The Book Review Essay - More than meets the eye

The book review essay is a type of academic writing in which critical evaluation of a book is made. For some time educational institutes and universities have used this literary exercise to assess the reading comprehension and writing skills of their students. Generally, evaluators look for a high-quality essay, which is plagiarism-free and demonstrates both, a thorough understanding and analysis of the book. Here are some useful tips to help you write your book review.

Book reviews are interesting pieces of writing, which allow you to discuss and criticize an author's work. You should begin your review with a declaration of your agreement or disagreement with the findings of the book, which can be either profound, or lacking in knowledge or judgment. Therefore, before writing you need to go through the particular book thoroughly and be certain that you understand its findings.

Actually,writing a book review is not an easy task as it requires an in-depth knowledge of a book. As well, there is also the possibility that the text may require some further interpretation, such as literary works of William Shakespeare or a similar author. Keep in mind, however, that you are being judged from a journalistic point of view.

A book review is usually an essay that is well drafted, short and concise. In addition, each review will be different from the next in terms of writing style and subject; however, most reviews are generally less than 1000 words. Firstly, when writing your review,  the thesis of the work in question should be clearly stated and then followed by your own position and conclusions on the book. Your review should also aim to include a description of the work's topic and its overall relevance. Continue by developing your critique of the text and a discussion on whether the book has enhanced your understanding of the topic. Finally, you should attempt to predict whether another reader will accept or appreciate the book for its merit. The book review essay is meant to be brief and persuasive, thus this type of academic writing should be approached tactfully.

The book review essays of two students considering the same text should be dissimilar as they would likely view the quality, knowledge and judgment of the book differently. In theory, if the assignment is given to two students in the same class, there will be two different reviews. However, it often happens that students get away from the main objective of the exercise, i.e. review of the content, and begin to summarize the content instead. Students who regularly write book review essays should, therefore, develop their abilities to critically examine the contents of a book and to make reason-based judgments.