PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT IN BOOK AND ARTICLE REVIEW

Book review or an article review – gives essential information about a book or an article, and it provides
an evaluation or a critical analysis about it.

This type of academic writing is usually required in courses in the Humanities such as literature, history,
and philosophy, and in the Social Sciences such as sociology, psychology, and political science.

Steps before writing a book review

1. Read the material – read the material first to have knowledge of the text before drafting a
review of it.
2. Formulate question – formulate questions that will serve as your guide in writing a book or
article review.

Write the Review or Critique Paper

Your paper should give an informed analysis of the material. It should be more than just a summary of
the book or article. Be mindful of the structure of your review or critique. Like all essays, a book review
or an article critique has an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Parts of a book review or an article critique

1. INTRODUCTION
Be guided by the following when writing the introduction
a. Know the context or information in which the material was written—author’s background (i.e.,
life, culture, and beliefs); and social, economic, or political conditions in which the material was
produced.
b. Mention the title of the material, year and date and publication and author’s name.
c. If writing an article critique, state the main argument or author’s purpose of the material.
d. Come up with a thesis statement which will indicate what your evaluation of the material will be.
If you are doing a book review, is it a positive, negative, or mixed review? If you are writing an
article critique, are you for or against the main argument?
e. Briefly summarize the book and the main points of the article.

Techniques one may use in a book review:

1. Quotation

2. Questions

3. Short Story

4. Poem

5. Joke

2. BODY

When writing the body of a book review, follow these questions:

  What is the setting, theme(s), plot, characterization, and other significant literary devices
used by the author?
 How do these elements contribute to the overall meaning of the book?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book?

 What significant human experience and relationships can you relate with in light of your
personal experience?
 How is the book similar to and/or different from other books in the same genre?
 Is the book informative, entertaining, or meaningful? Would you recommend it to others?
Why or why not?

When writing the body of an article review, consider the following:

 Are the ideas presented clear and convincing? What pieces of evidence are used to support the
author’s ideas? Are they valid or accurate?
 Is the purpose of the paper achieved? If yes, how? If no, why not?
 What is the overall structure of the article? Are the ideas logically organized and adequately
developed?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article?
 What further issues does the article raise?
 Does the article contribute to your knowledge or understanding of a particular concept or topic?
How is it helpful to other works in its discipline or to works of related topic?

Considerations:

 Elements – plot, theme, setting, character, etc.

 Literary Devices – allusion, simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.
 Approaches – psychoanalytic, historical, feminist, biographical, etc.
 Value of Content – how can the reader relate to the content? Is it useful?
 Validity – Is it reliable? Is it relevant? Is it based on fact?
2. CONCLUSION

This is a brief summary of your overall evaluation of the material. You may include here the main
reasons, stated in the body paragraphs, why you agree or disagree with the author.