One Hundred Great Essays is published as part of the Penguin Academics Series, a series of low-cost, high-quality offerings.

One Hundred Great Essays collects one-hundred of the most teachable and rewarding essays used in today's college composition class. The anthology combines classic, commonly taught essays with frequently anthologized contemporary essays by today's most highly regarded writers. The selections are broadly diverse in both subject matter and authorship. Essays have been selected as both models for good writing and useful springboards for student writing. An introductory section discusses the qualities of the essay form and offers instruction on how to read essays critically, and shows students how to use the writing process to develop their own essays.