Writing Tips, Samples and News for Students

5 Steps in a Full College Book Review: Dig into the Work at Hand

Most college students find writing book reviews rather difficult than enjoyable. It is supposed to be a thorough description, critical analysis, and evaluation of a book. Students can confuse a book review with a book report or book summary. A book review is not a narration but rather a critical analysis.

Book reviews mostly focus on the themes, ideas, relevance, and limitations citing evidence from the book. In general, a college book review should present a clear and detail oriented evaluation of the quality of the book. On average, a book review should be approximately 500-1000 words. However, the word count might differ depending on the complexity and length of the book.

How to Write a College Book Review

Though different book reviews may vary, when it comes to a tone, style, subject and length they all have the same format. So, the steps that you should take while writing a college book review corresponds to the parts you need to work on.

  1. Read and understand a book. After you get the task to write a book review, the first step you’re recommended to follow is to read and understand the book. No additional resources can reveal totally the book content. Understand all the themes in the book and the message the author intended to communicate to the audience. Without taking this step, there is no sense to pass on.
  2. Introduce the book and its author to readers. As you understand this part is supposed to be an introduction that includes all the relevant details about the author and his or her book you’re going to analyse – the name of the author, the book title and the major theme. Besides, you can add the book edition, the place of publication if this information is mentioned in the book.
  3. Give the basic information about a book. This part is called a summary in which you should focus only on the key issues in the book. There is no room for narrating the whole story. In fact, this section should not be more than 200 words.
  4. Carry out a critical evaluation. This section is considered to be a main one which is mostly targeted by examiners. Your task is to evaluate and analyze based on the author’s perspective as well as your understanding citing evidence from the book. You are free to critique or even state the limitations of the book if any.
  5. Conclude your reading. The conclusion largely depends on the evidence you have presented in the main section. It is also important to note that no new evidence can be presented in the final paragraph. Answer the question if you would recommend the book to others by underpinning your statement.

With this practical guideline, writing a book review should be like a walk in the park. And each step will surely bring pleasure to you if only you follow them correctly without skipping.

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