Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide is a compact and straightforward guide to the skills needed to study philosophy, aimed at anyone coming to the subject for the first time or just looking to improve their performance. Nigel Warburton clarifies what is expected of students and offers strategies and guidance to help them make effective use of their study time and improve their marks.

The four main skills covered by the book are:

• reading philosophy - both skimming and in-depth analysis of historical and contemporary work, understanding the examples and terminology used
• listening to philosophy - formal lectures and informal classroom teaching, preparation, picking up on arguments used, note taking
• discussing philosophy - arguing and exploring, asking questions, communicating in concise and understandable ways
• writing philosophy - planning and researching essays and other written tasks, thinking up original examples, avoiding plagiarism.