For students new to Communication, Media or Cultural Studies, this book will give an idea of what to expect. For students already studying Media or Communication Studies at school or college, it will provide a concise but comprehensive learning aid.

Part One includes an overview of Communication Studies, a survey of the current approaches to and theories about Communication, and an overview of the different approaches, including semiotics, discourse analysis, social constructionism, visual rhetorics, historical materialism, psychoanalysis, gender criticism (including feminism, postfeminism, and queer theory), structuralism and poststructuralism, postmodernism and postcolonialism.

Part Two covers study skills for undergraduate communication -- the level of reading required, types of assignments and assessment, time management, how to use a tutorial, recording notes in lectures, writing skills and revising for and passing examinations (including model exam questions and answers).