Collecting Ideas

Fill in these points based on the book you have read. You don’t have to include all the points in your review but considering them during the planning stage might be helpful.

• Preliminary information

Title

Year of publication

Author

Genre

• Summary

Issues/themes

Plot (be very brief)

Setting (time and place)

Main characters

• Evaluation

What were your first impression after reading the work? Why?

Which character could you most identify with? Why?

How plausible were the characters?

What was your favourite part? Why?

What feelings did the book evoke?

What was the atmosphere like?

Who was it written for?

What was the purpose of the work?

Who would you recommend the book to?

What was the language like?

How difficult or easy was it follow?

What would you have done differently?

Getting organized

There are many ways to organize your review but it’s best to be logical and deal with one topic in one paragraph. Another very common way to organize a review in to start with preliminary information and finish with evaluation. Here is one example of paragraph division:

• Preliminary information (in a box) such as the title, author, genre, year of publication
• An opening paragraph to get the reader’s attention. You might find it easier to write it last when you have finished the whole review.
• Summary of the plot and description of the main character. Be brief and don’t spoil important plot points.
• This will account for most of your review, so multiple paragraphs. Remember to give reasons and examples (quotations/extracts from the book are very useful as well) to illustrate your point.

The best structure is that you write one page about the first three points above. The rest (1-2 pages) should be the analysis/evaluation of the book and discussion of your views on the questions in the previous page.