RWS_LESSON01

• 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
• Book review


  Tells not only what a book is about, but also how successful it is at what it is trying to do

  
• Reviewer


  • Brings together the two strands of accurate, analytical reading and strong, personal response when indicating what the book is about and what it meant to readers
• Writing a book review

  1. Combining skills of describing the content of the pages

  2. Analyzing how the book achieved its purpose

  3. Expressing personal comments, reactions, and suggestions

  
• Questions to ask before writing a book review

  • What are the author's viewpoint and purpose? What are the author's main points?
  • What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his or her points?
  • How does this book relate to other books on the same topic? Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book?
  • What are the most appropriate criteria by which to judge the book?
  • How successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall purposes of the book?
• If the book review is too short, 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.
• Length of book review

  • Not less than 100 words
  • Longer books usually ask for more than 500 words
• Strong book review title

  Based on your total impression of a book

  
• Strong book review titles


  • "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"
• Weak book review titles


  • "State of the art book"
  • "Five stars"
  • "A breath of fresh air"
  • "Fast and furious"
• Starting to write a book review

  1. Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information

  2. Specify the type of book (for example: fiction, nonfiction, biography, and autobiography)

  3. Mention the book's theme

  4. Include background, if necessary, to enable reader/s to place the book into a specific context

  5. Use an interesting quote, an interesting fact, or an explanation of a concept or term

  
• Writing the content of a book review

  1. For nonfiction books: 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

  2. For fictional works: 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)

  3. Provide your reactions to the book

  4. Describe the book

  5. Respond to the author's opinions and analyze it

  6. Explore issues the book raises

  
• Concluding a book review

  1. Relate your argument to other books or authors

  2. Relate the book to larger issues

  3. Tie together issues raised in the review

  4. Briefly restate your main points and your thesis statement

  5. 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

  
• Revising a book review draft

  1. Allow time to elapse, at least a day, before starting your revision

  2. Correct grammatical mistakes and punctuation as you find them

  3. Read your paper through again looking for unity, organization, and logical development

  4. If necessary, do not hesitate to make major revisions in your draft

  5. Verify quotations for accuracy and check the format and content of references