First of all, do you know what philosophy is all about? If not, visit this page first:
Philosophy is not an easy subject. Many philosophy readings are difficult to understand, and writing a good philosophy essay takes a lot of time and effort. Why should you care if you are not going to become a philosopher in the future? The short answer is that studying philosophy improves your thinking, and your comprehension and presentation skills. Many philosophy students come back to tell us that what they learn in philosophy is very useful for their careers.
However, to improve yourself, there is no shortcut other than to work hard. There are at least three things you can do:
Most of the writings in philosophy are difficult to understand, and you need to read them at least a few times, first very quickly, and then very slowly and make sure you understand each and every sentence and how they are connected. If you are good at reading philosophy, everything else will be easy! James Pryor has written some very useful study guides for philosophy students.
Even if you are not interested in reading a lot of philosophy, you should read more high-quality analytical essays. A HKU survey says that HKU students read more gossip magazines than newspapers and books. I would suggest that you read at least one book a month that is not part of your study. If you have time, read these as well:
The core of philosophy is thinking that is clear, logical and systematic. Good critical thinking in other words. Make sure you know how to formulate and evaluate an argument, and think about arguments on both sides of an issue. I have developed a website Critical Thinking Web that has a lot of free online tutorials on critical thinking:
Writing forces us to express our ideas clearly. If we cannot say what we think, perhaps we do not really understand it. But good writing is a skill that requires a lot of work. Read the notes here: