The following format will be used for the Book Review for this course.
I. Introduction:
A. Introduce your review appropriately. Identify the author, the title, the main topic or issue presented in the book and the author's purpose in writing the book. (First few sentences)
B. Explain Relationships. As you write, consider the following questions: (No more than a page)
•What type of book is this? (Is the book a memoir, a collection of facts, a biography, etc.? Is the book a documentary, a write-up of primary research, a position paper, etc.)?
•What does the preface or foreword tell you about the author's purpose, background, and credentials? What is the author's approach to the topic (as a journalist? a historian? a researcher?)?
•What is the main topic or problem addressed? How does the work relate to a discipline, to a profession, to a particular audience, or to other works on the topic? Who's the audience for this book?
•What are the author's basic premises for writing this book?
•What issues are raised, or what themes emerge?
•What situation(s) provide a basis for the author's assertions?
II. Evaluate the book. This is the heart of your book review. You should discuss a variety of issues here found in each chapter and discuss the problem and the author solution suggested in the chapter. Hence you should do a chapter by chapter analysis to acquire this information. (Three to four pages)
III. Conclusion. Tie together any issues raised in the review and provide a concise comment on the book and whether or not you would recommend this book to someone else. (No more than one page)
•How clearly is the book written?
•Did the author achieve his goal? How did he do this or fall short?
•What are the author's most important points? List at least two examples of how the author proved or did not prove points he was trying to make.
•What possibilities does the book suggest for the reader?
•What did the book leave out?
•What is your critical evaluation of the work (your thesis or stance)? Why have you taken that position? What criteria are you basing your position on?
•What did you like best about the book? What did you like least about the book?