Everything You Need to Know in Middle School Book Review
How to write a book review: A complete guide for students and teachers
WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?
Traditionally, volume reviews are written evaluations of a recently published book in whatever genre. Usually, around the 500 to 700-word mark, they offer a brief description of a text's main elements while appraising the work's overall strengths and weaknesses. Published book reviews can appear in newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. They provide the reader with an overview of the volume itself and indicate whether or not the reviewer would recommend the book to the reader.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A Volume REVIEW?
There was a time when volume reviews were a regular appearance in every quality newspaper and many periodicals. They were important elements in whether or not a book would sell well. A review from a heavyweight critic could often exist the deciding factor in whether a book became a bestseller or a damp squib. In the last few decades, however, the book review's influence has waned considerably with many potential volume buyers preferring to consult customer reviews on Amazon, or sites like Goodreads, prior to buying. Equally a result, the book review's appearance in newspapers, journals, and digital media has become less frequent.
WHY Bother TEACHING STUDENTS TO WRITE BOOK REVIEWS AT ALL?
Even in the heyday of the book review's influence, few of the students who learned the craft of writing a book review went on to get literary critics! The existent value of being able to arts and crafts a well-written book review for a pupil does not lie in their power to affect book sales. Understanding how to produce a well-written volume review helps students to:
● Engage critically with a text
● Critically evaluate a text
● Respond personally to a range of different writing genres
● Improve their own reading, writing, and thinking skills.
Non to Be Dislocated with a Volume Report!
WHAT'Southward THE DIFFERENCE Between A BOOK REVIEW AND A BOOK REPORT?
While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are clear differences in both the purpose and the format of the two genres. Generally speaking, book reports aim to give a more detailed outline of what occurs in a book. A volume report on a work of fiction volition tend to requite a comprehensive account of the characters, major plot lines, and themes contained in the volume. Book reports are usually written effectually the K-12 age range, while book reviews tend not to be undertaken by those at the younger end of this age range due to the need for the higher-level critical skills required in writing them. At their highest expression, book reviews are written at the higher level and by professional critics.
Book REVIEW STRUCTURE
Analyze Evaluate the book with a critical listen.
THOROUGHNESS The whole is greater than the sum of all its parts. Review the volume equally a WHOLE.
COMPARE Where appropriate compare to similar texts and genres.
THUMBS Upwardly OR Downwards? You are going to have to inevitably recommend or reject this volume to potential readers.
BE CONSISTENT Take a stance and stick with it throughout your review.
FEATURES OF A BOOK REVIEW
Past TENSE You are writing nearly a volume you take already read.
EMOTIVE Language Whatever your opinion or stance exist passionate near information technology. Your audience will thank you for it.
VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts.
A COMPLETE Unit of measurement ON REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF TEXTS
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ELEMENTS OF A Book REVIEW
Equally with any of the genres of writing that we teach our students, a book review can be helpfully explained in terms of criteria. While there is much to the 'art' of writing, there is too, thankfully, a lot of the nuts and bolts that can be listed too. Take students consider the following elements prior to writing:
● Title: Often, the title of the book review will correspond to the championship of the text itself, but there may also exist some examination of the title'southward relevance. How does it fit into the purpose of the work as a whole? Does information technology convey a message, or reveal larger themes explored within the piece of work?
● Author: Within the volume review there may be some discussion of who the writer is and what they take written before, especially if information technology relates to the current piece of work being reviewed. In that location may be some mention of the author'south way and what they are best known for. If the author has received whatsoever awards or prizes, this may too be mentioned inside the torso of the review.
● Genre: A book review volition identify the genre that the book belongs to, whether fiction or nonfiction, poesy, romance, scientific discipline-fiction, history etc. The genre will likely tie-in also with who the intended audience for the volume is and what the overall purpose of the work is.
● Book Jacket / Cover: Ofttimes a book's comprehend volition comprise artwork that is worthy of comment. It may incorporate interesting details related to the text that contribute to, or detract from, the work as a whole.
● Structure: The volume's structure will frequently be heavily informed by the genre it is in. Accept students exam how the book is organized prior to writing their review. Does it contain a preface from a guest editor, for example? Is it written in sections or capacity? Does it contain a tabular array of contents, index, glossary etc? While all these details may not make information technology into the review itself, taking a look at how the book is structured may reveal some interesting aspects.
● Publisher and Price: A volume review will usually contain details of who publishes the book and its cost. A review will often provide details of where the book is available besides.
