Book Review Instructions

Paper Instructions

Book Review. A book review is a critical analysis of the book. A book report is an explanation of the book. Students in academia perform reviews, not reports.

This assignment is patterned after the book reviews that historians draft for professional journals such as the Journal of American History and the American Historical Review. One of the goals is to introduce a new topic, a different interpretation, or to allow you to examine more deeply a topic of your choice.

Another goal of this assignment is to develop your critical thinking and analytical means because unlike a book report that merely discusses the book in a linear narrative manner, a book review is a critical examination of the author’s thesis, use of evidence, and conclusion. It will be at least five double spaced pages in length. Again, do not do the minimum and expect a superior grade. Use the monograph you selected on day one.

Grade: Your grade for this assignment will be based on form and content to include grammar, spelling, analysis, and critical thinking. It must conform to the minimum length requirements or else you will receive a less than passing grade for this assignment. You will upload your review as a Word (.doc, .docx, or rtf) file. Any other format will result in you receiving a zero for this assignment.

I. Heading. At the top of the first page only you need to place

the proper citation. Please follow this model precisely:

Title of Book. By Author (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of

Publication). Page numbers. Reviewed by Your Name, Date of Review.

Example:

Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. By Elaine Tyler May (New York: Basic Books, 1988). vii + 284 pp. Reviewed by John Smith,May 6,2013.

II. Body. The review itself is a critical examination of the author’s

theses,evidence, and analysis.

A. One (1) to Two (2) Paragraph Introduction

1. Tell the reader about the author

2. Why is the author interested in the subject?

3. Why did the author write the book?

B. Two (2) to Four (4) Pages on the subject

1. What is/are the author’s thesis/theses?

2. What evidence does the author use?

3. Is the author’s argument(s) effective? Defend your answer.

C. Two (2) to Three (3) Paragraphs on what worked or did not work for you

1. What was interesting?

2. What did not work for you? Defend your answer.

D. One (1) Paragraph Conclusion

1. Who would be interested in reading this book?

2. What level (novice, secondary school, undergrads, grad students, etc.) of expertise is this book written for?

3. End on a positive note.

III. Other

A. Citations

–please cite work by placing a parenthetical page number

before the punctuation. For example, according to the author “this book is great” (4).

B. Bibliography

–there is neither a bibliography nor a “works cited” page on a formal book review.

C. Cover page

–there is no cover page on a formal book review. The heading of a book review takes the place of any cover sheet.

Writing Assistance.

In college, there are some things that you must learn on your own, such as how to be a better writer. If need help in developing your history writing skills, then you have three choices:

1) Visit the college’s Writing Center, located in room 230 of the Felix Morales Building, 713-718-7202, email at se.writingcenter@hccs.edu,

(or go to http://m.se.hccs.edu/Users/se.writingcenter/web/).

PICK WHICH ONE YOU WANT

Monograph (CHOOSE ONE):

Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion

Oates, Stephen B.

ISBN

-

10: 0060916702

ISBN

-

13: 9780060916701

Ar’nt I a Woman?

White, Debra Gray

ISBN: 0393314812

Plantation Mist

ress

Clinton, Catheron

ISBN: 0394722531

Benjamin Franklin Autobiography

(http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20203)