Criminology Book Review

Book Review

A book review is a critical assessment of a book. It is not a book report. It describes and evaluates the quality and significance of a book and does not merely summarize the content.

Identify:

· Author's content and purpose

· Structure

· Audience

Evaluate:

· Accuracy

· Up-to-datedness of the information

· The sources used to justify the author's stance

Respond:

· What issues does it raise?

· What issues are omitted?

· The effect of the book

· Your recommendation

Book reviews are written by students to develop an understanding of the place of a particular book within a broader context of its subject area and its genre.

This comparative component to a book review requires knowledge of both areas. As a student you will be expected to demonstrate that you have examined the book from several angles. The points you raise (both positive and negative) need to be supported with evidence just as for other forms of academic writing.

Writing a book review

While reading

Answer the on the list below:

· Why has the book been written?

· When was it written?

· What is the scope of the book?

· Who is the intended audience?

· How accurate is the author's content?

· How (well) is evidence used?

· Are there any omissions?

Find out about the author and include:

· Qualifications

· Background

· Affiliations

· Other works (if any)

Locate some other sources on the same content/issue and/or the same genre to provide you with background and other views.

During reading

Pay attention to introduction and preface as this is where authors often present the reasons for their book, their perspective and those of any other contributors.

Look at table of contents and book structure. This gives you a quick overview of the contents; looking at any pictures/diagrams, tables/graphs, in the chapters shows you some of the strategies the author has used to get the meaning across. These contents may give a clearer indication of the intended audience as well. For example, the information in tables may be very technical, indicating interpretation will be easier for those with some prior knowledge.

Do not skip abstracts and summaries. These are a quick way to get an overview of the book (from the author's point of view).

Take notes and highlight major points, the sources used, and the logic of the argument presented.

Note whether the information is new. Is the author refuting earlier works, building on another author's ideas or rehashing an earlier piece of work?

How easy is it to understand the author's point of view? If it is difficult, what is the reason?

After reading

Use your notes to evaluate the book. You need to use your other sources too. Decide what recommendation you would make to readers about the different aspects. Include its readability.

Structuring the book review

Most book reviews are between 500-1000 words, though an academic review may go up to 1500.

At the start, put the complete bibliographic information:

Title in full, author, place of publication, publisher, date of publication edition, number of pages.

Your introduction should include:

· your overall impression of the book

· a statement about the author

· a statement on the purpose of the book

· a statement of the significance of the work

The body of your review develops the points you want to make and is, necessarily, the bulk of your paper:

· greater detail on the author's thesis and a short summary of the main points

· the summary must be no longer than half a page

· evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, contribution or bias

· you must include both strengths and weaknesses

· strengths and weaknesses must be about content, not writing style (no, “I liked it because it was easy to read,” or “One critique is that it was hard to read.”

· the evidence that is the basis of your critiques (both strengths and weaknesses)

The conclusion (last paragraph) includes:

· your final assessment

· restatement of overall impression

· (re)statement of your recommendation of the book

No new information should be included in the conclusion.

Reference list: this is put at the end as usual, using either ASA, MLA, or APA format.