When writing a cookbook for beginners, it’s best to assume complete ignorance. Mincing may be new to the reader’s vocabulary. Rice may require step-by-step instructions.

“The Ultimate Student Cookbook: From Chicken to Chili” (Firefly, $14.95), by Tiffany Goodall, offers an almost foolproof guide for college students who may have been eating cereal for every meal. Photographs accompany each step so that you can see what it means, exactly, to quarter an onion. Thought bubbles remind you to wash the raw chicken off your hands.

From a simple omelet to a more ambitious roast chicken to a homey (the author is British) shepherd’s pie, Goodall knows her audience. A section on “food on the move” has a default serving size of one. A budget-friendly recommendation involves inviting friends to chip in for a big midweek meal. Several recipes are described as being choice for hangovers (Thai green curry) or before a night out of partying (sausage and mashed potatoes). A page is dedicated to making “vodka watermelon,” which entails scooping a hole out of the melon, pouring in vodka and inserting a bunch of straws.