Plain English

Plain English, by Marian Wharton, is offered for the education of the workers by the workers, and its lessons address the reader as Comrade. The text says that he who aspires to master the art of expression must first of all consecrate himself completely to some great cause, and the greatest cause of all is the cause of humanity. A lesson says that its endeavor is to make the reader see the reason for every rule and definition before they are given.

A lesson says that language, like customs, religion, government, has grown with the economic advancement of man, and that civilization began with the invention of the phonetic alphabet and the use of writing. One section is headed Comparison of Adverbs and says that a few adverbs are compared the same as adjectives, while most adverbs form their comparative and superlative by the use of more and most or less and least. The text says the colon is used before a formal list of items and after a salutation at the beginning of a letter.