Working out the commonplace involved attacking vice by envisioning criticism of stereotypes rather than individuals. Students do this by using contradiction, comparison, and maxim attacking the motivation of the demographic described. Encomium (enkōmion) Students used encomium to praise persons, things, times, places, animals, and growing things. Each praise could be engendered from the headings upbringing, deeds, skills, and sometimes was in the form of a comparison with another person, an epilogue, or a prayer. Invective (psogos) Invective opposes commonplace. It attacks a specific, named individual, usually a political or cultural figure. Comparison (synkrisis) The comparison exercise acts as a double encomium or a combination of an encomium of one person or thing and the invective against another. Personification (ēthopoeia) Students used personification or ethopoeia by forming a speech ascribed to the ghost of a known person or of an imaginary or mythological character from past, present, or future times. This exercise was intended to request students to perform it with clarity, conciseness, and floridity. Description (ekphrasis) When asked to use ekphrasis to describe a person, place, thing, or time, students were obliged to produce a description that was complete. Included was detailed information about a person from head-to-toe, an action from start to finish, etc. This form is seen in many classical literature and historical writings. Argument Because this exercise is an introduction to argument in the philosophical schools, the use of thesis was not performed until first completing all previous exercises. Students had to come up with a thesis argument of their own nature; these questions were often ones difficult to answer. Introduction to law (nomou eisphora) Aphtonius calls this final exercise a gymnasma rather than progymnasmata. This exercise is in the form of advocacy of a proposed law or opposition of it. The argument is first stated, a counterargument follows, and then the headings are discussed Progymnasmata for schools In the past few years there has been considerable effort expended to see if the Progymnasmata could be adapted for use in elementary, middle and high school education. One of the leaders in this effort is James Selby, the author of the Classical Composition series, who has reduced the composition curriculum used by Quintilian and Cicero, to a level that can be effectively used by fourth through twelfth grade students. Rhetorica and Progymnasmata is taught as a mandatory class in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, at Gymnasium of Karlovci high school,