otu i ummW HB r WORD STU FOR HIGH SCHOOLS UC-NRLF III % SWAN mHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^ GIFT OF WORD STUDY FOR HIGH SCHOOLS THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO WORD STUDY FOR HIGH SCHOOLS BT NORMA LIPPINCOTT SWAN FORMERLY HEAD OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT IN THE LONG BRANCH HIGH SCHOOL NEW JERSEY NeiM gork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 All rights reseweob Copyright, 1920, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and elecirotyped. Published January, 1920. J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Nurwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE There is excuse no longer for the author of a speUing book who selects his material without definite knowledge of which words are most useful and which are most likely to be misspelled. Such careful and extensive investigation as has been made in the field of working and foundation vocabularies by Jones ^ and Ayres,^ to mention only two of the recent investigators, removes the subject from the realm of conjecture and haphazard choice and greatly simplifies the teach- ing of spelling by reducing the number of words formerly included in spelling books. No word, of course, is immune to misspelling, for the ingenuity of the bad speller is prodigious, but certain classes of words are more frequently misspelled than others, and against these the teacher must wage constant and unceasing warfare with all the weapons at his command. Words containing ie and ei, words ending in el and le, words containing silent letters and doubled letters are all pitfalls for the unwary. The correct spelling of common words should be fixed in the lower grades, but it is needless to say that the misspelling of many of them is carried over into the high school and even into college; therefore no apology is offered for including in a book designed for the use of high school students a thousand simple words which careful investigation has shown are most frequently misspelled. Two devices have been used in presenting these drill words, both of which are based upon sound psychological principles and hence should prove helpful to those for whom the first twenty-seven pages 1 " Concrete Investigation of the Material of English Spelling " by W, Frank- lin Jones, Ph.D., University of South Dakota, covering 75,000 student themes. 2 " A Measuring Scale for Ab ility in Spelling " by Leonard P. Ayres, Division of Education, Russell Sage Foundation, New York City, based upon spellings of 70,000 pupils. V 460000 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF THE BOOK The book should be used as the needs of pupils suggest ; it may not always be advisable to assign the sections in consecutive order. To every new class, however, the teacher should assign the drill words and the homonyms so as to find out quickly how well the class can spell ordinary, every -day words which have been a part of its vocab- ulary since the sixth grade. Misspelled words in these exercises should be heavily penalized and if it is found necessary to repeat the assign- ment, the penalty should be increased with each repetition. The teacher should make the spelling of words already in the students* speaking vocabulary a matter of primary consideration. The teaching of the pronunciation, meaning, spelling, and use of new words is all included in the work of helping the student to enlarge his vocabulary, and an increased vocabulary is a sign of mental growth. Bad spelling is often the result of inaccurate pronunciation, hence as a necessary part of the preparation for a spelling lesson the teacher should pronounce the new words slowly and distinctly. The exercises in pronunciation should be given from time to time with reference not only to the need of the class but to that of individuals as well. Concert work is of doubtful value in teaching correct pronunciation. After a student has been taught to recognize his own besetting sins he should be encouraged to correct himself aloud whenever he finds himself guilty of having made a mistake. A self-inflicted penalty is likely to be more effective than one inflicted by another. Rules for spelling are not of equal value to all students but the abundance of illustrative material furnished under them should prove helpful to everyone. Students should be taught to regard the sections dealing with rules for spelling, common mistakes in speech, and pronunciation as reference material to which they should turn from time to time as the need arises. ix X SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF THE BOOK Attention should be called to particular difficulties