[{"id": 391126, "created": "2024-06-03T07:52:45.590037", "project_id": 193, "task_id": 452927, "user_id": 300, "user_ip": null, "finish_time": "2024-06-03T07:54:11.970992", "timeout": null, "calibration": null, "external_uid": null, "media_url": null, "info": {"answer": "The name of the author and the book title and the main theme.\nRelevant details about who the author is and where they stand in the genre or field of inquiry. ... \nThe context of the book and/or your review. ... \nThe thesis of the book. ... \nYour thesis about the book.", "data_id": "a891433192984850917e6f89b22894a9", "category": "literature", "question": "How to write a simple book review?", "answer_URLs": "https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/", "answer_type": "partial", "input_query": "What is book review in simple words?", "is_reliable": "very_reliable", "edited_answer": "Developing an assessment: before you write\nThere is no definitive method to writing a review, although some critical thinking about the work at hand is necessary before you actually begin writing. Thus, writing a review is a two-step process: developing an argument about the work under consideration, and making that argument as you write an organized and well-supported draft. See our handout on argument.\n\nWhat follows is a series of questions to focus your thinking as you dig into the work at hand. While the questions specifically consider book reviews, you can easily transpose them to an analysis of performances, exhibitions, and other review subjects. Don\u2019t feel obligated to address each of the questions; some will be more relevant than others to the book in question.\n\nWhat is the thesis\u2014or main argument\u2014of the book? If the author wanted you to get one idea from the book, what would it be? How does it compare or contrast to the world you know? What has the book accomplished?\nWhat exactly is the subject or topic of the book? Does the author cover the subject adequately? Does the author cover all aspects of the subject in a balanced fashion? What is the approach to the subject (topical, analytical, chronological, descriptive)?\nHow does the author support their argument? What evidence do they use to prove their point? Do you find that evidence convincing? Why or why not? Does any of the author\u2019s information (or conclusions) conflict with other books you\u2019ve read, courses you\u2019ve taken or just previous assumptions you had of the subject?\nHow does the author structure their argument? What are the parts that make up the whole? Does the argument make sense? Does it persuade you? Why or why not?\nHow has this book helped you understand the subject? Would you recommend the book to your reader?\nBeyond the internal workings of the book, you may also consider some information about the author and the circumstances of the text\u2019s production:\n\nWho is the author? Nationality, political persuasion, training, intellectual interests, personal history, and historical context may provide crucial details about how a work takes shape. Does it matter, for example, that the biographer was the subject\u2019s best friend? What difference would it make if the author participated in the events they write about?\nWhat is the book\u2019s genre? Out of what field does it emerge? Does it conform to or depart from the conventions of its genre? These questions can provide a historical or literary standard on which to base your evaluations. If you are reviewing the first book ever written on the subject, it will be important for your readers to know. Keep in mind, though, that naming \u201cfirsts\u201d\u2014alongside naming \u201cbests\u201d and \u201conlys\u201d\u2014can be a risky business unless you\u2019re absolutely certain.\nWriting the review\nOnce you have made your observations and assessments of the work under review, carefully survey your notes and attempt to unify your impressions into a statement that will describe the purpose or thesis of your review. Check out our handout on thesis statements. Then, outline the arguments that support your thesis.\n\nYour arguments should develop the thesis in a logical manner. That logic, unlike more standard academic writing, may initially emphasize the author\u2019s argument while you develop your own in the course of the review. The relative emphasis depends on the nature of the review: if readers may be more interested in the work itself, you may want to make the work and the author more prominent; if you want the review to be about your perspective and opinions, then you may structure the review to privilege your observations over (but never separate from) those of the work under review. What follows is just one of many ways to organize a review.\n\nIntroduction\nSince most reviews are brief, many writers begin with a catchy quip or anecdote that succinctly delivers their argument. But you can introduce your review differently depending on the argument and audience. The Writing Center\u2019s handout on introductions can help you find an approach that works. In general, you should include:\n\nThe name of the author and the book title and the main theme.\nRelevant details about who the author is and where they stand in the genre or field of inquiry. You could also link the title to the subject to show how the title explains the subject matter.\nThe context of the book and/or your review. Placing your review in a framework that makes sense to your audience alerts readers to your \u201ctake\u201d on the book. Perhaps you want to situate a book about the Cuban revolution in the context of Cold War rivalries between the United States and the Soviet Union. Another reviewer might want to consider the book in the framework of Latin American social movements. Your choice of context informs your argument.\nThe thesis of the book. If you are reviewing fiction, this may be difficult since novels, plays, and short stories rarely have explicit arguments. But identifying the book\u2019s particular novelty, angle, or originality allows you to show what specific contribution the piece is trying to make.\nYour thesis about the book.\nSummary of content\nThis should be brief, as analysis takes priority. In the course of making your assessment, you\u2019ll hopefully be backing up your assertions with concrete evidence from the book, so some summary will be dispersed throughout other parts of the review.\n\nThe necessary amount of summary also depends on your audience. Graduate students, beware! If you are writing book reviews for colleagues\u2014to prepare for comprehensive exams, for example\u2014you may want to devote more attention to summarizing the book\u2019s contents. If, on the other hand, your audience has already read the book\u2014such as a class assignment on the same work\u2014you may have more liberty to explore more subtle points and to emphasize your own argument. See our handout on summary for more tips.\n\nAnalysis and evaluation of the book\nYour analysis and evaluation should be organized into paragraphs that deal with single aspects of your argument. This arrangement can be challenging when your purpose is to consider the book as a whole, but it can help you differentiate elements of your criticism and pair assertions with evidence more clearly. You do not necessarily need to work chronologically through the book as you discuss it. Given the argument you want to make, you can organize your paragraphs more usefully by themes, methods, or other elements of the book. If you find it useful to include comparisons to other books, keep them brief so that the book under review remains in the spotlight. Avoid excessive quotation and give a specific page reference in parentheses when you do quote. Remember that you can state many of the author\u2019s points in your own words.\n\nConclusion\nSum up or restate your thesis or make the final judgment regarding the book. You should not introduce new evidence for your argument in the conclusion. You can, however, introduce new ideas that go beyond the book if they extend the logic of your own thesis. This paragraph needs to balance the book\u2019s strengths and weaknesses in order to unify your evaluation. Did the body of your review have three negative paragraphs and one favorable one? What do they all add up to? The Writing Center\u2019s handout on conclusions can help you make a final assessment.\n\nIn review\nFinally, a few general considerations:\n\nReview the book in front of you, not the book you wish the author had written. You can and should point out shortcomings or failures, but don\u2019t criticize the book for not being something it was never intended to be.\nWith any luck, the author of the book worked hard to find the right words to express her ideas. You should attempt to do the same. Precise language allows you to control the tone of your review.\nNever hesitate to challenge an assumption, approach, or argument. Be sure, however, to cite specific examples to back up your assertions carefully.\nTry to present a balanced argument about the value of the book for its audience. You\u2019re entitled\u2014and sometimes obligated\u2014to voice strong agreement or disagreement. But keep in mind that a bad book takes as long to write as a good one, and every author deserves fair treatment. Harsh judgments are difficult to prove and can give readers the sense that you were unfair in your assessment.\nA great place to learn about book reviews is to look at examples. The New York Times Sunday Book Review and The New York Review of Books can show you how professional writers review books.", "question_type": "good"}}]