Book Review Assignment

English 583, Multicultural Literature for Adolescents

Dr. Gwen Athene Tarbox

Winter Semester, 2002

 

Goals:

·         To develop the ability to analyze and to evaluate a scholarly text

·         To write a well-reasoned, professional, and detailed book review

 

Assignment Particulars:

·         On February 4, 2002, you should turn in a disk copy of your Book Review (Microsoft Word, on an IBM formatted disk*) as well as a paper copy.   All reviews should be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 3 pages in length.  Be sure to identify your paper by placing your Name, the Date, the Course Number, and the Assignment Title in the upper-left hand corner of the Book Review.   Please do not turn in a Title Page.  

*If you have a MAC computer, please do not give me a MAC disk – instead, email me your paper as an Attachment.

 

End-Use:

·         After you receive your graded Book Review, you will need to make necessary corrections and turn the assignment back to me.  I will then post your reviews in a web document entitled “An Annotated Bibliography of Scholarly Work on American Adolescence, Compiled by Students in English 583”

 

Materials:

·         On the second night of class, Dr. Tarbox will have assigned you a text that you need to check out of the library or borrow from her.

·         You should read the How to Write a Book Review Handout prior to beginning the assignment.

 

Methodology for Reading Your Assigned Book

 

1.                   Once you have the book in your possession, it is a good idea to perform what I call “pre-reading activities.”  You should read the index and jot down the items that seem to have the most coverage in the book—this will help you to identify the author’s themes.   Next, read the chapter titles and note if there is any obvious structure to the book – again, this structure will help you to understand important themes.  Finally, you should read the jacket summary, review snippets, and biographical information on the author.   Typically, I will go to Amazon.com, look up the book and read all of the Editorial Reviews.

2.                   If there is an introductory section or foreword, read it carefully.   Often, an author will use the introduction to outline his/her themes.  

3.                   After you read each chapter, write down a basic summary of the most important points.  Usually, I will also jot down page numbers of important quotes or passages, as well.

4.                   Once you have completed reading the text, go back to your notes on what appeared to be the author’s themes – make sure that your chapter notes reflect those themes.

 

Methodology for Approaching a Review Assignment   (This information is designed to accompany the How to Write a Book Review Sheet .)

 

  1. Students who are new to the field of Adolescent Studies may feel at a disadvantage when writing a critical review.   After all, they have not read widely in the field, so it may be difficult to make confident assertions regarding a book’s worth compared to other similar titles.  For this reason, you should focus instead on identifying the author’s thesis and themes and then judging how well he/she handles those themes.
  2. As you write your review, keep professionalism in mind.   Your job is not to excoriate your author.   All of the books selected for this exercise have been read and edited by experts in the field.  It is not essential for you to search for fault.   Rather, you should highlight the positive aspects of the book and reserve your criticism for the last paragraph or two.   Moreover, even when you criticize an author, you should do so in a respectful tone and you should be able to back up your critique with evidence from the text.
  3. As you structure your review, keep this rubric in mind:
    1. Begin with a paragraph in which you relay the author’s name, the book’s title, and a brief summary of the book’s thesis.
    2. For the body of your review, choose the author’s 2 or 3 most important points and discuss those points.
    3. In the evaluative section, comment on how the author achieves his/her purpose – Are there sufficient examples to back up his/her assertions; does the author stay on topic and answer whatever questions he/she promised to do in the introduction, etc.
    4. Conclude by discussing the book’s value for scholars.