Basics of a Book Review or Response

A book review or response is an evaluation, not a report or a reflection. Rather than merely summarizing content or discussing how the work is valued personally, a review or response evaluates the work’s arguments, evidence, and contribution to the field. As you identify the author’s thesis, you may offer agreement or disagreement. However, the main evaluation will be of their arguments and supports. Are they sufficient or not? Is the work beneficial or not?

These are some standard features of book reviews:

1. Like other types of academic writing, your review should have a thesis statement, which clearly states your opinion of the work in question. Supporting body paragraphs and a conclusion follow.
2. While this type of paper is not a summary or report, you may present brief summaries of the content you plan to address and interact with.
3. Your review should offer a critical assessment of the content. What strikes you as noteworthy? Was it effective or persuasive? How has the work enhanced your understanding of the topic?
4. Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests whether the audience would appreciate it. Who is the work for? Who will benefit?

Reading for Writing a Book Review or Response

When writing a book review, it is best to be an active reader. You do not want to reach the end of the book before you start analyzing its content. Some general pre-reading strategies can help with that:

1. Understand the author. What are his presuppositions? Have you read other works by him or her? What qualifies the author to write on this topic?
2. Take note of the title (does the book deliver what the title suggests it is going to deliver?), the table of contents (how does the book cover the content?), the preface (often will indicate the author’s viewpoint and purpose), and the back cover.

While reading, stop regularly to summarize main arguments and describe your own responses. Here are some questions to keep in mind as you read:

1. What is the book’s argument? How does it compare/contrast to what you know?
2. How does the author support their argument? Is the evidence convincing? Why or why not?
3. Does the book relate to a current discussion in the field? If so, how?
4. What is the theological lineage of the book?
5. Is the book well-written? How is the argument structured? Does it make sense?
6. How has the book helped you understand the topic? Who would benefit from reading this book? Would you recommend it?
7. How does the book compare to other books in the field?

Writing Your Book Review or Response

After you have finished reading and taking notes, develop a working thesis that captures your impressions and addresses your writing prompt. Like other academic writing, your thesis should be presented in your introductory paragraph and supported with specific arguments in your body paragraphs. Your arguments should develop the thesis in a logical manner.

These are general tips for writing book reviews:

1. Review the book in front of you, not the book you wish the author had written. You can (and should) point out shortcomings or failures, but don’t criticize the book for not being something it was not intended to be.
2. When challenging an assumption or argument be sure to cite specific examples to back up your assertions.
3. Try to present a balanced argument about the value of the book. Every author deserves fair treatment.

Format of a Book Review or Response

Unless your professor requests otherwise, reviews should be concise and should be formatted using Turabian guidelines. Some general features include the following:

• The paper should be typed and double-spaced using a clear, non-ornamental, serif font. Examples of acceptable fonts include Times New Roman or Palatino. The text of the paper should be set in 12-point type with footnotes in 10-point.
• Margins are typically 1” on all sides.
• Only one space (not two) should be placed after the terminal punctuation of a sentence.
• Titles of books and other longer works should be italicized, not underlined. Titles of articles, essays, parts of longer works, or other shorter works should be enclosed in quotation marks.
• Reviews typically only interact with the text under review. In such cases, citations are often parenthetical. However, defer to your syllabus for formatting details.