Book Review Essay Tips
David Milobar
These tips for writing a review paper can be found in Mary
Lynn Rampola’s A Pocket Guide to Writing
in History, which is the UFV History Department’s official writing guide.
It is available at the UFV bookstore at all times.
Writing a critical
review involves developing one’s ability to analyze a historical work, assess
its strengths and weaknesses and explain its scholarly significance. To achieve
these goals one must begin by reading the work (or works) as an active and
critical reader. The student must begin this process by identifying the
components of the work and understanding its content. When reading any
scholarly sources one must bear in mind it is critical to understand the
following components of the article/book being assessed. What is the author’s
purpose? What is her thesis? What are the main supporting arguments? How is
evidence used to support his thesis? Once one has a set of notes that reveals
the structure of the article/book it is time to begin the process of critically
appraising the work in question.
An active reader
must evaluate the work in question with specific questions in mind. The answers
to these questions need not appear in the finished paper but they are important
points to consider when appraising any secondary sources. The answers to these
questions will help one analyze a work even if one is not an expert on the
subject. If one was going to consult a professional such as a medical doctor or
a lawyer one would want to know that person’s qualifications. Similarly it is a
good idea to ask yourself who is the author? What are his or her
qualifications? What type of press has published her work? For example if one
was reading a piece written by a journalist with no particular expertise on a
given subject published in a popular magazine one might be more cautious then
if a work was produced by a recognized expert published in a peer reviewed
scholarly journal. One should also make note of when a work was published.
Older articles are not necessarily inferior to more recent ones but the later
have often incorporated new discoveries or insights. A reader should be aware
that older works may reflect views that no longer mirror the values of the
present day. For example attitudes about issues relating to race and gender
have changed over time. In the early 20th century most scholarly
works focused on ‘great men’ and major political events- social and womens’
history occupied at best the fringes of scholarly interest. Does the author
provide footnotes that reference other important sources that expand one’s
understanding of the topic? If there are points of difference with other
scholars etc. does the author acknowledge them and effectively address those
areas of contention?
It is of critical
importance for one to assess the author’s use of primary evidence. How
effectively has the writer used this evidence? It is often just as important
what a writer does not say as it is what he does say. One should be alert to
significant primary evidence that is not incorporated into a scholarly work. Is
evidence left out simply because it is inconvenient or even detrimental to
proving the author’s thesis? It is important for one to come to a judgment
about whether the author builds her/his case on unsubstantiated assumptions or
provides adequate evidence to support the thesis.
When one prepares
to write the paper it is important to understand overall structure of a review
essay. First it is not a book report summarizing the content of a work. It is
also not merely a report on how one feels about the work- whether one liked or
disliked the work or found it boring. One must report on the content and one’s
response to a work but one must also assess its strengths and weaknesses. It is
important for the reviewer to explain and justify his/her reaction through
analysis of the text. The following outline from Rampola’s Guide to Writing in History provides a template for a review essay.
One final point- a critical review
does not have to be negative. It must, however, represent an appraisal of the
work undertaken with a methodical and analytical approach that represents a fair evaluation of
the work.
The word length of the book review should be in the range of 900- 1000
words.
Get Free Quote!
321 Experts Online