December 2011 For immediate release Get ready for exams with reading, writing and reasoning guide

An international best-selling student handbook, co-authored by a Leeds Metropolitan University professor, which guides students through the challenging transition from school work to the high academic standards expected by universities, has been re-launched. Reading, Writing and Reasoning: A guide for students by Gavin Fairbairn, Professor of Ethics and Language at Leeds Metropolitan and Professor Christopher Winch at Kings College, London, was first published in 1991 and is now in its third edition.

The book, published by the Open University Press, aims to guide new students, those returning to study after time spent in the workplace, and even teachers and academics themselves, in developing their skills in key areas including: clear and engaging writing processes, how best to use citations, demonstrating an understanding of background reading and understanding written arguments. Professor Fairbairn commented: Perhaps what makes this book stand out from others most is its emphasis on the need for writers to understand what helps a text communicate successfully, and its careful and systematic approach to teaching new academics to make good use of citation. However, it is also distinctive in its emphasis on the need for students, and for all academics for that matter, to develop strong skills and disciplines as readers, both so that they can make good use, as writers, of the time they spend reading, and so that they can effectively read and redraft their own work. Previous editions of Reading, Writing and Reasoning have been received well

by experienced academics in a wide range of disciplines, who have found it helpful in developing their own writing, as well as in working with students. In the end the books success will probably depend on its style, which is lighthearted and easy to understand.

Alongside the discussion of problems that all academic writers share is a wealth of advice about ways of developing good skills, supported by examples and by opportunities to practice skills through carefully structured tasks.

Professor Fairbairn has published widely in relation to applied philosophy and ethics in, for example, health and social care, as well as having published other books about academic literacy over the past twenty years, including Reading at University; Writing your Abstract, and Becoming an Author.

Ends Copies of the book are available for review. To receive a copy, or for further details, please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the Communications team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email c.braithwaite@leedsmet.ac.uk Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has over 15,000 students and around 3, 000 staff. The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds. Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie. Leeds Metropolitans heritage can be traced back to the founding of the Mechanics Institute in Leeds in 1824. International students rated the University top in the UK for language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010

Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the world for the quality of its lectures. We have over 1,500 international students from 122 countries around the globe. The Universitys award-winning learning environments include

Broadcasting Place, which was voted the best tall building in the world in 2010 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and also winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building category.