Write a book report
BOOK IS
Gordon-Reed, Annette, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, Charlottesville (VA) and London, University of Virginia Press, 1997
The book report must be no more than 1,200-1,500 words. The paper will be graded for analysis, presentation, grammar, and spelling
A book review is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book.You are to analyze and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the material. You should include a statement of what the author has tried to do, evaluate how well (in your opinion as the reviewer) the author has succeeded, and present evidence to support this evaluation. However, a review is not merely a summary of the author’s argument.
The following are standard procedures for writing book reviews.You do not have to respond to every one of the points.These are only suggestions to help you know what to look for while reading your book and to help you organize your report.
1. Write a statement giving essential information about the book: title, author, type of book, general subject matter, and special features (maps, color plates, etc.), if any.Bibliographic information, such as copyright date, publisher and ISBN should go into a footnote.
2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. Sometimes authors state their purpose in the preface or the first chapter. When they do not, you may arrive at an understanding of the book’s purpose by asking yourself these questions:
a. Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?
b. From what point of view is the work written?
c. Was the author trying to give information, to explain something technical, to convince the reader of a belief’s validity by dramatizing it in action?
d. What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it? (Use outside sources to familiarize yourself with the field, if necessary.) Knowledge of the genre means understanding the art form. and how it functions.
e. Who is the intended audience?
f. What is the author’s style? Is it formal or informal? Evaluate the quality of the writing style by using some of the following standards: coherence, clarity, originality, forcefulness, correct use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, fluidity. Does it suit the intended audience?
g. Scan the Table of Contents, it can help understand how the book is organized and will aid in determining the author’s main ideas and how they are developed – chronologically, topically, etc.
h. Try to find further information about the author – reputation, qualifications, influences, biographical, etc. – any information that is relevant to the book being reviewed and that would help to establish the author’s authority. Can you discern any connections between the author’s philosophy, life experience and the reviewed book?
3. State the theme and the thesis of the book.
a. Theme: The theme is the subject or topic. It is not necessarily the title, and it is usually not expressed in a complete sentence. It expresses a specific phase of the general subject matter.
b. Thesis: The thesis is an author’s generalization about the theme, the author’s beliefs about something important, the book’s philosophical conclusion, or the proposition the author means to prove. Express it without metaphor or other figurative language, in one declarative sentence.
4. Explain the method of development-the way the author supports the thesis. Illustrate your remarks with specific references and quotations. In general, authors tend to use the following methods, exclusively or in combination.
a. Description: The author presents word-pictures of scenes and events by giving specific details that appeal to the five senses, or to the reader’s imagination. Description presents background and setting. Its primary purpose is to help the reader realize, through as many sensuous details as possible, the way things (and people) are, in the episodes being described.
b. Narration: The author tells the story of a series of events, usually presented in chronological order. The emphasis in narration, in both fiction and non-fiction, is on the events. Narration tells what has happened. Its primary purpose is to tell a story.
c. Exposition: The author uses explanation and analysis to present a subject or to clarify an idea. Exposition presents the facts about a subject or an issue as clearly and impartially as possible. Its primary purpose is to explain.
d. Argument: The author uses the techniques of persuasion to establish the truth of a statement or to convince the reader of its falsity. The purpose is to persuade the reader to believe something and perhaps to act on that belief. Argument takes sides on an issue. Its primary purpose is to convince.
5. Evaluate the book for interest, accuracy, objectivity, importance, thoroughness, and usefulness to its intended audience. Show whether the author’s main arguments are true. Respond to the author’s opinions. What do you agree or disagree with? And why? Illustrate whether or not any conclusions drawn are derived logically from the evidence. Explore issues the book raises. What possibilities does the book suggest? What has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved? What specific points are not convincing? Compare it with other books on similar subjects or other books by the same as well as different authors. Is it only a reworking of earlier books; a refutation of previous positions? Have newly uncovered sources justified a new approach by the author? Comment on parts of particular interest, and point out anything that seems to give the book literary merit. Relate the book to larger issues.
6. In your conclusion, summarize (briefly), book’s content, but do not introduce new material at this point. You should include a final assessment of the quality of the book. You should address some, but not all of the following questions.How did the book affect you? Were any previous ideas you had on the subject changed, abandoned, or reinforced due to this book? Would you recommend this book or article to others? Why?How well has the book achieved its goal?
