I will summarize and relate my ideas on four author's messages on rhetoric and composition:  Henry Day, Alexander Bain, David J. Hill, and Adams Sherman Hill.  All four men have completed works on these ideas and have written extensively about them.  Various viewpoints were presented that I agreed with, while other viewpoints were extremely difficult for me to decipher.  It would have been interesting to hear a lecture on the differing viewpoints from someone who is knowledgeable in rhetoric and discourse to apply it to the way we use and teach language today

Henry N. Day discussed in "The Art of Discourse" many points that I found to be pertinent in the teaching field.  To begin, discourse is defined as thought communicated in language.  Communication is a vital tool for every human being.  He stated that we all have the instinctive impulse to communicate to others.  Therefore, all language is an essential medium.  The verbal expression of thought is an important element for all humans to strive towards.  He goes on further to describe oratory, eloquence, and rhetoric and their function within the structure of the language.  The three mental sciences--Logic, Aesthetics, and Ethics are all conditional to rhetoric and discourse.

I tended to focus most of my reading to the idea that grammar should be studied as an art rather than a science because I have a strong interest in this subject area.  Day discusses in length the science of grammar and how it is closely related to arithmetic.  I always explain to my students upon beginning a grammar unit at the beginning of the year, how grammar is similar to math.  It helps you to build upon the basics of knowledge in order to completely grasp the language and its functions.  The three stages of grammar bear a close resemblance to arithmetic.  The stages are:

        1.  Paragraphing, punctuating, capitalizing

        2.  Sentence Elements -- Subject, predicate,

            copulsa, and modifications.  Then you put

            them in sentence form.

        3.  Sentence Construction -- Putting stage two

            ideas into complete sentence form.

I believe that grammar should be mastered in distinct stages through oral and written exercises before moving forward with new rules.  As Dr. Day explains, grammar is the basis for correct and clear composition.  I have found that students who do well in grammar studies also tend to find composition lessons less stressful.  There are fewer problems with revision and editing.  As an eighth grade English teacher, we are required to follow the Oklahoma P.A.S.S. skills which weigh heavily on mastering composition skills.  Compositions will not be well written without the strong basics in grammar.

Alexander Bain's writing was easier for me to read and understand.  I enjoyed his statement that "Language is a grand total, resulting from the practice of a life;  a small fraction of that total is all we can grow up within the limits of a Course of English Composition".  It is clear that the instruction of language, whether it be good or bad, results from the experiences one receives during his or her lifetime.  He describes the teacher as a trainer, and without that language would only be acquired slowly, if at all.

He spends some time talking about the five types of composition:  Description, narration, exposition, oratory, and poetry and discusses in detail their forms and the laws that apply to them.  At this point in the semester of teaching my classes, we are working diligently on these five types of writing to prepare for the eighth grade CRT writing exam.  Therefore, I gained much value from this reading.  He also goes on to discuss the three principles of speaking which are to inform, to persuade, and to please.  These are also applied toward writing compositions.  The three powers of intellect were discussed which I had never heard of before.  They are: 

        1.  Discrimination, or Feeling of Difference

        2.  Similarity, or the Feeling of Agreement

        3.  Retentiveness, or Acquisition

These three powers helped me to understand the efforts of the student's writing.  It will enable me to put their writings into a clearer perspective and how to become more understanding of their feelings and assumptions.

Adams Sherman Hill, agrees that rhetoric is an art and not a science.  Rhetoric is the art of communication by language by two persons--the speaker and the writer.  He continues by discussing the requisites of a good composition.  They are:  Grammatical purity, clearness, force, and elegance.  I agree that every writer should have these characteristics in their writing.  However, Hill tends to ramble and go into too much depth on the subject.  In fact, I felt it went a little too deep with all the examples and so forth.

Finally, the last author I will respond to is David J. Hill.  Again, he discusses in length Rhetoricians and all the rules that apply to that science.  It was difficult reading for me and the only thing I feel I ganed from the reading war learning about the departments of rhetoric and the related sciences.  I found it interesting that psychology is so closely related to rhetoric.  It stated that rhetoric often borders closely upon the science of psychology and the presentation of ideas to the mind.  I also learned that discourse aims to produce a change in the mind by means of ideas expressed through language.  I have always known that language was a very powerful medium that we have been allowed to use.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the readings of the connection of grammar and composition because it relates to my classroom and the activities I present to my students.  However, the remaining portion was difficult for me to get through.  It was very dry, and as I stated at the beginning, it would have made much more sense to me if I had someone knowledgeable to explain it in an easy way.