Undergraduate Writing Center Handouts

Writing the Book Review

A book review is your chance to engage with a work of scholarship: to pick it apart and critique its structure, argument, and evidence. It’s not a summary of a work just to prove you have read it.

Step One: Closely Reading the Work
A sound book review comes from a thorough reading of the source text. So start by asking yourself a few questions about the book:

1. What is the main theme or thesis?
2. How does the author prove the argument?
3. How is the evidence for the argument organized?

Step Two: Situating the Text
Next you’ll need to research the way the text fits into the scholarly context. This information will help you organize and assess the insights from the notes you took as you read.

1. Is this a primary or secondary source?
2. When was it published, and what was known in the field at the time?
3. How does this fit into the theme of the course?
4. Is this text part of a scholarly debate?

Step Three: Choosing a Theme for Your Critique
You’ll use your notes from the second step to start your critique. When you’re looking for the focus of your critique, try asking yourself the following questions:

1. Is any prior praise or criticism of the work especially compelling? Why?
2. How does the text relate to the course material? Does it fill in a gap or reinforce other work?
3. Is any important information left out? Is any material there that doesn’t belong?
4. Does the context explain any of the strengths and weaknesses of the text? For example, a twelfth century writer could be excused for believing in sea beasts. You might criticize a twentieth century writer for the same belief.

Step Four: Outlining the Essay
The organization of your essay can vary, but your review needs to contain three parts:

1. Your thoughtful critique of the work with evidence from your reading notes.
2. A responsible summary of the text.
3. A suggestion for future research.

Of course, these are general suggestions. The best way to find out the requirements for your book review is to ask your instructor and to refer to course materials.

Step Five: Revising Your Review
Clarity is the key to a successful review. Try having a peer read your essay, or bring it in to the UWC for a consultation. Have the reader summarize your critique. If they’ve missed your point, revise the document. Remember: readers should understand your critique whether or not they’ve read the source text.