Book REVIEW Key ELEMENTS
Equally students read and appoint with the work they volition review, they will develop a sense of the shape their review volition take. This volition brainstorm with the summary. Encourage students to take notes during the reading of the work that will help them in writing the summary that volition form an essential part of their review. Aspects of the book they may wish to take notes on in a piece of work of fiction may include:
● Characters: Who are the chief characters? What are their motivations? Are they convincingly drawn? Or are they empathetic characters?
● Themes: What are the main themes of the work? Are there recurring motifs in the work? Is the exploration of the themes deep or surface just?
● Manner: What are the key aspects of the writer'due south style? How does it fit into the wider literary earth?
● Plot: What is the story's chief catalyst? What happens in the rising action? What are the story'due south subplots?
A book review volition generally begin with a short summary of the work itself. However, it is important not to give too much away, remind students – no spoilers, please! For nonfiction works, this may be a summary of the chief arguments of the work, again, without giving too much detail away. In a work of fiction, a book review will often summarise upwardly to the ascent action of the piece without going beyond to reveal besides much!
The summary should also provide some orientation for the reader. Given the nature of the purpose of a review, it is important that students' consider their intended audience in the writing of their review. Readers will most probable non have read the book in question and will require some orientation. This is often achieved through introductions to the main characters, themes, master arguments etc. This will help the reader to gauge whether or non the volume is of interest to them.
Once your student has summarized the work, information technology is time to 'review' in earnest. At this point, the pupil should brainstorm to detail their ain opinion of the book. To practice this well they should:
i. Make Information technology Personal
Often when teaching essay writing we will talk to our students almost the importance of climbing up and down the ladder of brainchild. Simply as it is helpful to explore big, more abstruse concepts in an essay by bringing information technology down to Earth, in a book review it is important that students can relate the characters, themes, ideas etc to their own lives.
Book reviews are meant to be subjective. They are opinion pieces and opinions grow out of our experiences of life. Encourage students to link the piece of work they are writing about to their own personal life within the body of the review. By making this personal connection to the piece of work, students contextualize their opinions for the readers and aid them to empathise whether the volume will be of involvement to them or not in the procedure.
2. Make Information technology Universal
Just as information technology is important to climb downward the ladder of abstraction to prove how the piece of work relates to individual life, it is important to climb upwards on the ladder too. Students should endeavor to testify how the ideas explored in the book relate to the wider world. The may be in the grade of the universality of the underlying themes in a piece of work of fiction, or, for instance, the international implications for arguments expressed in a work of nonfiction.
iii. Back up Opinions with Bear witness
A book review is a subjective piece of writing past its very nature. Nevertheless, just because information technology is subjective does not mean that opinions exercise not need to exist justified. Brand sure students empathize how to support their opinions with various forms of evidence, for example, quotations, statistics, and the use of chief and secondary sources.
EDIT AND REVISE YOUR BOOK REVIEW
As with whatsoever writing genre, encourage students to shine things up with review and revision at the cease. Encourage them to proofread and bank check for accurate spelling throughout, with particular attention to the author's proper noun, character names, publisher etc.
It is skilful practice also for students to double-cheque their apply of bear witness. Are statements supported? Are the statistics used correctly? Are the quotations from the text authentic? Mistakes such as these uncorrected can do great damage to the value of a volume review as they tin can undermine the reader'south confidence in the author's judgement.
The discipline of writing volume reviews offers students opportunities to develop their writing skills and exercise their critical faculties. Volume reviews can exist valuable standalone activities or serve as a part of a series of activities engaging with a fundamental text. They can besides serve as an constructive springboard into later word work based on the ideas and issues explored in a item book. Though the book review does not hold the sway it once did in the mind's of the reading public, information technology all the same serves as an effective teaching tool in our classrooms today.
Instruction Resources
Use the resources and tools below with your students to improve their writing skills through proven teaching strategies.
Volume REVIEW GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (TEMPLATE)
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Book and Movie review writing examples (Student Writing Samples)
Below are a collection of student writing samples of book reviews. Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail. Please take a moment to both read the movie or book review in detail only also the teacher and student guides which highlight some of the key elements of writing a text review
Please sympathise these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a slice of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to ameliorate student writing skills and deepen their understanding of book review writing.
We would recommend reading the example either a year above and below, too as the grade you are currently working with to proceeds a broader appreciation of this text blazon.
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The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A one-time principal of an international schoolhouse and university English lecturer with xv years of educational activity and assistants experience. Shane'south latest Volume the Consummate Guide to Nonfiction Writing can exist found here. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.
Source: https://literacyideas.com/how-to-write-a-great-book-review/
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