Book Review Format
- A book review is a reaction paper to a book. You are asked to provide specific information and insights about the book an to provide your opinion as to it's value -- ususally to a specific audience or to a specific purpose.
- Components of the report:
- 1. The title of the book, the author, the publisher, and the date of publication.
- 2. The purpose of the book--why was it written--what was the author's purpose in devoting so much time to the composition of the piece?
- 3. What is it in the author's background that qualifies him/her to write the book and why should we pay any attention to it?
- 4. What is the relation of the book to other books written on the same topic? Is it the "best" book on the subject? Is it one of many and not really different from the rest? Is it the seminal work on the subject?
- 5. What is the book about? What are the principal ideas and concepts the author promotes? How do they relate to the body of knowledge on this subject? How is the book organized? What audience is it directed to?
- 6. Does the author accomplish his/her purpose in the book? Was the thesis of the book clearly supported and believable? Was the book written in a style that was appropriate to the topic and readable? Did you enjoy the book? Why?
The book review may be written in an outline format using the numeric format above or may be done in prose with the topics covered in the text of the review. The choice is yours.
If you have any questions about the format contact your friendly instructor by phone, e-mail, or in his office in person. Good luck--and don't take any shortcuts.
Return to BA 101 syllabus.
Last updated by RDL on 04/04/04.