as separate, bw^iness, run/iing, arctic, and each student should be encouraged to make a list of the words he most frequently misspells. The meaning of every word should be known by the student before he attempts to spell it. It is futile to learn to spell words the meanings of which are unknown. The use of the dictionary can best be taught in connec- tion with the spelling lesson and sufficient work of this sort should be required of all students to enable them to use the dictionary with facility. The lessons in the stu,dy of prefixes and suffixes and those in Latin roots and English derivatives should be assigned consecutively. The teacher should make sure that the Latin forms are well fixed in the minds of students, especially if Latin is not a part of their course. The definitions have been supplied in this part of the book with a view to leading students to see the root meaning in every English derivative, and the teacher should insist that each word be defined by the student in terms of the root. The student should be taught to infer the meanings of the secondary derivatives from those given of the primary derivatives. Exactness of definition with regard to the meaning of the prefix and the suffix as well as that of the root is important. The reviews and the exercises requiring original thought on the part of the student, which have been provided throughout the book, should prove useful in testing the thoroughness with which the daily work has been done, and the author hopes that the teacher will recognize their value and assign them as they occur in the text. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Drill Words 1 Homonyms . . . . . . . • • • . . 30 Antonyms 35 Synonyms 36 Rules for Spelling , . . . .41 Syllabication 47 Rules for Simplified Spelling .... = .. 48 Exercises in Pronunciation . . . . c o . . 50 Common Mistakes in Speech 60 Growth of the English Language 69 Prefixes 75 Suffixes 84 Roots and Derivatives 93 Letter Writing 130 XI WORD STUDT FOR HIGH SCHOOLS Study the following words and use them in phrases or sentences similar to those on pages 22-23. Drill Words ^'/^ a^claU^ a^a^z^cnlt czcoefit coddtedl' ""/H a^v ^/7^olt c7^t^e^ d'Oa^A^ d^ lecod u c^itnta' a/yi'PMe^ c^oltriXKiOfi C^fl'U tZ'/7y^Cy?t^ cii oa^^M coft'u tAon^a c^t^^e^t co-r/wwrit ^iyn^u {/j^c;ou ^^ ^iyO^ coi^'Me a.h A^eci^ (uSd^ DRILL WORDS CZ^i/iMZ^ ''Ji^UyV a^ '& V ue.'ao^e du'Ci^a eadt du^auj^/i^ ea^i^A e^ ecu^u t ■ ei£^o^e^ en^^aued e^^\ edae eiAn e n<}iu^fv ef fait e^mJz^wed ' eried d^ci^wMed J. p loud /^ /: let tlei 16 DRILL WORDS mut l^oii'ei Uan Inco^ei ifitxj^ewd Uaned U4^ce Ifi^ak^ / maai cUi iJiaoaed Uiaaed lode dM^Oi^ lu lieeh'u d/ma^i-i U^ li^eae imo'SiAza imn^ned lii'oei iwi^t^atfi :!^i.a^T/iwied llode £/}natJi el lied li^m^hei u l^matfi eied d/TuzJtAed lo-li lao4^ ln£^e^ lai diei^ lo^e loa^£ed lai^ id It^^iei l(Mnetfii^n^ lai^i^ lacM^ Um^uyniei lauJi doiuce lA^de /< ^a/U4^Mn Ui-. DRILL WORDS dAeoS' led. d^h^e^ iAend iAii/n^'mt la/yueaJ^ lAo-an^'u^i Mwee^e dtt^aaeied l^t^lOfl deeh 17 d^ta^ued dtee^ iteeAed dto-o- dta dla dtta-n f dUeet 18 DRILL WORDS stietcJi dtad u ducked itiUied duii^eot iwd def2^ £^tu^k U4.0 ceed Ui/ m^ itiohAed dyiio ceed ed £u/ liet^ed l^ttacS' d^ucceid^ lada^l £^wct ed lu^h^m UU^ d^u-^-mei lu^h^ht^tt l'Oa(zt^ UHU liyi/m^man^ £.u^ha£^ loaea^t ^Q.U'n^da^u :I^uAhMed Uueat :!^U'n^n'U d^ci^hud^ d^caai i^n^ loaoul t(zrJa4^ "• teaie ^/m'uA uu^du teetA ta^iiie ted tied tet^ulie ta^S let te(ZcA tfieie toM' te^cii et^ DRILL WORDS oie 19 fiiaoa ■U.U ■dc ti. Cf^ ticA et tmAt ed coo- taaetfi el taauz CfV iMi^oAed tc o-nau^e tauXe-L t'Ui.cfeecl tie^t tu^d tioh '^ed ti ■a. ■e tine du^ei^d^ f 20 tuK. DRILL WORDS aieoa am aaoae / uj^de UUZ.it cuci-'&ed auu^i^ W^i^ ^U.\ t /vednei^ uieiim. '^fU cafvom^ cafiuied caJiii: ca-Ait tie CU: oa ■d cauned caai^iiyed caaut caat DRILL WORDS oai^t neued oam^ t uiafee oaaad ed caafidei ai<}n^deied caaad i4 cao^eft CUO-lid oaaccld ^ t uyuetcfi e. caied^ti^d oaut ten. caietcfi oaiate 21 22 DRILL WORDS / (zttentoo-n' thuunt in his ab'sence ac cord'ing to law to take ac'tion a gree'ment between partners to al lege' in writing an an'nu al report ar range' the flowers a good ar range'ment to sell an ar'ti cle to as sure' confidently give at ten'tion to orders blis'tered by the sun both'ered very often on a car' tain street a loyal cit'i zen cause for com plaint' to com plete' the work to show con cern' DRILL WORDS ca'yiditi^a'n in good con di'tion ctyyit^ai^ to lose con trol' can^j^e^^ce^ a con ve'nient time to invite cor' dial ly despise a cow'ard deouz-t^ de clare' one guilty dei^ha^i^ filled with de spair' diU€^ience dif'fer ence in taste dupccaltu with great dif fi cul