A useful manual for writing philosophical essays, necessarily treating such fundamental concepts as argument, logic, and criticism. Sound argument follows from true premises (content), suitable structure (validity), and recognizable organization (coherence). Logic is the stuff of validity, often relying on syllogism or dilemma (see especially p16). The author recommends organizing essays in five parts: state the proposition, give the argument for, show the validity of structure, show truth of premises, state the upshot(s). Dilemmas are useful for upending widely held beliefs; counterexamples depend on imagination; reductio ad absurdum is useful in showing a proposition false, since truth cannot follow from invalid premises. There are two common standards of successful philosophical arguments: 1) do not contradict common sense, or 2) do not contradict basic theoretical propositions.