Each student is required to create a book review. You may select a book from the recommended book list or suggest to your instructor a book to be added.
Please use the following guidelines for the book review:
1. Before preparing the review, you should familiarize yourself with the basic techniques used to review books.
a. A good book review usually covers two essential parts:
a brief description of the book
a critical evaluation of it
2. Your paper should be in Word format ( doc. or docx.) or a Rich Text Format (.rtf) format (if using a different word processing program). The total report should be type-written, double-spaced, and 750 - 1000 words in length. Reviews are expected to demonstrate quality collegiate writing.
3. Your paper must have a title page; listing the book title and author, a complete bibliographic reference citation, the names of the student and the instructor, the course title and section number, and the date.
Description:
Your review should tell, briefly, what the book is about. It should:
1. Identify the book's thesis
2. Indicate the major points covered by the author in support of that thesis.
3. Briefly indicate the scope of the book
Evaluation Criteria:
The evaluation of the book is what distinguishes a book review from a book report. The heart of the review should also include a critical evaluation of the book.
1. Discuss the organization of the book and comment on whether or not it is well written.
2. Explain how you like or dislike the book and why.
3. Indicate if arguments/issues are presented in a balanced manner and explain your reasoning.
4. Identify and explain the evidence or absence of a scholarly approach used in the book
5. Identify primary and secondary sources used by the author
6. Cite specific examples and pages to enhance your comments and evaluation