How to Write a Critical Book Review Essay Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

A critical review essay requires students to respond to the author's point of view. Begin writing by summarizing the author's point of view about the topic and giving a brief explanation of the author's main points. This section of the essay must accurately portray the reading without adding opinions. Include information on the details the author uses, and provide missing information if applicable. It is important to include all points of view on a given topic, regardless of their validity. The purpose of the critical book review for history is to share information about an historical topic it is not a book report that summarizes the content.

The historical source under review is usually secondary, that is, it is about an event in history that the author has contributed some new information. The review is critical in that it discusses and evaluates the significance of this new information. Book reviews also provide the historian with a thumbnail sketch of the contents that may be very useful in research work.

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Writing a book review requires that you assess the books strengths and weaknesses as they pertain to historiography it is not a literary review. In order to review a book on history it is essential to have some information on the subject, the region, and the period. The bibliography in the book should supply you with references to sources with related information. Journals are also a good place to find this information and to look for scholarly book reviews that will also help you understand the form, and give you an idea of what your review should look like.

what is a critical book review ? the book review is simply an essay with three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The three parts of the critical book review for the historian are: who wrote it, why did they write it, and what do they have to offer. Arguments are intended to extend our knowledge, and also can be described as having three parts: a premise, supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

1 who wrote it? biographical information about the credibility, and expertise of the author must be taken into consideration. Who is the author, what is his or her background, how does the author’s background affect his or her writing? education, class, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and political or religious affiliations may affect the authors expertise, bias, or interpretation. Rhetoric is the art of argument, and good historical writing is always argumentative. This may be difficult if the author has merely implied rather than explicitly explained his or her thesis.

You might have to read the whole book in some cases to determine what the author’s thesis is. An historical book, paper or essay, such as a critical book review is an argument. Books such as anthony weston’s, a rulebook for arguments, or trudy govier’s, a practical study of argument.

2 take a position you need a thesis statement of your own to produce an authoritative review. 3 make a statement make a relevant statement that clearly states your position and reveals your impression of the book. Book reviews are short and concise, they may vary from half a page to several pages depending on the assignment. The introduction is extremely important, it must be short, effective, and it must contain your thesis. the thesis developing a good thesis is often the most difficult part of writing. What happened, why is it interesting, why or how did it happen? the answers to these questions should set up the body of your thesis. Develop a hypothesis and then look for weak or vague words that detract from a strong, concise statement.