Any book recommendations regarding writing essays effectively?

Question

I'm looking for a good book or books that I can read to help me write more effectively. This isn't for fiction or novel writing but rather essays, debates, and other argumentative writing. I'm looking for something at an advanced level, preferably. I'd like to be able to communicate my ideas a bit clearer and sound a bit smarter.

Anything that may fit these guidelines, even if only slightly, will be very helpful.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Here's a book on how to write better essays; it seems to have good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Write-Better-Essay...

This is more of a reference guide on how to write essays, but it also looks helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Quick-Guid...

Answer 2

First my spiel on argumentative writing:

After spending tons of time pouring through the 'how to write essays' style books ranging from the Spark Notes text, to one written by the social philosopher Bryan Greetham, aptly titled 'How to Write Better Essays', I don't think there are any worth while books on that directly address the subject.  (Admittedly, some are interesting, and there's always something to be learned, but they focus more on mechanics than on strategy or effectiveness, as a rule.)  

However there are some preliminary tricks to guaranteeing a better reception.  The most obvious, and most useful is to mimic the diction, pace, and tone of the subject of the essay (Obviously, most useful when dealing with literature, where most of my essay time is spent).  Another is to write to the audience's sensibilities (This is especially useful when handling controversial subjects, you present the ideas in terms commonly accepted by the audience and slowly bring on the full weight of the argument - the frog in the pot technique).  And finally is to have a clearly defined theme that the paper will come back to.  All that stuff is pretty basic, and I'm sure you're aware of it, but you'd be amazed by the number of folks who walk into the writing lab and have overlooked all of those tactics.

Then you have the heart of the matter:  What is good argumentation?  It varies, obviously from subject to subject, and understanding the different strategies and methods is where the key lies.  So the search is not how to write essays, but how to argue.  That puts us in another realm all together.

A great resource for writers in general, and specifically for academic writers is 'A Writer's Reference' by Hacker and Sommers.  It deals specifically with rhetorical techniques in one section of the book.

As out of touch as one may assume it is, the still definitive guide on debate is 'The Art of Rhetoric' by Aristotle.  It may not be necessary since it's oft quoted, but for someone seriously seeking to write superb essay it should be required reading at some point.

There are several other books that deal specifically with rhetorical techniques and I think you'll know what to search for them from now on.  Also be aware that communications and/or speech/public speaking courses are actually some of the best places to go to learn how to use those techniques.

Another great resource, probably the best, are actual essays from great essayists.  I recently got an excellent book called 'The Art of the Personal Essay' that has essays spanning over 400 years.  I use it mainly for reference, so I haven't read it all, but there are some beautiful pieces in it.

Those anthologies are bountiful, and you can usually tell if it's good for you from a brief look through.  I recommend Richard Wright - his essays are phenomenal.

You can also try looking for books of literary criticism, not easy, but not hard to find.  They are kind of a paradox, but contain some of the most elegant, and ready to dissect examples or argumentative writing.  

Good luck, and have fun.