This book is designed for students to use independently to enhance their critical thinking skills. It contains advice and examples of students' writing to illustrate poor performance and demonstrate how to produce effective critical discourse. As university study requires students to demonstrate critical insight, this book shows how to develop this skill by breaking down the thinking and writing processes into steps. It also points out that critical thinking is valued in post-university employment and discusses how to prepare for professional writing.

- Provides students with research-backed strategies from cognitive science for studying effectively and efficiently - Includes concrete examples of the ways students can use each strategy and questions and activities for retrieval practice - Provides a wealth of illustrations to explain complex concepts and to make them memorable - Written by ‘The Learning Scientists’, stars in the education arena. - Includes an ISR with author videos, sample answers to the questions in each chapter, links to additional information and blogs.

Accompanying The Routledge Doctoral Student 's Companion this book examines what it means to be a doctoral student in education and the social sciences, providing a guide for those supervising students. Exploring the key role and pedagogical challenges that face supervisors in students personal development, the contributors outline the research capabilities which are essential for confidence, quality and success in doctorate level research. Providing guidance about helpful resources and methodological support, the chapters:

• frame important questions within the history of debates
• act as a road map through international literatures
• make suggestions for good practice
• raise important questions and provide answers to key pedagogical issues
• provide advice on enabling students scholarly careers and identities.

While there is no one solution to ideal supervision, this wide-ranging text offers resources that will help supervisors develop their own personal approach to supervision. Ideal for all supervisors whether assisting part-time of full-time students, it is also highly suitable for helping academics to support international students who confront Western doctoral traditions and academic cultures, helping both supervisor and student to understand why things are as they are.

Academic Research, Writing & Referencing will provide you with practical guidance and tips on searching for literature and referencing your sources in a scholarly manner, helping you to avoid plagiarism and to produce successful academic writing assignments whatever your course of study. With the in-depth understanding of the practice of integrating and referencing academic sources and research into your writing that this book delivers, you will be better prepared to deal with - and succeed in - the full range of writing tasks that will be expected of you over the course of your academic studies and on into your chosen career.

In the contemporary world it is clear that the need to study beyond Masters Level is increasing in importance for a wide range of practitioners in diverse professional settings. Students across the world are choosing doctorates not only to become career academics, but to go beyond the academic arena, in order to make a personal and educational, as well as an economic investment, in their workplace careers and their lives. However for many doctoral students, both full-time and part-time, navigating the literature and key issues surrounding doctoral research can often be a challenge.

Bringing together contributions from key names in the international education arena, The Routledge Doctoral Student's Companion is a comprehensive guide to the literature surrounding doctorates, bringing together questions, challenges and solutions normally scattered over a wide range of texts. Accessible and wide-ranging, it covers all doctoral students need to know about:

• what doctoral education means in contemporary practice
• forming an identity and knowledge as a doctoral student
• the big questions which run throughout doctoral practice
• becoming a researcher
• the skills needed to conduct research
• integrating oneself into a scholarly community.

Offering an extensive and rounded guide to undertaking doctoral research in a single volume, this book is essential reading for all full-time and part-time doctoral students in education and related disciplines.

This well-researched text was written specifically to address Unit AS1 of the revised CCEA Government and Politics specification. It covers the Government and Politics of Northern Ireland and has been through a meticulous quality assurance process. It considers the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the amendments made in subsequent agreements (St Andrews, Hillsborough and Stormont House) and examines the functions and responsibilities of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the executive and various political parties. Included in the book are tasks, practice essay titles, key terms and concepts, as well as a detailed glossary, index and examination preparation guide. Areas explored include: * The principles, content and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the changes made to it by subsequent agreements. * An analysis of the Assembly, including its three main functions (representation, legislation and scrutiny), and its independence from the Executive. * A look at the Executive Office and the Executive as a whole - how it disappointed, how it can determine legislation and policy, the divisions within it, and its ability to function as a power-sharing government. * An evaluation of the Northern Ireland political parties, including their role in government, their respective backgrounds, strategies and policies, and how they have changed since 1998.

