'Be more critical!' 'Too descriptive' Tutors often say this, but what does it mean? And how do you achieve that 'critical' approach you need for the higher grades? This practical guide shows you how. It: — explains what 'getting critical' means and why you need a critical approach to your work — gives practical advice on getting critical in your research and reading — shows you what critical writing looks like and how to write critically This new edition has more on developing argument in essays, on reading strategies and detailed examples of student writing. Kate Williams manages the Upgrade Study Advice Service at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She is Series Editor of the Pocket Study Skills.

We can hardly imagine a Britain without Elizabeth II on the throne. It seems to be the job she was born for. And yet for much of her early life the young princess did not know the role that her future would hold. She was our accidental Queen. As a young girl, Elizabeth was among the guests in Westminster Abbey watching her father being crowned, making her the only monarch to have attended a parent's coronation. Kate Williams explores the sheltered upbringing of the young princess with a gentle father and domineering mother, her complicated relationship with her sister, Princess Margaret, and her dependence on her nanny, Marion 'Crawfie' Crawford. She details the profound and devastating impact of the abdication crisis when, at the impressionable age of 11, Elizabeth found her position changed overnight: no longer a minor princess she was now heiress to the throne. Elizabeth's determination to share in the struggles of her people marked her out from a young age. Her father initially refused to let her volunteer as a nurse during the Blitz, but relented when she was 18 and allowed her to work as a mechanic and truck driver for the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. It was her forward-thinking approach that ensured that her coronation was televised, against the advice of politicians at the time. Kate Williams reveals how the 25-year-old young queen carved out a lasting role for herself amid the changes of the 20th century. Her monarchy would be a very different one to that of her parents and grandparents, and its continuing popularity in the 21st century owes much to the intelligence and elusive personality of this remarkable woman.

Students need to think critically about what they read or hear. This accessible guide shows students what being 'critical' in their work means, and how to bring that 'critical' dimension into all the work they do. It addresses the need and the skills of being critical in relation to reading and writing and is ideal for students at any level.

This guide explains why referencing is an essential part of good writing, and shows how to do it. It explains what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. With clear explanations and examples, this handy easy-to-read guide has engaging illustrations and an informal style.

It's Spitalfields, 1840. Catherine Sorgeiul lives with her Uncle in a rambling house in London's East End. She has few companions and little to occupy the days beyond her own colourful imagination. But then a murderer strikes, ripping open the chests of young girls and stuffing hair into their mouths to resemble a beak, leading the press to christen him The Man of Crows. And as Catherine hungrily devours the news, she finds she can channel the voices of the dead... and comes to believe she will eventually channel The Man of Crows himself. But the murders continue to panic the city and Catherine gradually realizes she is snared in a deadly trap, where nothing is as it first appears... and lurking behind the lies Catherine has been told are secrets more deadly and devastating than anything her imagination can conjure. With an elegant style and thrilling plot, The Pleasures of Men reveals the dark, beating heart of corrupt London during Queen Victoria's reign.