the length of the composition. For example, a short notice of a book or poem might consist of a single paragraph. One slightly longer might consist of two paragraphs:
- A. Account of the work.
- B. Critical discussion.
A report on a poem, written for a class in literature, might consist of seven paragraphs:
- A. Facts of composition and publication.
- B. Kind of poem; metrical form.
- C. Subject.
- D. Treatment of subject.
- E. For what chiefly remarkable.
- F. Wherein characteristic of the writer.
- G. Relationship to other works.
The contents of paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem. Usually, paragraph C would indicate the actual or imagined circumstances of the poem (the situation), if these call for explanation, and would then state the subject and outline its development. If the poem is a narrative in the third person throughout, paragraph C need contain no more than a concise summary of the action. Paragraph D would indicate the leading ideas and show how they are made prominent, or would indicate what points in the narrative are chiefly emphasized.
A novel might be discussed under the heads:
- A. Setting.
- B. Plot.
- C. Characters.
- D. Purpose.