Writing of Book Reviews: Guidelines Dr.
Qadar Bakhsh Baloch
Guidelines
Writing of Book Reviews
Writing a critical review of a book or article, calls for identification, summarization, and evaluation of
the underlying ideas presented in the work under review. The following are the few guidelines / steps
for writing critical review on the books:
1. Step I: Selection of a Book for Review: Select a book pertaining to your area of interest
because the background knowledge of the area will help you to take a clear stand before the start as
well as help you to write a strong review. Therefore, spend some time choosing a book whose topic
and scholarly approach genuinely interest you. However, in case of your present assignment in
Islamia College or in Abasyn University, you'll need to find a way to become interested in the book
assigned to you.
2. Step-II: Prior to Start Reading: Before beginning to read, consider the following:
1. Title - What does it suggest?
2. Preface - Provides important information on the author's
purpose in writing the book and will help you to determine
the success of the work.
3. Table of Contents - Tells you how the book is organized and
will aid in determining the author's main ideas and how they
are developed - chronologically, topically, etc.
Write down quickly some of the related facts and ideas that you already knew about the book's
topic
Survey the book--including the preface and table of contents--and make some predictions. Here
are few questions to ask:
o What does the title promise the book will cover or argue?
o What does the preface promise about the book?
o What does the table of contents tell you about how the book is organized?
o Who's the audience for this book?
3. Step-III: Read Critically: Don't read just to discover the author's main point or to mine some
facts. Engage with the text, marking important points and underlining passages as you go along.
While reading individual chapters:
Think carefully about the chapter's title and skim paragraphs to get an overall sense of the
chapter. You may like to make notations on the side indent of the paragraphs.
As you read, test your predictions against the points made in the chapter and cite cross
references from other sources if any.
After you've finished a chapter summarize it in your own word all the major points (cutting
edge) of the chapter.
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Writing of Book Reviews: Guidelines Dr. Qadar Bakhsh Baloch
4. Step-III: Begin to Evaluate: While taking notes divide your page in to two columns. In the left
cover summarize main points of the chapter. In the right cove record your reactions and your
tentative evaluations of that chapter. Here are several ways to evaluate a book:
If you are known to other books on the same subject, you can compare the arguments and quality
of the work, emphasizing what's new and what's valuable in the book you're reviewing than
others.
If you don't know others books on the subject you can still do some evaluation. Ask, for
example:
o How well does the book fulfill the promises the author makes in the preface and
introduction?
o How effective is the book's methodology and its arguments?
o How persuasive is the evidence? And how clearly the book is written?
5. Step-IV: Writing of Book Review
a. Preliminary Information: the complete bibliographic citation for the work; title in full, author,
place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features (maps, colour
plates, etc.), price and ISBN.
b. Introduction - Try to capture the reader's attention with your opening sentence. The introduction
should state your central thesis, and set the tone of the review. Following are suggested area to
be covered in this part of review:
i. Author: His professional/ intellectual contributions, books, research etc.
ii. Thesis: What is the author's main argument? Is the thesis readily apparent? Is it
Convincing? (There may be sub-theses as well.)
iii. Organization & Style of the Work: Is the book logically constructed, or is it confusing,
repetitive, etc.?Is the book easy to read, or did it frustrate you?
iv. Objectivity. Is the author a bias in his work?Did the author provide enough information
to support his view?
c. Review: Salient points of the books/ summary of the chapters or the book. The each point
shall be supported by the citation of that source and citation of the source shall be ina way that
helps the reader to reach easily that source. Develop your thesis using supporting arguments as
set out in your outline. Use description, evaluation, and if possible explanation of why the author
wrote as he/she did. Use quotations to illustrate important points or peculiarities.
d. Analyses/ Critique: Identify core ideas or unusual point or concepts referred / debated in the
book with rational or argue controversial points. The idea / concepts which have been discussed
differently or supported by any other author in any other work may also be referred in the
argument wherever possible.
e. Conclusions. What are the general points which may emerge from the book (these are
some-times different from the thesis argued), and are they acceptable or useful?
What general value or how useful might the book be to a specialist in this field, or to a student
investigating the subject matter for the first time? (What an expert finds useful might be far too
complex for the novice reader.)
