Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing 2e is a practical, step-by-step guide to improving skills in analysis, critical thinking, and the effective communication of arguments and explanations. The book combines an accessible and straightforward style, with a strong foundation of knowledge. The text treats reasoning as an aspect of communication, not an abstract exercise in logic. The book not only provides detailed advice on how topractice better analytical skills, but also demonstrates how these skills can be used in research and writing. In particular, it emphases how to develop arguments that are coherent and that take account of their audience and context.