Any student or blogger should be able to write a book review. A review is an argument and critical evaluation of a piece of literature or someone’s work.
These skills help in your future career a lot. You should think not of your bill for that work but about your readers first. So, learn how to write a useful book review in our detailed guide.
1. Provide a summary
Any review has to be started with a resume. Summary means context. But keep in mind, it should not contain many details. Every summary, no matter whether it is the summary of the book review or any other writing, should be short and able to be found in Google search. Think of a sort of a thesis when writing it.
2. Pick out the most critical aspects of the book
The most important elements of any book are characters, themes, plot, and world-building. However, you may choose something you like and prefer the most. You can, for example, devote a paragraph to each of such aspects.
Try to explain what you enjoyed and what you didn’t enjoy in each of these aspects; how the author dealt with each of them. Write about every essential subject.
3. Include brief quotes as examples
Quotes are great proofs of everything said by you, so don’t neglect to add them. This way, you will support your words with examples. If you are describing a character, try to add a quote proving you are right, for example, something telling about his manner of dressing or being witty or dull, etc.
However, make sure to add some short quotes, while too long will be overwhelming.
4. Write a conclusion that summarizes everything
As well as the introduction, the outcome has to be very short and eye-catching. It doesn’t have to be lengthy as well because the reader will be bored to read it and will lose the main idea.
Here you will provide the main ideas of the review and the conclusion you came up with.
5. Find similar books
It is an excellent approach. If you find some similar books to the one you are writing your review about, you will be able to tell your reader: “If you have liked the ****book, you will become a real fan of this one!”
Such an approach somehow guarantees your success. You can also find some specific things that are similar between those two books, character, plot, or anything else. You can also compare the work of that author with another one but similar.
6. Give it a star rating
The review sites are beneficial. Of course, it is not necessary to get the best star rating on them, but it would be good. Modern users would understand it better and surely appreciate it.
You can use not only conventional ranking ways but also divide your rankings into categories (plot, character, etc.)
7. Give your recommendation
Once your review is well-written, you can share your suggestions. Your fellow readers would appreciate that a lot. You can share your experience when reading the book, and even tell them that it is perceived much better in the morning with a cup of coffee.
Anything you think would help your reader understand the book better. Tell them why it is worth reading or not.
Bonus tips for writing a book review
Below, you will find some essential tips:
- Don’t mix up book reviews with a book report. Your reader doesn’t need a summary of a book.
- Express your opinion. Since this is not a summary, you should have and give your advice about the book reviewed. Didn’t like the book or have a neutral feeling about it? – Clearly explain why.
- Start showing your opinion at the very beginning, not only in conclusion. Your reader has to understand what your primary thoughts about the book from the very beginning are.
- Don’t just say – show. Provide every opinion with a fact (evidence, quote). You should back up everything you say.
- More details are better. You should not only write about that particular book but also provide all the background – what kind of writer it is, a newbie or a well-known, what he has written before, the number of pages, the publisher, and even its price, etc.
- Your review depends on your goal. You should keep in mind what you write your review for to have a proper tone, format, and content. Think of your audience. If you write about a book for women, take it into account. If your story is fiction, then use proper tone and language, too, etc.
- Get knowledge from others. Reading other reviews is one of the best ways to learn how to write a review.
If you are new to writing a book review, don’t hesitate to use our tips and write an outstanding report on your own. This process can be exciting and rewarding. Don’t think only about your bill, but also about how to impress your readers.
Even if you learn from other reviews, don’t forget to remain unique and show your writing style. We hope that information was helpful for you and will make reviewing fun.