ty du-eclcan^ the right di rec'tion e^iueit the ear'li est date e€iae<[^ the eaves of a house e4ztue one's en tire' time e^^titie to en ti'tle to property entuii^oe en'trance into war eiheua.Uu es pe'cial ly well done ea^hen^ under heavy ex pense' ea^ttew^e the ex treme' end 23 24 DRILL WORDS flaXM^l the flaVor of coffee fa^eian^ of for'eign birth aauae gouge with a chisel gov'ern ment by the people gris'tle in meat a har'rowed field i/m^hic^f^a-n^ im pris'on in a dungeon i/nzAt^aae^'^en^t to show im prove'ment onci^u^de to in elude' everything jeal'ous of another ^utht 111. Linmt'}^, 324 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 134 LETTER WRITING Arrange the following addresses correctly on envelopes: Mr. Samuel S. Van Note 560 Wabash Ave III Chicago From J. S. Brown Box 65 Mendham New Jersey. Return to Hopeland Cottage Ocean View New York. Mrs. J. Robbins Conant, Mountain Lake Vermont Box 122. Dr. Haskell J. Hamilton Monmouth County Shrewsbury New Jersey The Towers Return in one week to Briarcliff Lodge Casco Maine. 11. The Heading of a Letter The heading of a letter should never be omitted. It is written in the upper right-hand corner of the page and it consists of the street and number on the first line, the city and state on the second line slightly indented to the right, and the day of the month and the year on the third line. Care should be taken in placing the first line to allow enough room for the succeeding lines so that the date on the last line does not crowd the right-hand edge of the paper. Where no street and number is given, as in small towns or villages, only two lines are required for the heading. The punctuation consists of a comma after each line and a period at the end. 176 Broad St., Red Bank, N. J., Dec. 10, 1916. Mt. Kisco, Penn., May 12, 1915. III. The Salutation of a Letter The salutation of a letter is placed at the left about two spaces below the last line of the heading, and it begins at the common margin. Its form depends upon the relation existing between the writer and the person addressed. In business letters and in letters addressed to persons unknown to the writer, the name LETTER WRITING 135 and address of the person to whom the letter is written is given first, as : Mr. J. M. Johnson, Navesink, N. J. My dear Sir : Lord and Taylor, Fifth Ave., New York City. Dear Sirs : Miss Belle Mount, Shrewsbury, N. J. My dear Miss Mount : Mrs. John B. Alcott, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. My dear Madam : In letters of friendship, the salutation is less formal and usually consists of but one line; as, Dear Cousin Jim, My dear Dr. Andrew. It will be noted that the word dear is not spelled with a capital unless it stands at the beginning of the line, but the words sir and madam are always spelled with capitals. Write proper salutations for letters addressed to the following persons : Chas. Scribner's Sons, Fifth Avenue, New York; James G. Wallack, Mt. Tabor, Georgia; Anne J. Reynolds, Burlington, Iowa ; your clergyman ; your physician. IV. The Body of a Letter The arrangement of the body of a letter is the same as that of any other composition. Each paragraph should be indented and each topic discussed should be dealt with in a separate para- graph. A short letter usually consists of but one paragraph. 136 LETTER WRITING The first line of the paragraph begins below the last line of the salutation and usually at the common paragraph margin. The page should be well balanced in appearance and should indicate that the writer had a plan in mind when arranging the page. If the letter consists of more than two pages, they should be num- bered. A letter of two pages, if on folded paper, should be written on alternate pages. Folded paper, not pad paper, should be used for social correspondence. The width of the margin depends upon the width of the paper. V. The Complimentary Close The form of the complimentary close, like that of the salutation, depends upon the relation existing between the writer and the person addressed. There is practically only one form for a business letter, and that is Yours truly, with the variations Yours very truly and Very truly yours. In letters of friendship the con- clusion most frequently used is Yours sincerely, but Cordially yours and Yours faithfully are often used. Only the first word of the complimentary close is spelled with a capital. It is bad form either to contract or to abbreviate the complimentary close. The complimentary close should be written in the middle of the line below the body of the letter, without regard to the position of the last word in the body of the letter. VI. The Signature Business letters and also letters