Format

Organize your book review according to your thesis statement rather than the actual chronological order of the work being reviewed. This method will lead to a stronger paper that directly supports your thesis statement. A book review should contain an introductory paragraph; a body section consisting of several paragraphs which summarize, give background information on and conduct an internal analysis of the work; and a concluding section consisting of one or two paragraphs.

I. Introduction gives complete bibliographical information on the book, presents the thesis of the book and also states your own thesis (your opinion or evaluation of the book).

a. Bibliographical information is organized according to your instructor’s guidelines. Usually you will include the bibliographical information either within the text of your paper or in a separate listing. See examples below. Note that both examples are written in APA style.

(Test your understanding of this section with Exercise 1.)

II. Body Paragraphs are subdivided into 2 to 4 sections that comprise the bulk of the paper. The first section is a summary section that gives a concise overview of the work. The second section is a background section. This section gives information relating the book to other works in its field and names the criteria which the evaluation will be based on. The third section is the internal analysis section where the good and bad points of the work will be evaluated. The aesthetic analysis section is usually optional and includes comments on any graphics or charts that a work may exhibit. It traditionally follows the internal analysis section.

a. Summary gives an overview of the book’s main points and relates it to other books in the field. This section serves as a brief outline of the book and identifies the issues that are going to be discussed in the book review. Only the book’s main points should be discussed. The reviewer may use paraphrased information and occasional quotes to help summarize the work.

b. Background Information helps place the book in the proper perspective by explaining how the book relates to other works in the same field. This section also explains the criteria for reviewing the book and may review the author’s credentials and methodology. Check the preface, foreword or introduction to obtain this information.

c. Internal Analysis presents the information that will compose the longest section of the review. The criteria against which the work is being evaluated are stated and their importance should be justified. This is the section that will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the book. In fact, this section is often separated into two subsections: strengths (if any) and weaknesses (if any). Arguments are supported with evidence from the work, including paraphrased and summarized statements with proper citation information.

d. Aesthetic Analysis comments on the style of the book, mentioning any maps, illustrations, pictures or charts. In this section, you will describe how graphics work with the text to enhance or distract from the overall experience of reading it.

III. Conclusion is usually only one or two paragraphs in length and restates the main points of the book review, establishes the book’s value to its audience and makes recommendations to the reader.

a. Restate main points of the work along with its basic strengths and weaknesses that were previously emphasized in the review.

b. Estimate overall value of the book. When doing this, keep this question in mind: Does the book succeed in meeting its original thesis?

c. Recommendations concerning the book’s value are made to the reader. Ask yourself if the work makes a significant contribution to the field and then considerately state your opinion.

(Test your understanding of this section with Exercise 2.)

REVIEW

How are you going to organize the strengths and weaknesses of the work in the body section of your paper?

Continue to Book Review: Checklist