E W
K VI
B OO RE
What is book
OA
review?
book review describes and
evaluates a work of fiction or
nonfiction and offers the book’s
overall purpose, structure, and style
of narration to the unknown readers.
It tells not only what a book is about,
but also how successful it is at what it
is trying to do. It is a sneak peek at a
book, not a summary.
O As a reviewer, you bring together
the two strands of accurate,
analytical reading and strong,
personal response when you
indicate what the book is about and
what it meant to readers. Hence, in
writing a book review, you combine
your skills of describing the content
of the pages, analyzing how the
book achieved its purpose, and
expressing your most personal
comments, reactions, and
suggestions.
But before you start writing a book review, you have
to read the book first and ask yourself these
questions:
What are the What kind of
author’s viewpoint What are the evidence does the
and purpose? author’s main author use to
points? prove his or her
How does this points?
book relate to
What are the
other books on the How successful do
same topic? most
appropriate you think the
Does the author criteria by author was in
have the which to judge carrying out the
necessary the book? overall purposes
expertise to write of the book?
the book?
O If it is a short review, you may
not be able to fulfill your
purpose. If it is too long, it
may stray too much of the plot
or of the content, you may
lose the interest of your
readers. Take this general
guideline: the length of the
review depends upon the
length of the book itself, and a
review should not be less than
100 words. Longer books
usually ask for more than 500
words.
OA book review title should be
based on your total impression of
a book. Like creating passwords,
strong titles might be “Drew girl
power to new height”, “A night
owl that seldom sleeps even
during daytime,” “Beautiful
illustrations with a story to
match,” “Perfect for a weekend
getaway” while weak titles are:
“State of the art book,” “Five
stars,” “A breath of fresh air,”
“Fast and furious.”
How do you START writing a book review?
O Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes
publishing information.
O Specify the type of book (for example: fiction,
nonfiction, biography, and autobiography). Help
your readers to review with perspective.
O Mention the book’s theme.
O Include background, if necessary, to enable
reader/s to place the book into a specific context.
O You may also use an interesting quote, an
interesting fact, or an explanation of a concept or
term.
What do you DO with the content?
O For nonfiction books like biography, history, and the like: pay
primary attention to the major points (the argument) the
author is putting forth and to the sources the author has drawn
upon to back up his/her point of view.
O For fictional works such as novels, chick lit, graphic novels,
manga: Pay attention primarily to the novel or book’s setting,
plot, style, characters, theme/s, use of language and voice.
Caution: Do not give away the story for no one appreciates a
spoiler!
O Provide your reactions to the book.
O Describe the book.
O Respond to the author’s opinions and analyze it.
O Explore issues the book raises.
HOW DO YOU
CONCLUDE?
O Relate your argument to other books or authors.
O Relate the book to larger issues.
O Tie together issues raised in the review.
O Briefly restate your main points and your thesis
statement.
O Indicate how well the book has achieved its goal, what
possibilities are suggested by the book, what the book
has left out, how the book compares to others on the
subject, what specific points are not convincing, and
what personal experiences you’ve had related to the
subject.
How do you REVISE the draft?
O Allow time to elapse, at least a day, before starting
your revision.
O Correct grammatical mistakes and punctuation as
you find them.
O Read your paper through again looking for unity,
organization, and logical development.
O If necessary, do not hesitate to make major
revisions in your draft.
O Verify quotations for accuracy and check the
format and content of references.
