A book review does not only tell you what a book is about, but also whether it achieves what it is trying to do. Therefore, a book review is more than a summary of the content (even though this is an important component), but a critical analysis of the book and your reactions to it.
Write a well-organized essay that uses specific examples from your book of choice either Bone Woman, Bonobo Handshake, or if you choose another book from the BOOK LIST please specify.
While you are reading the book, take notes about the following issues:
– What is the authors main goal in writing this book? (Convince you of his position on a controversy? Explain the background of an event? Raise awareness of a particular issue?)
– What are the authors main points?
– What kind of evidence does the author provide to make his or her points? How convincing is
this evidence?
– Is the book well written? (Easily understandable? Good style?)
– What group of readers would find this book most useful (Lay people? Students? Experts in
the area?)
A book review usually has the following components
Introduction (one or two paragraphs)
– Bibliographic information (author, title, date of publication, publisher, number of pages, type of book)
– Brief overview of the theme, purpose and your evaluation
Summary of the content (about two pages)
– Brief summary of the key points of each chapter or group of chapters
– Paraphrase the information, but use a short quote when appropriate
Evaluation and conclusion (about one page)
Give your opinion about the book. Is the book easy to read or confusing? Is the book interesting, entertaining, instructive? Does the author support his arguments well? What are the books greatest strengths and weaknesses? Who would you recommend the book to?
REQUIREMENTS:
After you complete your final essay, you need to CAREFULLY proofread it, or have someone else proofread it.
Re-read your essay to look for:
Spelling
Complete sentences
Punctuation (direct quotes from the text should be in quotation marks with the page number and last name of author in parentheses afterwards). Ex: When Maggie wanted to leave the party she stated, Im not feeling well, I think we should go. (Delgadillo 63) This illustrates Maggies …
Use the outline above to organize your thinking and your writing.
Use a minimum of two (2) direct quotes from the book to support the main idea of each body paragraph in your essay. Dont rely on the quotes to explain themselves. Lead your reader into the quote, comment on the quote, and show how the quote supports your main idea.
Essay should be typed in Times New Roman 12 pt. font and double spaced.
It should be a minimum of 1200 word
Include a title page with the following information:Name, Title of Essay, Date
You do not need a work cited page if you only use sources assigned in class. If you DO use any outside source, then you MUST include a work cited page.
