This book provides practice in English Reading and Writing skills and is designed for use with pupils in the 14-16 age range working towards Standard Grade / Intermediate I and II in Scotland and GCSE in England. Part One - Reading Skills - contains a series of comprehension passages, many drawn from journalism and modern fiction by popular authors such as J. K. Rowling and Ian Rankin. In each case, there are individual questions focusing on the themes and style of the passages. This practise will provide the skills required in Standard Grade Intermediate papers as well as GCSE comparative questions. There are also exercises in textual analysis and practical criticism of poetry. Part Two - Writing Skills - builds on the basic skills taught in 'Knowledge About Language' by the same authors. There are classroom exercises on punctuation and word choice offering several different approaches to the question of expanding pupils' vocabulary as well as a section giving advice on composition.