=Exercise 155--The Divisions of the Subject=
After you have selected your subject, decide into what divisions it
naturally falls. If it is of the proper length, it probably will divide
itself into two or three divisions. Each of these will constitute
one-half or one-third of your composition, and within each division
illustrations, reasons, and explanatory details will appear. Arrange the
divisions in the order in which they naturally come, according to their
relative time of happening or according to their relative importance,
reserving the most important for the last.
Sometimes this sort of division is difficult to make, because a subject
can frequently be treated from different points of view, the point of
view deciding the divisions. Sometimes you will find that you have made
a number of small divisions, in each of which you can say only one or
two sentences. This will at once suggest that you have not found the
main parts of the subject, but have made unimportant divisions. Again,
it may seem that you cannot divide your subject into satisfactory parts.
In that case, you probably do not know enough about it. Think about it
again, and, if you find that you really cannot divide it, choose
another.
* * * * *
Choose one of the following subjects. Is the title definite and clear?
If it is not, change it so that it will be. For example, _Photography_
(5) is not a definite title. No one could attempt to explain the entire
subject of photography in a few minutes. A better title for a theme
would be one of the following: _How to Develop a Negative_; _How to
Intensify [_or_ reduce] a Negative_; _Our Camera Club_; _The Photography
Exhibit at the Art Museum_; _Kinematography_; _Flash Light Pictures
without Smoke or Odor_; _The Conditions Necessary for a Good Snap Shot
Picture_; _The Advantages of Using a Developing Machine_; _How My Camera
Helped Pay for My Vacation_. Can you suggest still others?
After having selected your title, decide into what divisions the subject
naturally falls. For example, let us take (2) below. _A Ball Game_ is
not a definite title. Instead, let us choose _Last Saturday's Football
Game_. As stated above, a subject may be treated from different points
of view, the point of view deciding the divisions. Thus, in treating
_Last Saturday's Football Game_, we may divide:
_a_
LAST SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL GAME
I. The first quarter.
II. The second quarter.
III. The third quarter.
IV. The fourth quarter.
_b_
LAST SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL GAME
I. The excitement for a week before the game.
II. The tension during the struggle.
III. The celebration after the game.
_c_
THE TWO DECISIVE PLAYS IN SATURDAY'S GAME
I. The long forward pass.
II. The end run to the five-yard line.
Still other divisions may be made if we consider the subject from the
point of view of the teams or the players themselves. Can you suggest
any such divisions?
In the same way choose one of the subjects given below. Change it, if
necessary. Then write out the topic of each division in as few words as
possible.