# Looking for recommendations for how-to-write-essays books

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recommendations-for-how-to-write-essays-books/853844>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** books-writing-myths\
**Created:** [May 15, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recommendations-for-how-to-write-essays-books/853844 "2020-05-15T07:40:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recommendations-for-how-to-write-essays-books/853844/1 "2020-05-15T07:40:25Z")

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I’d like to get a little into writing prose, specifically essays - not the academic type that is required as a deliverable in tertiary education (I’ve written my fair share of those), but rather the lengthier, more literary essays in which you elaborate in depth upon a thought or idea. Does anyone here have recommendations for books with helpful advice on how to make them more effective? When I google for how-to-write-essays books, I get plenty of material targeting college students, but not really what I am after.

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**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recommendations-for-how-to-write-essays-books/853844/3 "2020-11-10T13:39:20Z")

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I think William Zinsser’s [On Writing Well](https://www.amazon.com.au/Writing-Well-William-Zinsser/dp/0060891548) is pretty much the gold standard of non-fiction writing. I think you would be happy if reading it made you as good a writer as its author.