Best American Essays Author:Robert Atwan The college version of The Best American Essays, Fourth Edition, is acollection of essays for first-year composition courses, loosely arrangedby broad aims of discourse, including narrative, informative, andargumentative essays. In addition to its rhetorical organization, thereader also offers flexibility for instructors who prefer a them... more »atic oralphabetical organization. The editor introduces students to various typesof essays, followed by commentary from well-known writers on such subjectsas "Essayists Must Tell the Truth" and "Essays Are Not ScientificDocuments." The 36 essays are presented in this volume with streamlinedapparatus, including brief general and biographical introductions for eachessay, followed by three straightforward questions for reflection. Thishandy, slim volume of literary-quality essays has become a classic forcollege writing courses.The editor has selected these essays from the popular annually updatedHoughton Mifflin Best American Essays trade series based on theirappropriateness for college writing programs. The essays are organized bycategorypersonal, informative, and persuasiveto reflect the typesof writing most often taught in introductory and even advanced composition courses.
New! One-third new readings include recent essays by Gary Wills, David Halberstam, Ashraf Rushdy, Edwidge Danticat, Danielle Ofri, Rebecca McClanahan, and Anne Fadiman.
New! The general introduction, "Encountering the Essay," examines the essayas a genre and provides context for student writers.
New! The "Essayists on the Essay" section features well-known writers sharingtheir perspectives on writing and reading essays. The section contains acollection of commentaries from the guest-editors of the trade series,including Annie Dillard, Joseph Epstein, Elizabeth Hardwick, andJustin Kaplan.
New! Each selection is preceded by a biographical headnote and followed by abrief set of questions for class discussion or writing.
New! An end-of-book section entitled "Alternative Arrangements" provides flexibleoptions for constructing a course syllabus in three additional ways:organized by rhetorical modes, literary and journalistic techniques,and contemporary issues.