Writing a Great Book Review

Book Review

• Describes and evaluates fiction or nonfiction works
• Communicates a book's purpose, structure, and style to new readers
• Indicates what the book is about, and how well it achieves its goals
• Combines analytical reading and personal response
• Integrates description, analysis, and personal opinions

Before writing a book review, consider:

• Author's viewpoint and purpose
• Author's main points and supporting evidence
• How the book relates to similar works
• Author's expertise
• Appropriate criteria for evaluation
• Author's success in achieving the book's purpose

Book Review Length

• Review length depends on book length
• Short reviews should be at least 100 words
• Longer books may require over 500 words

Titles

• Book review titles should reflect the reviewer's overall impression

Beginning a book review:

• Identify book details, including author, title, and publication data
• Specify book type (fiction, nonfiction, etc.)
• State the book's theme
• Provide background to contextualize the book
• Use a relevant quote, fact, or explanation

Content of a book review:

• Analyze major points and sources in nonfiction
• Analyze setting, plot, style, characters, theme, language, and voice in fiction, without spoilers
• Describe and react to the book

Concluding a book review:

• Connect the book to other works or authors
• Relate the book to broader issues
• Summarize main points and thesis
• Evaluate the book's achievements, omissions, and comparisons to similar works
• Share relevant personal experiences

Literature Review (LR)

• Academic essay that examines existing literature on a topic
• Summarizes and synthesizes research with guiding principles
• Explores what has already been done on a research question or problem
• Gives background and rationale

Components of literature reviews:

• Introduction
  • Defines topic/scope
  • Notes exclusions
  • States findings and source availability
• Main Body
  • Organizes source evaluation chronologically or thematically
  • Summarizes/evaluates research premise, methodology, and conclusion
  • Uses grammatical connectors
• Conclusion
  • Summarizes findings
  • Offers justification
• References
  • Lists in-text citations
  • Contains complete/correct citations

Literature review strategies:

• Summary: Briefly state arguments and points
• Synthesis: Integrate ideas into a theory using evaluation
• Analysis: Closely examine elements/structure
• Evaluation: Assess research based on criteria, supporting with similar research

Research Report

• Formal essay (5-15 pages) presenting views/findings
• Follows writing principles, scholarly, not just notes
• Includes title, abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and references

Research Report Components:

• Title
  • Reflects content
  • Short, includes keywords
• Abstract
  • Overview of research
  • 2-4 paragraphs (200-300 words)
  • Summary of sections
• Introduction
  • Key question
  • Literature review
  • Research rationale
  • Hypothesis
  • Contains a summary of the key question
• Methodology
  • Allows quality
  • Provides replication details
  • Arranged chronologically by importance
• Results
  • Data
  • Short introduction
  • Interpretation/analysis in discussion
• Discussion
  • Interprets/evaluates results
  • Points out anomalies
  • Connects results to literature and applications
• References
  • Lists cited sources for facts, ideas, and quotes

Formatting Research Reports

• No single format exists
• Clarity, attractiveness, and systematic organization are essential
• Use a format that suits reader needs

Project Proposal

• Document for problem-solving, service, planning, or sales
• Aims to get the reader to buy goods, fund a project, or implement a program
• Professional purposes include internal and external uses

Writing guidelines:

• Gather data (primary/secondary sources)
• Organize data using proposal parts or outlines
• Fill out proposal with data
• Revise for accuracy and organization

Project proposal formatting:

• Informal: 2-4 pages
• Formal: Five+ pages

Standard parts:

• Introduction
  • Background material
    • Rationale: Identifies problem and need
    • Objectives: Reveal what project intends to achieve (SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Time-bound)
    • Benefits: Shows what the reader gains
• Project Description
  • Specific project information
    • Methodology: Activities, manpower, resources
    • Schedule: Task duration and end dates
    • Budget: Analysis of anticipated costs

Position Paper

• Composition highlighting an opinion on a topic
• Presents one side of an opinion and persuades the reader of the author's knowledge
• States and defends a position, connecting to other viewpoints

Issue criteria:

• Is it the real issue?
• Can you distinguish positions?
• Are you an advocate?
• Is it manageable?

Supporting evidence:

• Factual knowledge (valid/verifiable)
• Statistical inferences (from data)
• Informed opinions (based on facts, principles, and evidence)
• Personal testimony (first-hand experience)

Components of a position paper:

• Introduction
  • State issue and author's position
    • Introduce topic with background
    • Build thesis statement on position
• Body
  • Central argument
    • Possible objections (counter-arguments)
    • Discussion of both sides, refuting counter-arguments
    • Explanation of why your position is best
• Conclusion
  • Summarize points
  • Suggest resolution
    • Restate position
    • Provide plan of action