diff --git a/packages/babel-core/src/transformation/file/options/option-manager.js b/packages/babel-core/src/transformation/file/options/option-manager.js
index b14bdd1059..5af5f58fc9 100644
--- a/packages/babel-core/src/transformation/file/options/option-manager.js
+++ b/packages/babel-core/src/transformation/file/options/option-manager.js
@@ -178,12 +178,13 @@ export default class OptionManager {
 
       // check for an unknown option
       if (!option && this.log) {
-        let pluginOptsInfo = "Check out http://babeljs.io/docs/usage/options/ for more info";
-
         if (removed[key]) {
           this.log.error(`Using removed Babel 5 option: ${alias}.${key} - ${removed[key].message}`, ReferenceError);
         } else {
-          this.log.error(`Unknown option: ${alias}.${key}. ${pluginOptsInfo}`, ReferenceError);
+          let unknownOptErr = `Unknown option: ${alias}.${key}. Check out http://babeljs.io/docs/usage/options/ for more information about options.`;
+          let presetConfigErr = `A common cause of this error is the presence of a configuration options object without the corresponding preset name. Example:\n\nInvalid:\n  \`{ presets: [{option: value}] }\`\nValid:\n  \`{ presets: ['pluginName', {option: value}] }\`\n\nFor more detailed information on preset configuration, please see http://babeljs.io/docs/plugins/#pluginpresets-options.`;
+
+          this.log.error(`${unknownOptErr}\n\n${presetConfigErr}`, ReferenceError);
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/babel-core/test/option-manager.js b/packages/babel-core/test/option-manager.js
index 63f53b5d88..d6488b154d 100644
--- a/packages/babel-core/test/option-manager.js
+++ b/packages/babel-core/test/option-manager.js
@@ -57,6 +57,18 @@ suite("option-manager", function () {
         /While processing preset: .*option-manager(?:\/|\\\\)not-a-preset\.js/
       );
     });
+
+    test("throws for invalid preset configuration", function() {
+      return assert.throws(
+        function () {
+          var opt = new OptionManager(new Logger(null, "unknown"));
+          opt.init({
+            'presets': [{ option: "value" }]
+          });
+        },
+        /Unknown option: foreign.option\.(?:.|\n)+A common cause of this error is the presence of a configuration options object without the corresponding preset name/
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   suite("presets", function () {