Preparation of a critical review - Book Report/Review Example

PREPARATION OF A CRITICAL REVIEW Critical book is the assessment and evaluation of the book. When reviewing a text, the reviewer makes an argument whereby a person is in a position to engage in discussion and dialogue with the audiences and the worker’s creator. The role of critical book review is dual. On one hand, the reviewer develops an argument that wishes to enlighten and notify the reader as to the scope and nature of the text under consideration. It is significant to note that the reviewer tries to present a critical assessment and evaluation of the text.

On the other hand, the review of the text should be objective in the sense that it should not be based on speculation but rather on concrete evidence and examples presented in the text. Further, it should be based on subjective criteria where the reviewer offers his personal opinion. Book review enables the reader to know about the content of the text under consideration and the reviewer’s opinion about the text. In some instances, we have a third role of reviewing a text in that it helps us to relate the work under review to our own work.

A critical book review incorporates the following aspects i. Introduction In this part, the reviewer starts with certain questions. For instance, the reviewer should ask himself; who wrote the book, was the author qualified to write on that subject? Why did they write the book? What is book talking about? Did the book contain a thesis? If the reviewer is in a position to answer these questions, they will be able to evaluate the book. In turn, the reviewer will be able to mention or name the title of the text and name of the author.

Further, the reviewer should clarify the main purpose of the book and develop their personal critical thought about the subject under discussion. ii. Summary The reviewer should briefly summarize the main points of the book. The reviewer looks at the main ideas of the author, the procedures the author used in the study, the results obtained, and the conclusions. iii. Critique or evaluation The reviewer presents logically objective opinion about the book. These opinions can be positive or negative depending on how the author presented the ideas and facts in the book.

The reviewer usually focuses on aspects such as significance of the subject of the book, timelines of the book, opinions of other authors, and author’s objectivity. The reviewer should be in a position to state the scope and subject of the book, how the author dealt with the subject, the style the author used, organization of the book, and when it was written. Further, the reviewer should tell if the book is the most recent in that discipline. The reviewer then prepares to write a critical review of the book after they have read, evaluated, and conceptualized the content of the book.

In addition, having made a decision about the context in which the review will happen such as well or poorly researched, well documented, this was an awesome and interesting book but it has no sufficient evidence and example to support the ideas, the reviewer will start writing the book review based on this judgments. It is significant to note that the reviewer will begin by writing an introduction that has the title of the book and name of the author, a brief comment about the author, brief explanation of the content of the book, and a brief explanation of what the review will talk about.

The third or fourth paragraphs will state the arguments of the author. A critical assessment and evaluation is conducted to determine the validity of the author’s arguments and answers to the above questions as they relate to the text. When the reviewer is through with writing a critical review of the book, they will write a summarizing paragraph in which the reviewer concludes his own opinions or reviews about significant points noted in the book. In the concluding paragraph, the reviewer will restate the thesis of the book, and make judgment concerning the book.

Further, this paragraph requires balancing of the text’s weaknesses and strengths in order to unify the review. Bibliography Drewry, John. Writing Book Reviews. New York: Greenwood Press, 1974.