Guidelines for the Book Review

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Guidelines for the Book Review

At the outset of the book review, you should give information pertaining to the title of the book, the author, the publisher, number of pages, the year of publication, and the price.  This is pertinent information in that it helps the reader to locate the source if s/he is interested in reading the book.  After providing this information, you should write the review, adhering to the following framework.

Identify the Audience and the Purpose of the Book:
State the general purpose of the book, and mention specifically why the book is interesting for the general public or for a specific audience.  In the introduction, you may want to discuss the subject matter from a personal perspective. 

Summary of the Book:
Give a one-sentence chapter-by-chapter summary of the book.  Briefly describe what each chapter entails.  Avoid being subjective here.  It is imperative that you be objective while summarizing the book.  Keep in mind that personal feelings or opinions must not influence your summary of the book.

Give a Road Map:
In this section of the review, you should tell the reader exactly what aspects of the book you will discuss in your review.  State clearly whether (or not) your approach in writing the review will be critical, whether you will highlight the merits and demerits of the book, and whether you will examine only selected points.  If you choose to discuss only a few aspects of the book, justify why you have opted to do so.   Since it is impossible to touch upon all aspects of the book in a brief review, it would be worth your while if you focused on only a select few.

Conclusion:

In the conclusion, briefly discuss the most effective and the least effective part of the book.  After that, you should recommend whether the book is suitable for the general public or for a specific audience.  As a reviewer, it is your responsibility to educate the prospective reader so that s/he can make a purchase decision.  Furthermore, you may want to include a list of errata in the conclusion.   This list should include typographical mistakes, if any, editorial things, index, etc.  Last but not least, make sure you leave a lasting impression on the reader by saying something concrete and substantial about the book.   

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