Hi,

This is the XML fragment
 <faq>
  <q>
   Question one.
  </q>
  <a>
   The answer is <a href='here.jsp'>here</a>.
   </a>
 </faq>

When I use <xsl:value-of select='a' /> at the appropriate place all I
get out is
The answer is here
 i.e. no tags are preserved. What have I missed please, and to avoid
similar basic questions where could I have gone to find out please?

The best thing to do is buy a book, I guess (Jeni Tennison has a nice
writing style for the beginner).  Read every post to xsl-list, and
browse Dave Pawson's faq:
http://www.dpawson.co.uk/xsl/sect2/sect21.html.