The kinetic description of linear waves in plasmas is succinctly presented, with emphasis on applications to high-frequency (hf) wave heating and current drive. The Maxwell-Vlasov system of equations is introduced. Its two-timescale analysis yields the linearized Vlasov and the quasilinear Fokker-Planck equations. The standard guiding centre and Hamiltonian formalisms are presented. Two formulations of the hf plasma wave equation are given: as a partial differential equation to hold at each position, and as a global Galerkin (‘variational’) form.