Introduction
Since most reviews are brief, many writers begin with a catchy quip or anecdote that succinctly delivers their
argument. But you can introduce your review differently depending on the argument and audience. The Writing
Center’s handout on introductions can help you find an approach that works. In general, you should include:
The name of the author and the book title and the main theme.
Relevant details about who the author is and where they stand in the genre or field of inquiry. You could
also link the title to the subject to show how the title explains the subject matter.
The context of the book and/or your review. Placing your review in a framework that makes sense to your
audience alerts readers to your “take” on the book. Perhaps you want to situate a book about the Cuban
revolution in the context of Cold War rivalries between the United States and the Soviet Union. Another
reviewer might want to consider the book in the framework of Latin American social movements. Your
choice of context informs your argument.
The thesis of the book. If you are reviewing fiction, this may be difficult since novels, plays, and short
stories rarely have explicit arguments. But identifying the book’s particular novelty, angle, or originality
allows you to show what specific contribution the piece is trying to make.
Your thesis about the book.
Summary of content
This should be brief, as analysis takes priority. In the course of making your assessment, you’ll hopefully be
backing up your assertions with concrete evidence from the book, so some summary will be dispersed throughout
other parts of the review.
The necessary amount of summary also depends on your audience. Graduate students, beware! If you are writing
book reviews for colleagues—to prepare for comprehensive exams, for example—you may want to devote more
attention to summarizing the book’s contents. If, on the other hand, your audience has already read the book—such
as a class assignment on the same work—you may have more liberty to explore more subtle points and to emphasize
your own argument. See our handout on summary for more tips.
Analysis and evaluation of the book
Your analysis and evaluation should be organized into paragraphs that deal with single aspects of your argument.
This arrangement can be challenging when your purpose is to consider the book as a whole, but it can help you
differentiate elements of your criticism and pair assertions with evidence more clearly. You do not necessarily need
to work chronologically through the book as you discuss it. Given the argument you want to make, you can organize
your paragraphs more usefully by themes, methods, or other elements of the book. If you find it useful to include
comparisons to other books, keep them brief so that the book under review remains in the spotlight. Avoid excessive
quotation and give a specific page reference in parentheses when you do quote. Remember that you can state many
of the author’s points in your own words.
Conclusion
Sum up or restate your thesis or make the final judgment regarding the book. You should not introduce new
evidence for your argument in the conclusion. You can, however, introduce new ideas that go beyond the book if
they extend the logic of your own thesis. This paragraph needs to balance the book’s strengths and weaknesses in
order to unify your evaluation. Did the body of your review have three negative paragraphs and one favorable one?
What do they all add up to? The Writing Center’s handout on conclusions can help you make a final assessment.
