Attempts to persuade us - to believe something, to do something, to buy something - are everywhere. What is less clear is how to think critically about such attempts and how to distinguish those that are sound arguments. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide is a much needed guide to argument analysis and a clear introduction to thinking clearly and rationally for oneself. Accessibly written, this book equips students with the essential skills required to tell a good argument from a bad one.

Key features of the book include:
* clear, jargon-free discussion of key concepts in argumentation
* how to avoid common confusions surrounding words such as 'truth', 'knowledge' and 'opinion'
* how to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument
* how to spot fallacies and tell good reasoning from bad
* chapter summaries, exercises, examples and a glossary.

The second edition has been updated to include topical new examples from politics, sport, medicine and music, as well as new exercises throughout.