Little Books

Small enough to slip into your pocket or bag, the Little Books offer students an accessible introduction to a variety of topics on study skills. The series now includes the following titles: The Little Book of Skills for Learning, The Little Book of Research, The Little Book of Essay Writing and The Little Book of Time Management.

The Little Books are available for purchase in the Libraries and University shops priced £1 to all Leeds Met staff and students. Academic staff can also buy copies in bulk for £25 for 50 or £125 for 300. Further details can be found on the Purchasing Publications page.

Click on the links below to find out more information about each Little Book:

The Little Book of Skills for Learning

Whether you're new to Leeds Met or new to this country, an undergraduate or postgraduate, part-time or full-time student, in this little book you'll find a useful taster of the life and study skills support available on the Skills for Learning website.

You can explore aspects of the themes of Skills for Learning:

  • Academic Communication
  • Assessment, Learning and Teaching
  • Cross-Cultural Capability
  • Employability
  • Enterprise
  • Group Skills
  • Information Technology
  • Maths
  • Personal Development
  • Reflection
  • Research

Find out about your own learning style, effective reading techniques and critical thinking skills. Also inside are tips on using IT, dealing with stress or coping with culture shock.

These are just some examples of what's inside and on the Skills for Learning website. Discover resources which will help you succeed at University.

Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. What do they mean by…?
  3. How do you learn best?
  4. How will I be assessed?
  5. Essay Writing
  6. 8-Stage Essay Writing Plan
  7. De-coding your assignment title
  8. Note-making at lectures
  9. Effective reading
  10. Is this book any good?
  11. What are mind maps?
  12. Making good use of references
  13. What makes a good presentation?
  14. IT skills - Using Microsoft PowerPoint
  15. Designing a good poster
  16. Do you really listen?
  17. What is a case study?
  18. IT Skills - Using Microsoft Word
  19. IT Skills - Saving files
  20. Check-list for writing a dissertation or report
  21. Working in groups at University
  22. Groups at University are different from workplace groups
  23. Feedback on your assignment
  24. Giving and receiving criticism
  25. What sort of quantitative data have you got?
  26. Points to remember when interpreting statistical data
  27. How to deal with stress
  28. Time management tips
  29. Coping with culture shock
  30. Be more confident
  31. Reflecting on your learning
  32. What is research?
  33. IT Skills - Posters with PowerPoint
  34. Are you enterprising?
  35. Types of entrepreneur
  36. What is critical thinking?
  37. Critical analysis checklist
  38. Writing a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  39. Be a success at University

The Little Book of Essay Writing

All students at university will have to write essays. Those of you in the arts or social sciences, we think it is fair to say, will write more essays than those of you in pure science-based subjects, but even you budding scientists will have to write some essays.

Most of you will have written essays at secondary school. For those of you who are mature students, this may have been a long time ago. Academic expectations of you at university are higher than at school or college, and an essay that may have been more than acceptable in sixth form may lack the critical edge required at university.

One irony, however, is that although expectations may be high, essay writing is not often taught within university disciplines. In order to learn and develop the skill – and it is a skill that can be acquired, perfected, and mastered – you may have to go to your university’s writing or tutorial centre or take a workshop from support staff trained to teach academic skills.

The Little Book of Essay Writing attempts to fill a gap in essay writing self-instruction. Yes, there are many excellent books out there on the subject, but they tend to be textbooks as opposed to user-friendly manuals.

The Little Book, as its name suggests, is a condensed, readable, and accessible guide to essay writing, which can be read from cover to cover, but also dipped into more casually, or used to scan for specific information. The book contains such essential topics as answering the question, making notes in preparation for writing, and essay structure. It also confronts some of the trickier areas of essay writing such as purpose and audience. Throughout the book, we, the authors, try to demystify essay writing and to present it as a skill made up of a set of skills that all university students can learn and become proficient at.

Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Approaches to writing
  3. The essay as discourse
  4. What is an essay?
  5. Where do my ideas belong?
  6. Pre-writing:
    1. Answering the question
    2. Developing your own topic
    3. Making notes
    4. How do I make notes
  7. Planning techniques:
    1. Linear plans
    2. Keyword trees
    3. Networks
    4. Mind maps
  8. Writing the essay:
    1. Essay structure
    2. Academic writing style
  9. Presentation
  10. Re-reading the essay
  11. Final words
  12. Bibliography

The Little Book of Research

"In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand."

Neil Armstrong (astronaut and university professor)

When we research, we collect, analyse and evaluate data on a particular topic, issue or problem. Research helps us to make sense of the world. It informs our actions and decision making.

Beginning your own research project can be daunting:

  • You might be obliged to do investigative work as part of your dissertation.
  • You might have a research topic in mind.
  • You might be unclear on how research carried out.
  • You might not know what it is you want to find out.

This 'Little Book of Research' should help you get started.

Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Planning your research
  3. Putting your research in context
  4. Research ethics
  5. Approaches and methods
  6. Writing up your research
  7. Further reading and bibliography

The Little Book of Time Management

Time management means making the most effective use of your time by controlling events in order to accomplish the things that you need and want to do. The challenges in being able to do this are:

  • knowing what you want
  • establishing priorities
  • being self disciplined.

Time and energy are the most valuable resources we have.

Time management is easy to talk about but not so easy to do! Everything from the unexpected invitation for a cup of coffee to the shuffling of responsibilities between home and university can make you fear you simply cannot get everything done. This can cause stress and affect your study and home life.

As a student you continually make choices to balance competing demands on your study time in order to achieve your goals. You will have scheduled classes every week, but you will also have to manage the rest of your time to complete your coursework.

'Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today.'

Contents:

  1. Introduction to time management
  2. How well do you manage your time?
  3. How to develop a time management strategy
  4. How to manage your study time