Philosophical Writing: An Introduction by Al P. Martinich
This is the substantially updated and revised edition of A. P. Martinich's best-selling text, Philosophical Writing: An Introduction. It's goal is to help those with little or no experience in philosophy to write successfully. By improving students' ability to present their knowledge and thoughts clearly, it helps them gain confidence in their essay-writing skills. This new edition includes three new sections on Contraries and Contradictions, Distinctions, and Definitions, as well as a glossary of those terms peculiar to philosophical prose (such as obtain and straw man). The second edition retains the highly acclaimed commentary on features of an essay, showing the evolution from draft stage to completion of a good paper, a crash course on logic, and a clear description of types of reasoning. It also discusses the special problem of being a student-author writing for a professor.