4. Review (separate instructions below, 2-3 pages)

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.

I Preliminary information

• Title
• Year of publication
• Author
• Genre

II Summary

• Issues/themes
• Plot (be very brief)
• Setting (time and place)
• Main characters

III Evaluation

• What were your first impressions 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 to 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 is 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, year of publication, genre
• An opening paragraph to get the reader’s attention. You might find it easier to write it last when you have finished your whole review.
• Summary of the plot and description of the main characters. This has to be brief.
• Evaluation. You will need to use several paragraphs for this. Remember to give reasons and examples (even quotations/extracts) to illustrate your point.

The best devision is that you write one page about the preliminary information and summary/characters. The rest (1-2 pages) have to be the analysis/evaluation of the book and discussion of your views on the questions above.