2. _Legibility._--Excellence of thought is not dependent upon penmanship,
and the best composition may be the most difficult to read. A poorly
written composition is, however, more likely to be considered bad than one
that is well written. A plain, legible, and rapid handwriting is so
valuable an accomplishment that it is well worth acquiring.
3. _Paper._--White, unruled paper, about 8-1/2 by 11 inches, is best for
composition purposes. The ability to write straight across the page
without the aid of lines can be acquired by practice. It is customary to
write on only one side of the paper.
4. _Margins._--Leave a margin of about one inch at the left of the sheet.
Except in formal notes and special forms there will be no margin at the
right. Care should be taken to begin the lines at the left exactly under
each other, but the varying length of words makes it impossible to end the
lines at the right at exactly the same place. A word should not be crowded
into a space too small for it, nor should part of it be put on the next
line, as is customary in printing, unless it is a compound one, such as
steam-boat. Spaces of too great length at the end of a line may be avoided
by slightly lengthening the preceding words or the spaces between them.
5. _Spacing._--Each theme should have a title. It should be placed in the
center of the line above the composition, and should have all important
words capitalized. Titles too long for a single line may be written as
follows:--
MY TRIP TO CHICAGO
ON A BICYCLE
With unruled paper some care must be taken to keep the lines the same
distance apart.
Pages:
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441