How to Write a Book Review

In one line

A book review tells a reader what a book is, what it is trying to do, how well it does it, and whether they should read it, in that order, with your judgment supported by something from the book.

What a review is not

It is not a summary. A summary tells the story. A review tells the reader whether the book is worth their time and why. If your answer could have been written by somebody reading the back cover, it is a summary.

It is not a report. A report is neutral. A review has a verdict.

It is not an essay on the subject of the book. A review of a book about Ambedkar is about the book, not about Ambedkar.

It is not a list of everything you liked. One clear judgment, supported, beats five unsupported compliments.

The structure that scores

Six parts, and the whole answer runs to about two and a half pages for thirteen marks.

1. The heading. Title, author, and, if you know them, publisher and year. Two lines, set out plainly. An examiner sees at once that you know the form.

2. The opening paragraph: what the book is, and your verdict. Three or four sentences. Name the kind of book, state its subject in one clause, and give your judgment. The verdict goes at the start, not at the end.

3. What the book contains. One or two paragraphs. Enough of the content that a reader who has not opened it can follow your argument, and no more. For a novel, do not give away the ending. For a work of non-fiction, name the main claim and the shape of the argument.

4. What the book does well, with evidence. One paragraph per point, each proved by something specific: an episode, a chapter, a passage, a character. This is where marks are won.

5. What is weak, or what a reader should be warned about. One paragraph. A review with no criticism reads as advertising. If you genuinely think the book has no faults, say what it does not attempt, or who will not enjoy it.

6. The closing paragraph: the recommendation. Who should read it and why. If the question asked for a book that inspired you, this is where you say what it changed, and be specific rather than emotional.

The mistakes that cost marks

Retelling the plot. The single commonest failure.

Giving away the ending. In a review of a novel it is a fault of form, not just of taste.

Praise without evidence. "The book is very inspiring and every student must read it" says nothing that could not be said about any book.