There are many benefits of writing good book reviews. It strengthens your writing skills and also helps in improving your analytical skills. It is probably the most straightforward route to follow if you want your work to be published in a journal. You can follow the following steps to compose a well-written academic book review.
Book Selection
As you select Write My Essay for the best quality writing services, similarly, you need to select the book that best serves your interest and purpose. Selecting a book for an academic review is critical and requires smart decision-making. Look for a book that is most suitable for writing a dissertation. It is recommended that you select a book related to your field. You might find it difficult to review a book that is not related to your field as you would not have sound background knowledge about the book’s theme. Selecting the latest books that have been published in recent years will be a wise move. It will be better to select a renowned publisher’s book. By picking a recently published book of a reputed publisher, you will improve your chances of getting the interest of the editors of reputed journals. It is very tempting to write a review of books written by your supervisor, family friend, or a family member but you will face complications hence avoid such temptations. You can search the book on book databases or in the university library related to your field. It is also a smart move to read journals containing upcoming books reviews. It will help you select a book that will be published soon as editors of journals like reviews of the latest books. Plus, you will also get a book review example as a guide. You can also ask your faculty members to recommend a book. It would prove to be a good step as they will recommend a book that they find suitable for you to review. Do not pick a book that you strongly disagree with because your review will ultimately be a negative one. As a student, you should look for a book you are indeed interested in. It will ensure that your academic book review is a well-written document.
Selecting a Journal
Opting to write a book review and how to write it involves the careful selection of a reputed journal. You should search for a leading journal that publishes reviews related to your field. It will help you identify a preferred journal for your academic book review. It is advised that you communicate with the editor of your preferred journal before writing your academic review. You can do this by writing an email to the editor telling him about the book that you will write a review on. It is standard practice, and you should do it as many journals reject unsolicited book reviews. You certainly can’t let that happen to you because you want your review to be published in the journal after so much hard work. Once you get a positive response from the editor, ask the editor for review submission guidelines. It will save you from future complications. You will also know how long your review should be. Also, you can ask the editor about their preferred book review formats. In case you are informed by the editor that your selected book is already being reviewed by someone else, it is recommended that you select another book and save your effort. In this case, you can also request the editor to suggest a book that the journal would like to publish a review on, and it may prove beneficial for you. Select the right journal, and once you get a positive response, start working on your review. Apart from this, if you wish to make your life a little easier, you can get help with academic book reviews at WriteMyEssay Canada.
Analyzing the Book
Reading the selected book using analytical skills is the crucial part of how to write an essay about a book. While analyzing the book, pay attention to details like the title, preface, and index, and make notes of your observation. Look for the arguments present in the book and develop your views about them. Analyze whether the book is making any significant contribution to the field. You can also investigate if the book is related to any current debate. Analyzing the book will also involve determining whether the book is well-written or not. It also involves checking whether the information such as bibliography and footnotes are accurate and if the illustrations are helpful. Determining who can benefit from the book and what school of thought the book belongs to is also significant while analyzing the book for academic review. You can also compare the books with other books written on the same topic. Moreover, you should determine if the book can be used as a textbook and what courses. This detailed analysis will help you in writing the book review.
Plan the layout
You are done with selecting the right book, you have also selected a journal and have analyzed the book, too, but now you are stuck on how to start an essay about a book. You can get out of this situation if you plan well. Planning will simplify matters for you, and you will have an action plan from where to start and how to end the academic review. First, determine how long the review would be by setting a word count for your review. After that, determine how much time you will take in writing the review. Ideally, you should complete it in a month. You can manage the time by allotting different weeks for different procedures of writing the academic review. You can use the following critical book review example layout to outline your book review.
- Title must have complete information about the author, citations, and publisher;
- The first paragraph should be dedicated to determining the purpose and how successful the writer is in achieving the stated purpose;
- Write two paragraphs for the book summary;
- Then write a paragraph stating the strengths of the book;
- Keep one paragraph to state the weaknesses of the book;
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the book;
- Conclude appropriately.
Writing the Book Review
While writing the review, make sure that you don’t just provide a restatement of the text but evaluate the text through your words. Write your judgments about what contribution the books make to the field and who should read the book. While structuring your writing, avoid the temptation of using the table of contents as a structuring principle. Simply structure your review around your argument. You should also avoid unnecessary criticism as it will not leave a good impression. Write a comprehensive review and send it to the editor for publication.
A good academic review should only be about constructive criticism. While writing the review, you should honestly tell the readers about the strengths and weaknesses of the book without being biased in any way. You can write a good academic review if you follow the abovementioned steps.