telling of events within his own experience, care
must be taken not to bring in any conversation or occurrence, at
which, by his own story, he could not have been present. A continual
changing back and forth between present and past tenses must also
be avoided. One or the other should be adopted consistently.

183. COHERENCE IN THE COMPOSITION. A composition must also be coherent.
Its different parts must be closely knit together and the whole
closely knit to the subject. Just as in the paragraph, words of
reference and transition are needed, so in the composition, words,
or sentences of reference and transition are needed, in order to
bind the whole together and show the relation of its parts.

For this purpose, the beginning of a new division or any definite
change of topic should be closely marked, so as to prevent confusion.
There should be transition sentences, or sentences which show the
change of topic from paragraph to paragraph, and yet at the same
time bridge the thought from paragraph to paragraph. These transition
sentences may come at the end of a preceding paragraph, or at the
beginning of a following one, or at both of these places.

Examine the follow