Example of a Written Book Review College Level

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to yous by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this folio, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair apply.

---

Writing a Book Review

Summary:

This resources discusses book reviews and how to write them.

Book reviews typically evaluate recently-written works. They offer a cursory description of the text'due south primal points and ofttimes provide a curt appraisement of the strengths and weaknesses of the piece of work.

Readers sometimes confuse book reviews with book reports, only the two are not identical. Book reports commonly depict what happens in a work; their focus is primarily on giving an account of the major plot, characters, and/or main idea of the piece of work. Most frequently, volume reports are a G-12 assignment and range from 250 to 500 words. If you are looking to write a book written report, please come across the OWL resource, Writing a Book Study.

Past contrast, book reviews are almost often a higher assignment, merely they also appear in many professional works: magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. They typically range from 500-750 words, but may be longer or shorter. A book review gives readers a sneak peek at what a book is like, whether or not the reviewer enjoyed it, and details on purchasing the book.

Before You Read

Earlier you brainstorm to read, consider the elements you will need to included in your review. The following items may help:

• Writer: Who is the author? What else has s/he written? Has this writer won whatever awards? What is the author'south typical manner?
• Genre: What blazon of book is this: fiction, nonfiction, romance, poetry, youth fiction, etc.? Who is the intended audience for this piece of work? What is the purpose of the work?
• Title: Where does the championship fit in? How is information technology practical in the work? Does it adequately encapsulate the message of the text? Is it interesting? Uninteresting?
• Preface/Introduction/Table of Contents: Does the author provide any revealing data about the text in the preface/introduction? Does a "guest author" provide the introduction? What judgments or preconceptions exercise the author and/or "invitee author" provide? How is the book arranged: sections, chapters?
• Book Jacket/Cover/Printing: Volume jackets are like mini-reviews. Does the book jacket provide whatever interesting details or spark your interest in some style? Are there pictures, maps, or graphs? Practise the bounden, page cutting, or typescript contribute or take away from the work?

As You Read

As you read, determine how you will structure the summary portion or background structure of your review. Be fix to have notes on the volume's key points, characters, and/or themes.

• Characters: Are there characters in the work? Who are the master characters? How do they affect the story? Do you lot sympathise with them?
• Themes/Motifs/Style: What themes or motifs stand out? How practise they contribute to the piece of work? Are they effective or not? How would you depict this author'due south particular fashion? Is it accessible to all readers or just some?
• Statement: How is the work'due south argument prepare up? What support does the writer give for her/findings? Does the work fulfill its purpose/support its statement?
• Key Ideas: What is the chief idea of the work? What makes it skillful, different, or groundbreaking?
• Quotes: What quotes stand out? How can yous demonstrate the author's talent or the feel of the volume through a quote?

When You lot Are Ready to Write

Brainstorm with a short summary or background of the work, only practice not requite too much abroad. Many reviews limit themselves merely to the first couple of capacity or pb the reader up to the rising action of the piece of work. Reviewers of nonfiction texts volition provide the basic idea of the book's statement without too much detailed.

The final portion of your review will particular your opinion of the work. When you are set up to begin your review, consider the following:

• Establish a Background, Retrieve your Audience: Remember that your audience has not read the work; with this in mind, be sure to innovate characters and principles carefully and deliberately. What kind of summary can you provide of the main points or primary characters that will help your readers gauge their interest? Does the author's text fairly reach the intended audition? Will some readers be lost or find the text as well like shooting fish in a barrel?
• Minor principles/characters: Deal only with the most pressing issues in the book. Yous will not be able to encompass every grapheme or idea. What principles/characters did you agree or disagree with? What other things might the author have researched or considered?
• Organize: The purpose of the review is to critically evaluate the text, not simply inform the readers about it. Exit plenty room for your evaluation by ensuring that your summary is cursory. Make up one's mind what kind of rest to strike between your summary information and your evaluation. If you are writing your review for a grade, inquire your instructor. Often the ratio is one-half and half.
• Your Evaluation: Choose one or a few points to discuss about the book. What worked well for you? How does this piece of work compare with others past the same author or other books in the same genre? What major themes, motifs, or terms does the book introduce, and how effective are they? Did the volume appeal to you lot on an emotional or logical mode?
• Publisher/Price: Near book reviews include the publisher and cost of the book at the end of the article. Some reviews also include the twelvemonth published and ISBN.

Revising

When making the terminal touches to your review, carefully verify the following:

• Double-check the spelling of the writer name(s), grapheme names, special terms, and publisher.
• Attempt to read from the vantage point of your audience. Is at that place also much/enough summary? Does your argument about the text make sense?
• Should you include direct quotes from the reading? Do they aid support your arguments? Double-check your quotes for accuracy.

riosyoughbou.blogspot.com

Source: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/book_reviews.html

Share this post