or a situation which he does not understand; but whatever it is, you must pause to explain. Since, then, the purpose of exposition is to give information, clearness is its most important essential. 312. Exposition and Description. Exposition and description are, in a way, closely allied; in fact, description in its broadest sense includes exposition. When you give a minute description of a machine, for instance the typewriter, telling about its various parts and its construction, you are of course describing it. The aim, however, is not so much to picture the typewriter and the parts of which it is constructed, as to explain its mechanism so that the reader may understand its construction and its use. So you might describe your school building giving the dimensions and the plan in such detail that an architect would be able to make a drawing. Such descriptions would be quite different from those you wrote and read in Chapter V, which had for their aim to make the reader picture or feel what was being described. The descriptions which aim to explain, which appeal to the understanding, are called expositions. Another distinction between description and exposition is that the former deals with a particular object, the latter with a class of objects. A description of an Indian would deal with a particular Indian, picturing his features and setting forth those peculiarities which distinguish him from all others of his class. An exposition on the subject of "The North American Indian" would be a general description including all the characteristics common to these Indians as a class. Its purpose would be to give a clear idea of the class, not to picture any individual Indian. Thus the description becomes an extended definition and we classify it as an exposition. 313. Exposition and Narration. As exposition has been shown to be in some cases generalized description, so it may be shown to be generalized narration. When you tell how to play a game or when you explain a process, you are dealing with action; not the action of any particular individual, but such action as accompanies the game or process. The aim is to explain, to make clear, and the kind of narrative used is called exposition. EXERCISE 61 1. Explain orally how to play some game you have recently learned and enjoyed. 2. Explain to some one of your own age how it is possible to measure the height of a flag-pole without climbing to the top of it. 3. Give directions for one of the following: (a) Building a fire. (d) Sweeping a room. (b) Making a certain kind of candy. (e) Making a kite. (c) Sailing a boat. (f) Making a tick-tack. 4. Read again the selection from Parkman's The Conspiracy of Pontiac (p. 155). Should this be classified as description or exposition? Why? 5. Write an exposition of one of the following, remembering that your aim is to give a general idea of the class to which the object belongs: (a) A windmill. (b) A beaver. (c) A pedometer. (d) A percolator. 314. Selection of Material. (e) A balloon. (f) A lighthouse. Before you can make a thing clear to another, you must make sure you have a clear understanding of the subject yourself. If your own thoughts are confused, it stands to reason that you cannot make clear to another that which you are explaining. Having the subject well in mind, the first essential toward a good exposition is to select the facts to be presented. Anything that is not directly to the point should be excluded, and since the purpose is to make the subject clear, everything that is necessary to a complete understanding should be set forth. The selection of facts will depend somewhat on the person for whom the explanation is made, whether it is a grown person or a child, some one to whom certain phases of the subject are known or to whom the subject is entirely new. 315. Arrangement in Exposition. Written expositions and the longer explanations given in class recitations require considerable thought as to how to present the facts or material so that the reader's understanding may be complete. Much depends on the order in which the various topics are taken up; for the mind must pass easily from one point to the next, and must grasp the relations between them, if the explanation as a whole is to be understood. The subject itself will usually suggest what that order should be. Follow the natural order of time and place wherever this is possible. When it is not possible, bring together into groups those topics which are closely related, and make each group complete in itself before passing to the next. The groups should be so arranged that they too are closely related so that the mind passes naturally from one to the other-forming a series of steps, each of which is necessary to the one following. : 316. Outline in Exposition. Since the arrangement of material is so important a factor in exposition, you should make an outline or plan so as to assure yourself that the facts and topics are arranged in the most effective order. An outline will help you to see clearly whether you have chosen the essential points, and whether the whole subject is presented logically and coherently. If the exposition is short, two or three topics under which to group the facts will suffice; but if the exposition is long, first jot down as many topics as you can think of, then in connection with each note all the facts your memory and note-book suggest. With the subject-matter all before you, arrange the topics and the material under each topic in the most effective and intelligible order. There should be first an introduction setting forth the subject you are going to explain; then the body which contains the exposition proper; and last the conclusion which is the summary of the main points under discussion; or thus: I. Introduction. 1. General statement or definition of the subject. 2. General plan of treatment. II. Body. 1. Topics and subtopics arranged in some logical order. The form and outline must be determined by the subject in hand. III. Conclusion. 1. Summing up of the points taken up under II. or, Concluding statement to which the points under II lead up. EXERCISE 62 1. Study the following examples of exposition. What topics are treated in each case and in what order? Make an outline. Hence it is that it is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain. This description is both refined and, as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him; and he concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature: like an easychair, or a good fire, which do their part in dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without them. The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those |