A Book Review is a formal paper that:

A. Analyzes how the book achieved its purpose

B. Describes what are on the pages, it give a summaries the content (What is the book about?), overall
perspective, relevance, purpose and identify the key arguments (how the author supports these arguments)
C. Evaluate, judge or give critical assessment for its content by expressing your reactions to its strengths and
weaknesses whether or not the reader would appreciate it and if the book is worth reading (Why? Why not?"
is the book important?) It provides detailed evidence to support this analysis, description and evaluation.
D. Explains how the book compares to other works on similar topics.

Book reports tend summarize the work that you read; explain what it says and show that you read the book with care.

Guidelines in Writing Book Review

There is no hard and fast rule in writing a book review.

A. Pre-writing phase
After reading the book, go over it once more and reflect on the following questions:
1. What is the main argument or thesis of the book?
2. What important ideals would the author want you to get?
3. Is the author successful in conveying his/her ideas/arguments to the audience?
4. What is the author's style of writing?
5. How are characters developed?
6. What is the structure of the plot?
7. Would you recommend this book to a reader?

B. Writing Phase
After taking note of your observations, you may organize your thoughts and start writing. The review may start with
the introduction, body of the review and conclusion.

Introduction
Most of the book reviews are brief. Generally an introduction involves the following:
1. The name of the author and the book title and the main theme.
2. Relevant details about who the author is and where he/she stands in the genre or field of inquiry You could
also link the title to the subject to show how the title explains the subject matter.
3. The context of the book and/or your review Place your review in a framework that makes sense to your
audience.
4. The thesis (proposition, idea, opinion, view, theory) of the book if you are reviewing fiction, this may be
difficult since novels, plays, and short stories rarely have explicit arguments. But identifying its particular
novelty, angle, or originality allows you to show what specific contribution the piece is trying to make

Development
Develop your thesis using supporting arguments. Use description, evaluation, and if possible explanation of why the
author wrote as he/she did.

Conclusion
If your thesis has been well argued, the conclusion should follow naturally. It can include a final assessment or simply
restate your thesis. Do not introduce new material at this point.
 Format for Book Review
Name of Student: Grade & Sec.
Title of the Book:
Author(s): Year of Publication: Place of Publication:
Relevant details of the author(s):
Genre of Writing: (novel, essay, myth, academic literature)
Main Theme:

Context of the Book:

A. Analysis:
B. Description:
C. Evaluation:
D. Explanation:

Thesis:
Development:
Conclusion: