Summary on how to review a book

Review a book

Learning how to review a book has plenty of advantages. It is a good way to improve your reading and writing skills, develop your analytical skills. Reviewing books can also advance your field. 

There are two general types of review: 

Descriptive review: 

an objective summary of the contents, scope, treatment and importance of a text. 

A descriptive review might include a combination of some of the following elements: 

• An outline of the contents of the book; 
• A summary of the author's aims for the book and the intended audience; 
• An evaluation of the material included and comments; 
• Quotations or references to illustrate the review; 
• A brief summary of the author's qualifications and reference to his/her other texts; 
• Citations of the linguistic, literary and other texts that this book will complement or replace, in order to place this text in its academic context; 

Analytical or critical review: 

    An objective appraisal of a text's contents, quality, limitations and applicability. It should discuss the text's relative merits and deficiencies and might compare it with alternative texts. 

A critical review might include: 

• A description of the author's purpose for writing, and qualifications; 
• The historical background of the work; 
• The main strengths and weaknesses of the book; 
• A description of the genre to which the work belongs; 
• A commentary on the significance of the text for its intended audience. 

General Tips 

• Read the book! 
• Make notes on the principal themes and conclusions, 
• Think about the content and decide on a theme for the review - Look at the book again. 
• Draft the outline to support the theme of the review and check that nothing vital is missed - look at the book again. 
• Draft the review - look at the book again. 
• Edit and revise the final version.