Book and Film Review

Book and Film Reviews

Book Reviews

a book review asks you to analyze a book; your goal is to identify the key arguments of the book and how author supports these arguments as well as to evaluate the book’s strengths and weaknesses. Book reviews focus on the book’s purpose, contents and relevance.

They might differ in style but book reviews share the following common features:

• 1.      Book review is a summary of the content of the book that includes relevant description of as well as its overall perspective, and purpose;

  2.      Book review offers critical assessment of the content which includes your reactions to the work under review.; and

  3.      Book review suggests whether or not the reader would appreciate it and if the book is worth reading.

  
  

What are the guidelines in writing Book Reviews?

Scan the book’s preliminaries , such as Title, Preface and Table of Contents.

Read the text

Record impressions as you read and note effective passages for quoting

Consult Additional Sources

Try to find further information about the author - his/her reputation, qualifications, influences, etc. - any information relevant to the book being reviewed and could help to establish the author's authority. Knowledge of the literary period and of critical theories can also be helpful to your review. Your professor and/or reference librarian will be able to suggest sources to use

Prepare an Outline

Carefully review your notes and attempt to unify your impressions into a statement that will describe the purpose or thesis of your review. Then, outline the arguments that support your thesis. Your arguments should develop the thesis in a logical manner.

Write the Draft

Skim your notes again; then, using the outline as a guide and referring to notes when necessary, begin writing.

What is a Film Review?

Film Reviews

Film reviews are assessments of the aesthetic, entertainment, social, and cultural merits and significance of a current film or video. Reviews tend to be short to medium-length articles, often written by a single staff writer for a particular publication. In most cases, the chief aim of a review is to tell the reader whether the film is worth seeing or buying on DVD.

1. Drafting your review

• A. Start with a compelling fact or opinion on the movie.

  ·        Comparison to relevant event or movie

  ·        Review in a nutshell

  ·        Context or background information

  B. Give a clear, well-established opinion early on.

  C. Back up your opinion with specific evidence.

  D. Move beyond obvious plot analysis.

  ·        Cinematography

  ·        Tone

  ·        Music and Sound

  ·        Acting

  E.  Bring you review full-circle in the ending.

Studying your source material

• ·       Gather basic facts about the movie.

  ·       Take notes on the movie as you watch it.

  ·        Analyze the mechanics of the movie.

  ·        Watch it one (1) more time.

Composing your review

• ·        Create an original thesis-based paragraph on your analysis.

  ·        Follow your thesis paragraph with a short plot summary.

  ·        Move into your analysis of the movie.

  ·        Use plenty of examples to back up your points.

  Give it some personality.

• Wrap up your review with a conclusion

Polishing your piece

·        Edit your review.

·        Proofread your review.

·        Publish or share your review.