An accessible, student-friendly handbook that covers all of the essential study skills that will ensure that students get the most out of their Nursing or Healthcare course.. Study Skills for Nursing & Healthcare Students has been developed specifically to provide tried & tested guidance on the most important academic and study skills that students require throughout their time at university and beyond. Presented in a practical and easy-to-use style it demonstrates the immediate benefits to be gained by developing and improving these skills during each stage of their course.

The Realities of Completing a PhD gives a balanced and evidence-based view of the realities of PhD life. Full of practical tips and including a checklist to complete before sending an application, the book helps prospective PhD students prepare for the realities of taking on a PhD from an informed basis and offers guidance on submitting a well-planned application. This is the first book of its kind to bring together a range of international data that helps to paint a more balanced picture of the PhD process. The book outlines different types of PhD, how to select a topic for a PhD, how to write a robust research proposal and application, and the realities of PhD study in relation to student wellbeing, social commitments and employment prospects. By considering the issues raised in this book, students are less likely to be overwhelmed by the PhD process, and better equipped to complete their award. The book will be invaluable for potential doctoral students as well as those already embarking on a PhD. It will also enable university mentors and supervisors to consider how the application phase is key to managing student expectations, and how they can further promote a healthy and productive PhD experience.

Many researchers dread writing. They find it laborious - even painful - to put their scholarly work into words. They get bogged down in the study, and lose track of the story. And they produce uninspiring papers that fail to resonate with readers or reviewers. This book offers an antidote to this problem: brief, accessible lessons that guide researchers to write clear and compelling scientific manuscripts. The book is divided into three sections - Story, Craft, and Community. The Story section offers advice on getting the balance of study and story just right, introducing strategies for tackling each section of a scientific manuscript. The Craft section considers the grammatical and rhetorical tools of the trade, showing how they can be wielded for maximum impact. And the Community section offers suggestions for writing collaboratively, supporting other writers, and navigating peer review. Each section features multiple short and pragmatic lessons, peppered with illustrative examples. Readers can use the chapters collectively to build holistic writing skills, or dip in and out to refine specific elements of the craft. Rooted in a coaching philosophy, we aim to unlock our readers' potential as writers through instruction, reflection, and example. And we hope to inspire researchers to face writing with joy. This work is clearly written and easily understandable. Its many practical examples, tools, and exercises make an effective toolbox of support for scholarly writers. This will be invaluable to new scholars and help established scholars as well. The inclusion of examples specific to the health arena and the clear, elegantly simple explanations add strength and relevance to this work. Toni Ungaretti, Johns Hopkins School of Education, Baltimore, MD, USA This book is the most original perspective I have ever read about the craft of writing. As its title suggests, it is inspiring. Brownie Anderson, NBME, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Evaluative Thinking for Advanced Learners, Grades 3-5 will teach students to think critically about values, issues, and ideas while creating defensible arguments. Evaluative thinking is a skill which helps students learn to weigh values and facts in making judgements. Working through the lessons and handouts in this book, students will examine difficult and ambiguous questions from a subjective and balanced perspective. This curriculum provides cohesive, focused, scaffolded lessons to teach each targeted area of competency, followed by authentic application activities for students to then apply their newly developed skill set. This book can be used as a stand-alone gifted curriculum or as part of an integrated curriculum. Each lesson ties in both reading and metacognitive skills, making it easy for teachers to incorporate into a variety of contexts.

Learn the craft of writing a high-quality, high-mark university essay with this step-by-step guide. Suitable for all students - from making the transition to university study that much easier to refining your technique for the final year - this accessible and concise book leads you through the complete essay-writing process in five straightforward steps. The book is packed with best practice tips, common student mistakes (and how to avoid them!), and practical templates that have been designed to help you write your university essays. You will discover new techniques for deconstructing essay questions, like GALA; a complete Harvard Referencing catalogue, showing you how to properly record sources and references; and a generic essay template to help you cover everything necessary for those top marks. Once you read this book, you will never have to ask the following questions - because you will know the answers: * What is this question asking me to do? * How should I structure my essay? * What goes in an Introduction? * How do I write a meaningful paragraph? * How do I cite a source properly? * What is 'background information'? * How do I evaluate someone's work? * What goes in a Conclusion? * How do I create a reference list? * What do I do with feedback?