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• Book review


  Describes and evaluates a work of fiction or nonfiction and offers the book's overall purpose, structure, style of narration to the unknown readers
• A book review 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.
• 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
• Writing a book review


  1. Describing the content of the pages

  2. Analyzing how the book achieved its purpose

  3. Expressing your most personal comments, reactions and suggestions
• Before writing a book review

  • You have to read the book first and ask yourself these questions:
  • 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?
• Length of a book review

  If it 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.
• 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 asks for more than 500 words.
• 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. Help your readers to review with perspective

  4. Mention the book's theme

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

  6. You may also use an interesting quote, an interesting fact, or an explanation of a concept or term
• 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
• For fictional works


  1. Pay attention primarily to the novel or book's setting, plot, style, characters, theme/s, use of language and voice

  2. Caution: Do not give away the story for no one appreciates a spoiler!
• In the content of the book review

  1. Provide your reactions to the book

  2. Describe the book

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

  4. Explore issues the book raises
• Concluding the 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 the 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
• Literature review


  A type of academic essay that examines what has already been written about a topic
• Purpose of a literature review

  • It is a way for you to examine what has already been done in regard to your research question or problem
  • It summarizes and synthesizes the conducted research driven by guiding principles
  • Although, it is not a research paper, it provides background for your problem and a rationale for your research
• Components of a literature review

  • Introduction
  • Main body
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Introduction


  • Defines the topic and the scope being considered
  • Notes intentional exclusions
  • States the general findings of the review and the availability of the sources
• Main body


  • Organizes the evaluation of the sources whether chronologically or thematically
  • Showcases the critical summary and evaluation of the research's premise, methodology, and conclusion
  • Uses grammatical connectors, relational words or phrases and transitional devices
• Conclusion


  • Summarizes the key findings of the review
  • Offers the reviewer's justification of the conducted research
• References


  • Reflects the in-text citations
  • Contains complete and correct citations
• Literature review strategies


  • Summary
  • Synthesis
  • Analysis
  • Evaluation
• Research report


  A long, formal essay, usually five to fifteen pages in length, which presents the writer's views and findings on a chosen subject
• Components of a research report


  • Title
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methodology
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References
• Title


  It reflects the content and emphasis of the project described in the report. Similarly, it should be as short as possible, including essential key words.
• Abstract


  An overview of the research study and is typically two to four paragraphs in length containing 200-300 words. Think of it as an executive and technical summary that distills the key elements of the remaining sections into a few sentences.
• Introduction


  Provides the key question that the researcher is attempting to answer and a review of any literature that is relevant. In addition, the researcher will provide a rationale of why the research is important and will present a hypothesis that attempts to answer the key question. Lastly, it should contain a summary of the key question following the completion of the research.
• Methodology


  This is arguably the most important section for two reasons: (1) it allows readers to evaluate the quality of the research, and (2) it provides the details by which another researcher may replicate and validate the findings. Typically, the information in the methodology section is arranged in chronological order with the most important information on top of each section.
• Results


  In longer research papers, the results section contains the data and perhaps a short introduction. Ideally, the interpretation of the data and the analysis is reserved for the discussion section.
• Discussion


  This section is where the results of the study are interpreted and evaluated against the existing body or literature. In addition, should there be any anomalies found in the results, this is where the authors point them out. Finally, it is an attempt to connect the results to the bigger picture and show how the results might be applied.
• References


  This section provides a list of each author and paper cited in the research report. Any fact, idea, or direct quotation used in the report should be cited and referenced.
• Project proposal

  A document that is written for problem solving, service provision, event planning, or equipment selling. Generally, proposals are used to convince the reader to do what the proposal suggests, such as buying goods or services, funding a project, or implementing a program.
• Proposals in the professional world are used for internal (within an organization) and external (from one organization to another) purposes. They are ways of generating income for companies or seeking funding for projects. This is provided to the sponsor of the project for approval.
• A good proposal


  • Clearly answers questions about what is being proposed, how the plan will be carried out, when it will be implemented, and how much money will be needed or spent
  • Highlights reader benefits
  • Proves your credibility in carrying out the project
  • Allows the reader to respond easily
• As a student, you have been familiarized with writing proposals - maybe even without you knowing it. Whenever you envision, plan, and complete a project for your science class or your club outreach, you are thinking about fulfilling a need for something.
• Writing a project proposal


  1. Gathering the data

  2. Organizing the data

  3. Writing the proposal

  4. Revising the proposal
• Standard parts of a project proposal


  • Introduction
  • Project description
• Introduction


  • Provides the background necessary for understanding the project, which is done by telling your reader the following:
  • Rationale - Identifies the problem to be addressed and shows the need to solve it
  • Objectives - Reveal what the project intends to achieve in terms of results. It also gives the reader an idea of the intended solution. Good objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results oriented, and bound within a realistic Time frame)
  • Benefits - Show what the reader or the target audience can gain from the proposal, which may be improvements in processes or systems, an increase in revenue, or a change in behavior of the beneficiaries of the proposal
• Project description


  • Gives specific information about the project itself. It indicates how the project will address the identified problem through the following parts:
  • Methodology - Entails the different activities the project will take on, including the manpower (i.e., the people involved and their duties), resources to be utilized and the expanded output
  • Schedule - Discusses the task duration and expected start and end dates of each activity in the project
  • Budget - Presents an analysis of all the costs anticipated in the project, which can be itemized or shown as a whole, depending on the needs of the project