best suited to his needs, but if he is unable to express his thoughts
effectively, his article will be a failure. Style is not to be regarded
as mere ornament added to ordinary forms of expression. It is not an
incidental element, but rather the fundamental part of all literary
composition, the means by which a writer transfers what is in his own
mind to the minds of his readers. It is a vehicle for conveying ideas
and emotions. The more easily, accurately, and completely the reader
gets the author's thoughts and feelings, the better is the style.

The style of an article needs to be adapted both to the readers and to
the subject. An article for a boys' magazine would be written in a style
different from that of a story on the same subject intended for a Sunday
newspaper. The style appropriate to an entertaining story on odd
superstitions of business men would be unsuitable for a popular
exposition of wireless telephony. In a word, the style of a special
article demands as careful consideration as does its subject, purpose,
and structure.

Since it may be assumed that any one who aspires to write for newspapers
and magazines has a general knowledge of the principles of composition
and of the elements and qualities of style, only such points of style as
are important in special feature writing will be discussed in this
chapter.

The elements of style are: (1) words, (2) figures of speech, (3)
sentences, and (4) paragraphs. The kinds of words, figures, sentences,
and paragraphs used, and the way in which they are combined, determine
the style.

WORDS. In the choice of words for popular articles, three points are