8.  Give a narrative of: 

The earning of your first dollar
How somebody met his match
An amusing incident
An anxious moment
A surprise
The touchdown
That fatal seventh inning
How you got the position
Why you missed the train
When you were lost
Your first trip on the railroad (a motor boat, a merry-go-round,
  snowshoes, a burro)
A mishap
How Jenkins skated
Your life until the present (a summary)
Something you have heard your father tell
What happened to your uncle
Your partner’s (chum’s) escapade
Meeting an old friend
Meeting a bore
A conversation you have overheard
When Myrtle eavesdropped
When the girls didn’t know Algy was in the parlor
A public happening that interests you
An incident you have read in the papers
An incident from your favorite novel
Backward Ben at the party
Something that happened to you today.

9.  Describe ...

For the mood or general “atmosphere”: 

Anything you deem suitable in Activity 8 in EXERCISE — Connotation. 
An old, deserted house
Your birthplace as you saw it in manhood
The view from an eminence
A city as seen from a roof garden by night
Your mother’s Bible
A barnyard scene
The lonely old negro at the supper table
A new immigrant gazing out upon the ocean he has crossed
The downtown section at closing hour
A scene of quietude
A scene of bustle and confusion
A richly colored scene
A scene of dejection
A scene of wild enthusiasm
A scene of dulness or stagnation.

With attention to homely detail: 

The old living-room
My aunt’s dresses
Barker’s riding-horse
The business street of the village
A cabin in the mountains
The office of a man approaching bankruptcy
The Potters’ backyard
The second-hand store
The ugliest man.

For general accuracy and vividness: 

The organ-grinder
The signs of an approaching storm
The arrival of the train
Mail-time at the village post office
The crowd at the auction
The old fishing-boat
A country fair (or a circus)
The inside of a theater (or a church)
The funeral procession
The political rally
The choir.

4.  Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience

For convenience, we have heretofore assumed that ideas and emotions, together with such expression of them as shall be in itself adequate and faithful, comprise the sole elements that have to be reckoned with in the use of words in combination.  But as you go out into life you will find that these things, however complete they may seem, are not in practice sufficient.  Another factor—­the human—­must have its place in our equation.  You do not speak or write in a vacuum.  Your object, your ultimate object at least, in building up your vocabulary is to address men and women; and among men and women the varieties of training, of stations, of outlooks, of sentiments, of prejudices, of caprices are infinite.  To gain an unbiased hearing you must take persistent cognizance of flesh and blood.