50 DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 



seem to warrant the change. This term the seniors spoke in public. The 

 juniors continued their Shakespere study, reading Hamlet and the seniors 

 met once a week to read Milton. The usual commencement exercises were 

 under my supervision, and closed the work of instruction for the year. I 

 I have lectured once in public during the year on " The Newspaper as a 

 Popular Educator," and attended two institutes, as regularly appointed, 

 lecturing on Good Literature at Home and in the Common School. The 

 spring vacation I utilized in visiting several colleges of the State, spending 

 several days at Ann Arbor. I also attended the meeting of the National 

 Teachers' Association, at Chicago. 



Some changes have been made in the course of instruction which are 

 worthy of notice. The English work in the mechanical course has been 

 made to correspond with that of the agricultural course through the sopho- 

 more year, with a possibility of a parallel through the junior year. The 

 Shakespere work has been made part of the requird course. The Logic has 

 been put in the junior year, and made a required study. The public speeches 

 have been made a part of the morning exercises. The written work, after 

 the sophomore year, except the public speeches, is done in connection with 

 some regular study in the course. Horticulture, Physiology, Literature, 

 Political Science, French and Engineering. A definite time has been set in 

 the program for the meeting of the lower classes for rhetorical exercises. 

 All of these are gratifying, as showing the growing appreciation of the 

 importance of thorough English work. 



Some additional equipment in the way of dictionaries and charts has been 

 made. The one pressing need now, as when I made my report a year ago, is 

 an instructor in elocution. With the increased number of students, it grows 

 less and less possible for the elocutionary work to be satisfactorily done 

 without the services of a man who can give his entire time to it. 



All of which is respectfully submitted. 



E. J. MacEWAN, 

 Professor of English Language and Literature. 



REPORT OF THE ASblSTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND 



LITERATURE. 



To the President of the College : 



I have the honor to report the following as my portion of the work in 

 English for the year 1886-87: 



FALL TERM — GRAMMAR AND ELOCUTION. 



The fall term of 1886 was devoted to the study of English Grammar, with 

 Wliiting^s Essentials of English as a text-book. The object kept constantly 

 before us was to develop the thinking power of the student, to render him 

 familiar with the structure of sentences as found in classical English, and to 

 cultivate the faculty of correct speech, of accurate spelling, and of tidy and 

 business like make-up of written exercises. As an auxiliary to the work of 



