The essay is one of the richest of literary forms. Its most obvious characteristics are freedom, informality, and the personal touch--though it can also find room for poetry, satire, fantasy, and sustained argument. All these qualities, and many others, are on display in The Oxford Book of Essays. The most wide-ranging collection of its kind to appear for many years, it includes 140 essays by 120 writers: classics, curiosities, meditations, diversions, old favorites, recent examples that deserve to be better known. A particularly welcome feature is the amount of space allotted to American essayists, from Benjamin Franklin to John Updike and beyond. This is an anthology that opens with wise words about the nature of truth, and closes with a consideration of the novels of Judith Krantz. Some of the other topics discussed in its pages are anger, pleasure, Gandhi, Beau Brummell, wasps, party-going, gangsters, plumbers, Beethoven, potato crisps, the importance of being the right size, and the demolition of Westminster Abbey. It contains some of the most eloquent writing in English, and some of the most entertaining.

The sexual politics of a faculty wives dinner. The psychological gamesmanship of an inappropriate therapist. The emotional minefield of an extended family wedding . . . Whatever the subject, Emily Fox Gordon’s disarmingly personal essays are an art form unto themselves—reflecting and revealing, like mirrors in a maze, the seemingly endless ways a woman can lose herself in the modern world. With piercing humor and merciless precision, Gordon zigzags her way through “the unevolved paradise” of academia, with its dying breeds of bohemians, adulterers, and flirts, then stumbles through the perils and pleasures of psychotherapy, hoping to find a narrative for her life. Along the way, she encounters textbook feminists, partying philosophers, perfectionist moms, and an unlikely kinship with Kafka—in a brilliant collection of essays that challenge our sacred institutions, defy our expectations, and define our lives.

This is a refreshingly written guide to essay writing aimed at undergraduates on English, Humanities and modular courses.

An assessment of the state of composition. In 13 essays, James Slevin argues toward a view of the discipline as a set of activities, not as an enclosed field of knowledge. Such a view broadens the meaning of the work of composition to include both teaching and learning, a two-way process.

Essays are a major form of assessment in higher education today and this is a fact that causes some writers a great deal of anxiety. Fortunately, essay writing is a skill that can be learned, like any other. Through precise explanations, this fully updated edition of Writing Essays gives you the confidence to express yourself coherently and effectively. It demystifies the entire process of essay writing, helping you to become proficient and confident in every aspect. Writing Essays reveals the tricks of the trade, making your student life easier. You’ll learn how to impress tutors by discovering exactly what markers look for when they read your work. Using practical examples selected from real student assignments and tutor feedback, this book covers every aspect of composition, from introductions and conclusions, down to presentation and submission. It also advises you on stress-free methods of revision, helps with exam essays, explains the principles of effective secondary source management, and shows you how to engage meaningfully with other critics’ views. A new chapter will also guide you through the intricacies of the undergraduate dissertation. As a full-time university professor, Richard Marggraf Turley counsels students and assesses their work every day, helping him to recognise the challenges that they face. Accessible, concise and full of practical examples, Writing Essays is a response to these challenges and will be an invaluable companion for Humanities students who wish to improve their grades and become confident in the art of essay writing.