Tips on Writing a Book Chapter Review

Writing a review of a book is one of the numerous tasks that students are supposed to do according to the academic requirements. It is often confusing as students cannot tell the difference between a review and a summary. Thus, if students want to succeed academically and become proficient in writing, they must know the principles of writing a book chapter review. A book review is aimed at understanding the ability of students to give a critical evaluation of a book. The content of a book and its style are analyzed in a review. What is important is that a review is not a mere retelling of the plot, but assessing the author’s ability to support his own views and using specific tools to address the target audience. Besides, a review can include students’ opinion of a book and their advice for potential readers.

The following are the rules to follow in order to write an excellent review of a book chapter:

• A good beginning of a review includes a short summary of the plot and the key ideas. It is necessary to mention the purpose and the argument as well as the perspective.
• The main body serves to evaluate the chapter and demonstrate the reaction of Students to the plot. They highlight the facts which are worth mentioning and evaluate the author’s ability to persuade the readers.
• In the concluding part of a review, students assess a piece they have read. The student’s task is to determine the circle of potential readers and think if they will like the book.     

Sometimes the assignment includes writing a review of a bestseller. This might be confusing for students as they do not feel confident and experienced enough to do the task. But they do need to worry about the fact they are going to provide a bestselling author’s book analysis. The assignment lies in assessing their understanding of the book, not the way it is written by the author. What is required from students is to give their personal opinions supporting them with relevant examples.  

Answering the question below will make writing a review of a book chapter easier:

• What argument does the book present?
•  What is the book subject? Is it covered by the author?
• What are the supporting ideas? Are there any examples, facts or evidence the author uses to support the main idea?
• Does the author sound convincing?

All in all, it is important to distinguish between a book summary and a review as the former is just a retelling of the plot whereas the latter contains certain facts and detailed information from the book. These are student’s ideas and opinions which are taken into consideration in a review. Students should not criticize the author, but analyze the author’s intentions instead.