The text is divided into two parts: part One deals with the most important analytical methods current in the English-speaking world, treating each in turn. They are presented method by method because each one involves a characteristic set of beliefs and it is important to identify those beliefs i order to avoid applying inappropriate techniques that produce irrelevant data. The question of how you decide what method to adopt is addressed in the second part of the book, in which given compositions rather than given analytical methods form the starting point. The analyses in this section are each designed to highlight a different aspect of analytical procedure.