summarize; it should refer only to points that have been established in the body of the argument; and it should reaffirm the proposition set for proof, in order that the reader may see unmistakably that the argument supports the proposition. Yet the writer may so completely permeate this purely intellectual purpose of the conclusion with the spirit of some great emotion or some great interest which touches the audience closely, that the conclusion will become an appeal as well as a summary.

Study the character of the conclusion printed below. Note that it not only summarizes the argument, but relates it to the conditions in the educational world which were set forth in the introduction.

CONCLUSION

Admission to the freshman class in American colleges should be by examination, for

I. The certificate system is unsatisfactory.

II. The examination system benefits the secondary school. III. It does not change the school's purpose by making it a mere fitting school.

IV. It benefits the student upon his entrance to college.

V. It benefits the college as an institution.

DEVELOPED CONCLUSION

In solving this vexatious question, then, the way seems clear. We cannot rely upon the certificate system, because it is insufficient as proof of fitness, it disregards largely the responsibility of the college, and it provides no line of demarcation between high schools that are good and those that are relatively poor. On the other hand, the examination system benefits the secondary school by leaving it free to adapt its course to local needs without rendering itself inadequate as a preparatory school for the few who desire to go to college. Furthermore, this system benefits the individual student by providing him with a definite ideal before he enters college, and later by relieving him of the handicap of working with students who are insufficiently prepared. Finally, it benefits the college as an institution by enabling the professors to maintain a higher standard of scholarship. Thus it is not diffi

cult to see that this system goes further than any other toward satisfying the demands of both classes of institutions concerned. It would reduce the present unrest and misunderstanding by establishing a free coördination and a dignified harmony between the high school and the college.

V. EFFECTIVENESS IN ARGUMENTATION

A. IN FORMAL ARGUMENT

Before we leave our subject, we should fix firmly in mind a few qualities which effective argument must possess. In the first place, let us remember that the characteristic quality of formal argument is strength. Clearness, the characteristic quality of exposition, grows out of intelligent knowledge; but strength grows out of intelligent earnestness. Strength is revealed especially in the firmness with which a writer lays hold of and treats evidence. He plans his argument so thoroughly and selects such an abundance of material that the structure which he erects does not need the feeble buttressing of his own personal opinion. Consequently, he does not have his pages covered with "It seems to me,” “I think," and "I certainly believe." The hesitancy which such expressions display never will win thinking men and women away from opinions that have gained possession of their minds through training, long association, or independent reasoning. The impression of strength is deepened, too, if the writer constantly shows that the argument and the materials employed in the argument are vitally related to the rest of the world; that they are not isolated, not things apart, but are significant because on every hand they touch the life in which the reader is interested. No opportunity to use fresh statistics or concrete examples should be overlooked. Strength is gained also if the writer produces an impression of completeness. How difficult it is to do this

we may readily see if we call to mind the fact that in most cases it is not possible to treat all the points involved in an argument; that in order to have an opportunity to drive home some of them, others which the reader may possibly think important must be ignored. This condition, natural in argument, creates the danger of leaving the impression that too much remains unsaid; that the argument is full of gaps which the writer left simply because he had not evidence with which to fill them. Such an impression may be avoided and an equally definite one of completeness may be gained by giving conscious attention to the making of transitions between the parts that do receive treatment. If the reader swings along smoothly, he will not only catch the full force of all the argument, but will find no reason for questioning the writer's motive in determining which points should be emphasized.

B. IN INFORMAL ARGUMENT

In less formal arguments, and these, we have already observed, constitute by far the larger part of all argumentative writing, we must measure our work by other standards of effectiveness. In newspaper editorials, in essays and addresses that are argumentative only in part, in the less formal magazine articles, and in persuasive business letters, convincingness must be secured by methods often quite different from those employed in the formal forensic. It will profit us to study two or three of the differences.

In the first place, the mechanical structure of these arguments is usually less rigid. Inasmuch as they ordinarily treat matters with which the reader is already somewhat familiar, there is likely to be no formally stated proposition. For the same reason, very little preliminary definition or explanation is necessary. Furthermore, it is usually unnecessary to make a long, detailed analysis of the question in order to arrive at the issues; and the issues themselves need not be presented in formidable military array. Possibly the argument is to be only a paragraph

long, or if it is to be longer, perhaps the writer wishes to deal with only one point to the exclusion of all others. In either case he must come without delay to the matter to be argued. And the argument itself must not sacrifice the reader's time with carefully guarded approaches and deeply laid plans of defense. Instead, it must merely suggest to him that among opinions on the subject discussed, here is one that he must give fair consideration because common sense demands it. He is not obliged to make immediate reorganization of all his views on the subject, but only to give this opinion a place. The purpose of such arguments demands always that there be a minimum of machinery.

Frequently, too, the treatment of the material is different. Since arguments of this kind must win the attention of busy men and women who have not set aside a period of time for the detailed consideration of the subject as they would do in reading a long argument or in listening to a debate, the material must be not only sound but attractive. It must easily catch and keep the attention of the readers. Consequently, much illustration is desirable. Moreover, if the writer finds it necessary to employ statistics, he must simplify and clarify their presentation so that they will not leave the impression of technical study which long tables and figures usually produce. It should be observed, too, that arguments of this kind may not appear in the garb of formal reasoning at all. They may be exposition with only occasional persuasive touches, or they may be expressed in the form of narration, the incidents in the narrative serving to present the argument concretely. To be sure, it is usually impossible in this informal treatment of material to produce the impression of completeness that we have found desirable in more formal argument. The writer can, however, inspire confidence by creating an impression of grasp and breadth of view. If he possesses full knowledge and exercises skill in treating a narrow field, he can lead his readers to believe that if he but had an opportunity to deal with the subject exhaustively, all that he should say would be just as good as the sample he has given.

The informal arguments of everyday life are different from the well-rounded, elevated " pure argument" in one other respect the writer's attitude toward his audience is more familiar. It is true that anyone who hopes to write any kind of argument successfully must not stand aloof from his audience; but in many kinds of informal argument, only the writer who works his way into the most immediate interests and sympathies of those who read can really make progress in changing opinion. In many persuasive letters this familiar tone is merely the expression of full personal knowledge of the one to whom the letter is addressed. In the editorial it may assume the attitude of leadership. The editor believes that his position and his experience entitle him to speak frankly and without overjudicious qualification or reservation. He believes further that the reputation he or his paper has for sound reasoning will help his readers to look at matters as he sees them, even though his argument appear bit by bit during a week, a month, or a year. Because the writer assumes this attitude of close acquaintance, he takes many liberties that would be dangerous in a formal, exhaustive treatment. He may, for instance, appear not to hold himself too seriously at times; or he may depart from triphammer argument and risk a touch of irony or pathos, or resort to abundant humor. Like the writer of formal arguments, his purpose is to convince; but instead of convincing by one overwhelming stream of evidence, he convinces by offering to direct his reader here, to make a friendly suggestion there, or to point out the absurdity or impossibility of a plan proposed by some one else. In other words, he argues in the spirit of a personal guide, a personal friend, or a friendly critic.

Study the following specimens of effective informal argument:

(1) [NO TITLE]

"Free Trade Helping our Island Traffic" is a newspaper headline over the encouraging report of the chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs. Of course, it helps traffic; that is the purpose of free trade, precisely as it is the purpose of protection to keep down traffic between nations. Here we