of friendship, unless the latter are very informal, should be signed in the way that the writer expects his name to appear on a letter sent in reply, except that one never prefixes a title to his own name. A married woman signs a letter with her Christian name, but in a letter to a stranger, she inserts her title and her husband's name in paren- thesis, for the convenience of her correspondent. Thus, the wife of Reginald D. Anderson signs her letters Alice B. Anderson, LETTER WRITING 137 but places Mrs. Reginald D. Anderson on the same line, at the left. An unmarried woman prefixes Miss in parenthesis to her name when signing a business letter or a letter to a stranger. A man should adopt one form of signature and use it invariably, not using initials at one time and signing his name in full at another. John R. Williams should not be J. R. Williams at one time and J. Robert Williams at another. Above all, one's signa- ture should be legible. To sign one's name so that it is inde- cipherable is an affectation on the part of the writer and a discourtesy to one's correspondent. VII. The Contents of a Letter The first paragraph of a letter written in reply should contain an acknowledgment of the letter received; in the case of a business letter, the date of the letter received and its contents should be noted. A letter in reply should actually correspond to the letter received ; that is, the writer should have the letter to be answered actually before him and should take up the points in the order mentioned. This applies especially to business letters, but it is also the most satisfactory method to pursue in answer- ing a social letter. Every one has probably experienced the annoyance of receiving replies which ignore the contents of letters previously sent. The following are examples of unsatisfactory and satisfactory replies. 126 Broad St., New York City, Mar. 1, 1917. Mr. J. A. Conover, Lincroft, N. J. My dear Sir : I am looking for a farm in Monmouth County within easy reach of New York City. I saw in the February number of Realty that 138 LETTER WRITING you have a farm for sale. Will you kindly give ine information in regard to its location, size, price, etc. Yours very truly, W. Salter Brown. Mr. Brown received the following letter from Mr. Conover : Lincroft, N. J., Mar. 3, 1917. Mr. W. Salter Brown, 126 Broad St., -- -^ New York City. My dear Sir : My farm is situated near Red Bank and contains about fifty acres. The farmhouse is in good condition and the barn is new. Farm land in this locality is worth about two hundred and fifty dollars an acre. If you would like to look my farm over, let me know. Yours truly, J. A. Conover. v Mr. Brown sent the same inquiry to Jas. E. McBride, who had also advertised a farm for sale, and from Mr. McBride he received the following answer : Box 12, Middletown, N. J., Mar. 4, 1917. Mr. W. Salter Brown, 126 Broad St., New York City. My dear Sir : I am in receipt of your letter dated March 1st asking for in- formation concerning the farm I advertised in February Realty, LETTER WRITING 139 My farm consists of thirty-five acres, all under cultivation: five acres in a peach orchard which will come into bearing next year, ten acres in an apple orchard set out six years ago, and the rest in corn and potatoes. The farmhouse contains eight rooms and is in good repair. The barn and stable have been rebuilt within the past year. My farm is within one mile of Middletown station on the New Jersey Central Railroad, and one hour by train from New York City. The nearest local market is Red Bank, three miles distant, a thriving town of about 12,000 inhabitants. The doctor has advised me to move West on account of my wife's health and I am willing to sell, on that account, for $10,000 cash. There is a demand for farm land in this section and there is no doubt but that I could sell for $15,000 by waiting a little longer. If you will let me know on what train you will arrive, I will meet you at Middletown station and show you my land. Yours very truly, Jas. E. McBride. It will be seen that while Mr. Conover's letter is correct in form, it lacks the definiteness and detail of a good business letter. Mr. McBride's, on the other hand; gives, in a definite form, the in- formation asked for, and would, undoubtedly, receive the more favorable consideration from Mr. Brown. Rewrite Mr. Conover's letter, making it more definite and giving more facts. Write Mr. Brown's reply to Mr. McBride. Write to the head of some summer camp for boys or girls asking for information in regard to the camp. Write the reply sent by the head of the camp. Advertisements of camps in periodicals may be consulted if necessary. Read