This book is designed to help students with the problems they face in their academic writing. Beginning with the premise that successful writing in the arts and social sciences goes hand in hand with understanding the subject-matter and finding out what to do with it, the book deals with the tasks that confront students as they think about a problem and explore possible answers. Using concrete examples from a variety of disciplines, the author demonstrates an interesting approach to different sorts of task: reading, taking notes, interpreting and analysing. He moves on to show how the parts of an academic essay are developed and structured, and how to make effective use of language as an academic medium. This is a book that students will want to read through and refer back to. The practical knowledge required in writing a good academic essay is never underestimated, but Gordon Taylor's advice is always very clearly presented and very much to the point. At the same time it is refreshingly thorough, and the detailed illustrations he provides come from long experience in teaching students the art of writing.