The Essay Writing Skills Booklet for Philosophy and Similar Subjects is a to-the-point, quick yet detailed, bullet-pointed guide that can be of immense, immediate aid to undergraduates trying to achieve higher marks, and to other writers seeking to achieve clarity of textual composition. The guide is divided into fifteen parts starting with advice on activities to be pursued prior to putting pen to paper, through to marking schemes, essay structuring, referencing, good literary habits, common mistakes, originality, philosophic virtues, a little on logic, and ending with a collection of passages from some of the greatest writers on the art of essay writing.

Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosophy lecturer at the University of Exeter. This booklet evolved from preliminary notes he made for his students both in his philosophy classes and in the essay-writing course he gave at Exeter. Sjöstedt-Hughes has been involved in a wide range of pursuits related to writing. These include composing his own book, journal articles, volume chapters, copy-editing other writers’ texts, typesetting journals, graphic-designing books, peer-reviewing submitted essays for high-end journals, editing collected volumes, teaching English grammar, working with literary agents and publishing departments, and advising on and marking hundreds of student essays each year. He has worked with Routledge and Bloomsbury, and his writings helped inspire the recreation of a Marvel superhero. He here shares some of his insights.