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Book Review

Page history last edited by Mr. Mullen 11 years, 9 months ago

The Book Review

 

  • The book review is a 500-750 word analysis and evaluation of a book you have read.
  • The book review is not a book report. The review, as stated above, offers an analysis and an evaluation of the book, not just a summary and a description.
    • Analysis
      • For nonfiction, a MAPS analysis and / or a Toulmin analysis
      • For fiction,  an analysis of genre, character, literary devices, and / or theme through close reading and text-rooted explication
    • Evaluation
      • An evaluation does not simply state if the book was good or bad. 
      • For nonfiction, an evaluation offers the reviewer's assessment of the argument or thesis of the work. 
      • For fiction, an evaluation offers an assessment of the work's artistry, coherence, and / or impact. 

Chunks of a book review

NONFICTION Planner

FICTION Planner

 

 

  • Summary

    • What is the book about? (Avoid plot summary or mere description.)
    • Does the book fit into a genre or "school of thought"?
    • Nonfiction: What is the thesis or basic argument of the book?
    • Fiction: What is the "theme" or statement about human nature, society? What is the author saying about beauty, truth, and goodness?

  • Analysis

    • For fiction and non-fiction, you can consider
      • structure
      • style
      • imagery
      • metaphor and analogy 
    • For non-fiction, you can perform a MAPS analysis or a Toulmin analysis.
    • For fiction, you can
      • closely read and explicate a key image or metaphor
      • perform a character analysis of a main character
      • discuss how the book is ironic  

  • Evaluation

    • Simply writing, "I liked it," or "It was horrible" is not an evaluation. 
    • Consider
      • clarity
      • quality of evidence or detail
      • logic, continuity
      • style
      • Did the book accomplish what you the reader expected? If you were surprised, was that surprise rewarding or annoying?
    • What kind(s) of readers would appreciate this book?
    • The reviewer can, at the end, indicate if the book was a good read or not. The reviewer needs to justify that statement. 

Book Review Rubric

FOLLOW THE CHUNKS

up to 10 points for each domain

 

  • Focus
    • Your review is an argument. You are making claims about a book and supporting those claims with data.
  • Content
    • The analysis is close to the text.
    • The analysis has depth.
  • Organization
    • Follow the chunks.
  • Style
    • Clear, simple, precise sentences.
    • You should be able to read your review out loud to strangers and they would understand it completely.
  • Conventions
    • Proofread

 

College pages on the web: 

 

Purdue

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/704/01/

 

North Carolina

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/book-reviews/

Online Book Reviews

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/

 

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html

 

NPR

http://www.npr.org/series/book-reviews/

 

The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books

 

 

The Classic Rules for writing book reviews:

1. The review must tell what the book is about.
2. The review must tell what the book's author says about that thing the book is about.
3. The review must tell what the reviewer thinks about what the book's author says about that thing the book is about.

Submission Guidelines

 

Sample Book Reviews

 

 

1. The review must tell what the book is about.
2. The review must tell what the book's author says about that thing the book is about.
3. The review must tell what the reviewer thinks about what the book's author says about that thing the book is about.

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