How to Write a Book Critique Like a Professional.
A scholarly review describes, analyzes, and evaluates an article, book, film, or performance (through this guide we will use the term “work” to refer to the text or piece to be reviewed). A review also shows how a work fits into its disciplines and explains the value or contribution of the work to the field.
An analytic or critical review of a book or article is not primarily a summary; rather, it comments on and evaluates the work in the light of specific issues and theoretical concerns in a course. (To help sharpen your analytical reading skills, see our file on Critical Reading.)The literature review puts together a set of such commentaries to map out the current range of positions on a topic.
How to Write a Book Review: Step-By-Step. Writing a book review is something that can be done with every novel. Book reviews can apply to all novels, no matter the genre. Some genres may be harder than others. On the other hand, the book review format remains the same.
Whether you are writing a review for school or you are interested in reviewing books professionally, the fundamentals of the book review are the same, and taking the time to consider the template of a book review before you begin reading can help you focus on and extract the information that will be essential to writing a useful and entertaining book review.
If you are writing book reviews for colleagues—to prepare for comprehensive exams, for example—you may want to devote more attention to summarizing the book’s contents. If, on the other hand, your audience has already read the book—such as a class assignment on the same work—you may have more liberty to explore more subtle points and to emphasize your own argument.
General APA Book Review Requirements. When writing a book review, spend some time introducing the author's background, motivation and qualifications for writing the book. Note that an APA style book report describes what happens in the book with descriptions of the book's contents and ideas.
Structuring the book review. Most book reviews are between 100-500 words, though an academic review may go up to 1500. Check with the lecturer if you are not sure how long your book review should be. At the start, put the complete bibliographic information: Title in full, author, publisher, date of publication edition, number of pages.