Have you been assigned to write a critical book review? You should understand that it isn’t a brief summary of the book’s contents. A critical review is written with the aim to show how you can think critically. There is much work to do when writing a critical review of the book. Experts recommend dividing the whole process of writing into 3 stages. The first stage is making notes when reading the book. The second stage is the preparatory process. And the final stage is writing a critical review based on careful research and analysis. Have a closer look at all of the above-mentioned stages to create an A-grade book review.
Stage 1: When You Read the Book
You should make notes when reading a book. It will save you much time and effort. If you don’t follow this tip, you will have to reread the book. If you don’t want to go back, pay special attention to the following questions for consideration and try to answer them.
- What is the main idea of the book? Is it clear what purpose the writer pursued when writing the book?
- What types of information sources does the book author use? Is there something to add or the topic has been revealed to the full extent?
- Does the book topic touch upon a narrow theme or does the author try to explain the wider topic?
- Is the language of the book understandable? Comment on the style chosen by the author.
- Learn about the author’s background and analyze whether there is any connection between the author’s life experience and the story told in the book.
Stage 2: When You Prepare for Writing a Book Review
Have you read the book? Then, don’t waste time and proceed to the next stage. When you prepare to write a critical book review, you should write an outline. It will help you not to forget anything and organize your paper the right way. Take your notes and plan what parts your review will consist of. Outline all the key points and write them down not to miss anything important.
Write the ideas you’re going to share in the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. You are a reviewer. This means you should evaluate the central argument of the book, tell about the most valuable observations, and name the parts of the books that make the best impression.
Stage 3: When You Are Working on the Book Review
You’ve done a lot of jobs and now it is high time to organize all of the ideas into one critical essay. In general, a paper of this kind is from 1000 to 1200 words. Follow the step-by-step guidelines for writing an insightful review of the book.
- Start with the introduction. Present the main topic of the book and tell several words about the author’s purpose of writing. Express your opinion on whether it has been accomplished by the writer or not. Explain why you think so.
- Give some background information about the author. Don’t write a long paragraph about the writer’s biography. Just tell your readers about the facts that could make the author write the book. You can mention other literary works written by the same author if this information will be helpful for the review.
- Evaluate all the information sources. Tell how exactly the publications, web sources, and other references help to have a clear picture of the key idea of the book.
- Write the main body of the review. It’s a part when you need to discuss the major points and give evidence of your critique. Keep in mind that you should search for evidence when you share ideas.
- Write a conclusion. It must be a brief evaluation of the book. Make it clear for the readers if you consider the book a good one or the one that isn’t worth spending time for. Remember that you shouldn’t include new information in the final part of the review. Conclude the main ideas from the main body and encourage readers to think critically about the book you’ve reviewed.
- Edit and proofread the paper. It shouldn’t contain grammar and lexical errors, otherwise, you won’t get a high grade. You are recommended to use a grammar checker to make sure that the paper is free from mistakes. Check book review samples to make sure that your paper is well-organized and meets all the writing requirements.
Follow the steps above when creating a critical book review. Keep in mind that the aim of writing a critical review isn’t to share your personal opinion on the literary work but to evaluate certain points. You should be objective when evaluating the book. Hope this guide will help you to give an overall judgment on the literary work.
