World Literature: Guidelines for Book Reviews
Requirement: The Book Review should be between one and two pages long and should use
MLA formatting (google ‘OWL Purdue’ for MLA guidelines).
Due Date: A Rough Draft of the Book Review is due on Monday, 11 March, 2013. The final
Book Review is due on Monday, 18 March, 2013.
Purpose: A book review serves the purpose of informing the reader of the contents of a book
and indicating to him something of its quality and value. This is of great importance to the
scholarly world, for such reviews allow the scholar, possessing limited time in a world of prolific
publication, to acquire some knowledge without reading each and every work that is published,
and direct him or her to works with sufficient value or importance to warrant a more thorough
inspection.
Guidelines: The best guide to writing a book review is a professionally written book review
itself. Thus, before undertaking the task at hand, consult the book review section of a reliable
news or literary source. From reading reviews found in such sources, students should arrive at
some basic conclusions as to the nature and content of a good review.
Though there is no standard form for book reviews, the following types of information should
be included in a review:
1) Information necessary to direct the reader to the book, such as author, title, place of
publication, publisher, and date of publication.
2) The substance of the book: What is the plot of the story? What kind of characters
are in the book? How does the book relate to our world or our history? With what
problem does the author deal? In other words, provide your reader with the essence of
the work, not a blow by blow account of its contents.)
3) A critique of the book: Would you recommend the book to others? Why or why not?
Is the book organized in a coherent, logical, literate fashion? Is it readable? Do you feel
that the book is significant? Contemplate what works and doesn’t work about the
author’s writing style. Does the book appear to have been intended for the mature
scholar, the student, or the general public? How has the book been reviewed by others?
Assessment: The Book Review is worth 40 points.
Book Reviews will be graded based on the following:
0-10 points for a clearly articulated opinion that includes knowledge of the book
0-10 points for following the Guidelines for Book Reviews
0-10 points for conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting)
0-5 points for a captivating introduction
0-5 points for a satisfying conclusion