there are many ways of using a text book. you can read through it from cover to cover and try to remember all that you have read. this is rarely successful unless you have a photographic memory， and few of us have. you may consider using it just as a reference book by looking up individual topics as and when you need that specific information. this can be useful as a reminder once you know the subject thoroughly but'until then it can lead to misconceived ideas. .
so， here are a few thoughts on how to maximise the benefit that you can get from this book.
this book consists of a number of chapters. each chapter covers a major syllabus area. for example， chapter 4 covers plain carbon steels. it is divided up into sections. if you turn back to the contents page you will find that：
・ section 4.1 deals with ferrous metals.
・ section 4.2 deals with the iron-carbon system.
・ section 4.3 deals with critical change points， and so on.
sometimes it is necessary to divide these sections up further. for example， section 4.2 subdivides into：
・ section 4.2.1， which deals with cooling transformations for a steel.with a eutectoid composition.
・ section 4.2.2， which deals with cooling transformations for a steel with hypoeutectoid composition， and so on.