the following letter of friendship and note the differ- ence in the two replies. Imagine yourself to be Marian Halleck 140 LETTER WRITING and decide in what respects Georgia McVey's answer is the more satisfactory. In accepting an invitation to make a visit, the time of one's arrival and departure should be stated definitely, so that one's hostess may plan accordingly. The Pines, Red Rock, N. Y., June 29th, 1917. My dear Grace, Mother and I would like to have you and your brother come to spend this week-end with us. Brother Bob starts for camp this week and that gives an extra room which we shall be glad to have your brother occupy. We are more than usually "full up" this summer, all of the family being at home, and you will have a chance to play tennis with at least five different players. So be sure to bring your racquets and tennis clothes. Do write that you both can come and I will meet you at the Junction with the car. Yours cordially, Marian Halleck. Saunder's Point, N. Y., June 31, 1917. Dear Marian, Thank you very much for the invitation for the week-end. I do not know whether Harry can come with me or not, but I hope so. I shall be glad to have a chance to play tennis with you. Our club is flourishing. Expect me on Friday. Yours sincerely, Grace M. Newell. Marian wrote the same letter to Georgia McVey, who replied as follows : LETTER WRITING 141 Lake Manaho, N. Y., June 31, 1917. My dear Marian, It gives Horace and me much pleasure to accept your invitation for the week-end. You may expect us on Friday on the train which arrives at the Junction at five-thirty. We are bringing our racquets and tennis togs with us and we hope to find our old opponents in good form. Horace must be at business by nine o'clock on Monday. I hope we shall not disturb the household too much if we slip away at the barbarous hour of seven in the morning. Give my regards to your mother. Yours sincerely, Georgia McVey. Write Georgia McVey's note of thanks to Mrs. Halleck after Georgia's return home. Write Horace McVey's note to Bob Halleck inviting him to go on a three days' fishing or hunting trip. A formal letter is written in the third person and the reply should be in the same form. A formal letter should occupy the middle of the page. No abbreviations should be used. Read the following invitation and replies carefully and note the points in which they differ from informal letters. c^^f- c^vacUuitina ^ta^o^ at tk& £jJo& ^S^aie^t fi-icflv ^^kao-t v&- aue^oZoy tk& '^t&ciQ.toi& at TT^to^o^ jCavo^ 771. ^a^tton' Qy ^o-vn.'fi.cu'yvu at cu cLa^n^e^ cjiv-e^yi at tk& (^dOA^'yio- an ^lixia^i^ e,v-e^7iir>.q, ju>nf> tk& Ivjt&entk, at nln& a' ^tae^k. TVliA^ jCalo^ 77(. ^a.ltan aM^e/^to^ ^v-itk ^t&aM^uv& tk& vyiv-ita,- tian at tk& (j'ba.cLuatincf' (^ta^o^ ay £aky& ^oieAt /iftc^k cf^oal to att&ncl a> cLa.n^& aiv-&'yv at tk& (^a.^ina, jwK& tk& lCtt&&ntk, at ni'n& a' ^tanh. /2/ (ou^tici (Lv-e^yiv.&, fu,'yi& tk& t&ntk. 142 LETTER WRITING ^tfl/fl/ jCo-iA^ ?yi. ^a^tto-n v&aveto^ tJvaZ o-yv cu^^awrit o-i vtt'we.Q^ Q^ri& ^a^yvyvat O/^^e-^ tke^ vyvv-vCaZvo-fi at tA^& avcLcLvocitCn'a e^ta^o^ o-y tri& La,k/& S^av&Qyt fi-ic^k ^^kaot to aXZ&nicC a cLoyn^e/ avv-&fv at tk& ^a^Cno- aru ^un& iOit&&'yitA. Write a formal invitation to the graduating exercises of your own school. Write a note of acceptance. Write a note of regret. General Remarks Business letters are usually written on plain, unruled paper in single sheets. A wider choice of stationery for social correspond- ence is allowed, but the paper should never be- fantastic in tint or style. Plain, unruled, folded paper, in white or cream, of good quality, is in the best taste. Perfumed paper, elaborate monograms and highly colored sealing wax should be avoided. Envelopes should match the paper in size, color and texture. It is decidedly discourteous to your correspondent to send a letter which is untidy in appearance, misspelled, or illegibly written. If a letter does not present a satisfactory appearance as regards neatness or arrangement, you should rewrite it until you cannot improve upon it. If you have not mastered the spelling of such words as it is necessary for you to use, keep a dictionary by you and use it. If you have not been able to acquire a beauti- ful style of penmanship, you can at least acquire a style that is neat and legible. Letters should be written in ink. No one should write a letter in pencil unless he is unable to use a pen. A letter reveals a great deal of the writer's personality. No one can afford to send a letter which, by its appearance, form, or con- tents, creates an unfavorable impression. ' U ODvJ /t) 4^0000 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY