A Guide to Writing Book Reviews

I. Reading for the Argument
Before you write, think about how you are reading. Don’t be a passive reader; be an active reader. Here are some suggestions for things to do and think about as you read.

Always take notes as you read (not just afterward).
Try to get inside the author’s argument, that is, inside his or her way of thinking about a problem and presenting it.
Figure out the author’s aims. Books are written for many different purposes. Is this a piece of scholarly research? a political statement? a contribution to public debate?an attempt to clarify some problem of the author’s? or perhaps several of these things at once?
Pay attention to language. Any author has a language or vocabulary of his or her own. What terms are central to the argument? Is the author using those terms in a special way?
Evidence: What kinds of evidence are used to make the argument?
Think about the author’s context. What issues did the author have in mind when writing the book? Introductions and prefaces are often good sources of information on this. For instance, was the author trying to support or refute other authors? To correct misconceptions, or to point out something that has been missed? To score a political or moral point?
Figure out the author’s underlying assumptions and values. What are his or her assumptions about human nature? About the purpose of society?

II. The Basic Elements of a Good Book Review
A good book review will include these three elements:

A description of the author’s project: What was the author trying to do? What was his or her aim in writing the book? How did she or he frame the questions? How did she or he propose to get answers to them? In order to do justice to a book, part of what you must do is to enter into the author’s project and describe it for your audience. This does not necessarily mean that you take the author’s approach or views as the last word on the subject (see point three). But you must show that you understand what that approach was.
A synopsis: You should summarize the contents and the main findings of the book. What is the book’s thesis--its main, central claim--and how does the author make an argument for it? What kinds of evidence are used?
Critical evaluation: Be flexible in how you think about this! It may be that you find a book either completely persuasive, or completely misguided. But there are many possibilities in between. Perhaps the book offers a partial perspective on a larger question. Or maybe it raises questions more than it provides answers, by showing that the conventional wisdom won’t do yet leaving us unsure what to put in its place. You will think of other possibilities. Think carefully about the verdict you want to render. It’s very rare that a book merits complete approval or complete dismissal. Above all: avoid bland and vacuous judgments such as “this book was interesting” or “this book was boring.” Commentaries such as these suggest that you are not taking yourself or the book seriously.

Now, there are many ways to accomplish all three objectives. You could, for example, structure your synopsis as a blow-by-blow (“Chapter one says this, then chapter says that”). The elegant book review, however, will weave together all three elements in a seamless analysis.

III. Writing Well
Like any good piece of expository writing, your book review should have the following qualities:

You should refer in detail to the author’s arguments. Don’t resort to phrases like “I think” or “it seems to me.” You are trying to reconstruct the core of the author’s argument. You should pay attention to the language and the major steps with which the author makes his or her case.
You should document your use of sources, in this case, the book you are reviewing. Direct quotes should always be in quotation marks, unless they are so long that they require indentation, and paraphrases should be referenced as well. Since there is only one work being discussed, you may put page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence, and give a full bibliographical citation at the beginning or end of the paper: Author, Title (Place of publication, date of publication). The title may be either italicized or underlined. (The title of an article belongs in quotation marks.)
You should write well. That is, your style should be fluid, the grammar and spelling should be correct.
You should include a strong introductory paragraph. Often this will be the last thing to write—once you know what you have said and the overarching point you want to make.
You should always proofread your writing before turning it in. Always proofread a paper and make corrections if necessary before turning it in.