WRITING CENTER "INFORMATION PICK-UP" (S.S.C.C.)
WRITING BOOK REVIEWS (REPORTS):
• WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW/REPORT?
• HOW CAN A STUDENT GO ABOUT WRITING ONE?
• WHAT ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD BOOK REVIEW OR REPORT?
• WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW/REPORT?
A book review serves several functions. It must
• summarize and introduce a book by faithfully and objectively representing its contents and approach to a certain subject matter;
• show what the reader (book reviewer) saw in the book such as its value in the context of the literature; its uniqueness in style, language, substance and approaches (to the subject matter); its "social value" (e.g. its value to others or to society as a whole); and his/her personal responses.
Academically, a book report must show all the main ideas of the book as well as how it fits with the information of a course. It should also show the student's interpretation and analysis of the given information.
• HOW CAN A STUDENT GO ABOUT WRITING ONE?
The first step in creating a book review is to read the book thoroughly with understanding. One tool to help students comprehend what is read is annotation--reading with a pen or pencil in hand to take notes on the book as the students are reading. This method allows students to have a written record of their initial thoughts and reactions to the writing--a record which might well allow the students to more easily represent their ideas at a later time.
Once students have read a book thoroughly and created a written record of their responses, they may choose to place the book in a larger context. For example, Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai could be placed in context of Chinese 20th century history, in Christian religious testimony, in the genres of adventure non-fiction or in personal-political autobiography. Students may wish to compare and contrast it to other literature of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution period of 1966-76 in the P.R.C.
After the main content has been summarized, students should then proceed to their own analysis of the writing, content, ideas, emotions and other facets of the book. Students should apply both their intellect (ideas) and their emotions (subjective feelings and personal sense of taste) to the book.
Once the important ideas have fully been dealt with, students may then proceed to the usual revising and editing--to make sure that there are no major gaps in information, no areas which are vague or too general or unclear, no pockets of information which need more details, and so on. Editing should ensure that there are no mechanical, spelling or other errors.
• WHAT ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD BOOK REVIEW OR REPORT?
A powerful book review or report should do the following:
• cite the author and book title;
• place a book into the larger context of the book's genre or subject matter;
• represent the book contents well in summaries, paraphrases and quotations;
• show clearly the reader's response to the book content;
• show the social, historical, literary, scientific, stylistic, linguistic or other unique values of a particular book;
• read smoothly and informatively; and
• show no mechanical, spelling or other errors.
(Revised 1998)