reviews

1. Writing aWriting a
book/article reviewbook/article review

2. Book/Article review
• A book/article review looks at the quality,
meaning, and significance of a work of literature.
It is a reaction paper – focusing on purpose, and
content– in which strengths and weaknesses of
the material are analyzed.
• It should examine what the author has tried to do,
evaluate how well the author has succeeded, and
presents evidence to support this evaluation.

3. Book/Article review
• The first step is to READ the book/article.
• Allow yourself enough TIME to be able to
thoroughly read and evaluate the book/article.
• Read ACTIVELY and CRITICALLY!
– Engage with the text
– Highlight and Underline passages

4. Book/Article review
• Record impressions as you read and note
effective passages for quoting. Keep these
questions in mind:
• What is the general field or genre
• What is the author's style? Is it formal or
informal? Does it suit the intended audience?

5. Book/Article review
• Are concepts clearly defined?
• . Some other questions you should ask as you read
are: Who are the primary characters in the book?
How do they affect the story?
• Pick out what you think is the main idea of the
book. Your job is to determine whether or not the
author’s idea is good in some way. Do you agree
with the idea? Does the author support his/her idea
well?

6. Book/Article review
• Understand the structure of a book review. Book
reviews begin with a summary of the book that avoids
giving away too much about the book. The summarizing
paragraph is followed by a paragraph that conveys your
opinion of the book.
• Analysis
– An analysis is a detailed evaluation of the thesis
(arguments) presented by the author.

7. Book/Article review
• Analysis
– Relate the strengths and weaknesses of the book/article.
• What is good and what is bad?
• What did the author do well? Not well?
• Analysis Tips
– Keep comparisons to other books/articles brief so that
the book under review remains in the spotlight.
– Avoid excessive quotations or block quotes.

8. Book/Article review
• Analysis Tips
–Present a balanced analysis.
• Avoid voicing strong agreement or
disagreement.
• Harsh judgments are difficult to prove and
can give readers the sense that you were
unfair in your assessment.

9. Book/Article review
• Analysis Questions:
– Who is the audience? Did the author communicate
effectively to that audience?
– Does the author present a clear thesis (argument)?
– Does the author contribute anything new to the field?
– Are there errors in the author’s logic?

10. Book/Article review
• Analysis Questions:
– Who is the audience? Did the author communicate
effectively to that audience?
– Does the author present a clear thesis (argument)?
– Does the author contribute anything new to the field?
– Are there errors in the author’s logic?