Your paper should be at least 5-8 pages (excluding title and reference page), with 1-inch margins, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, in-text citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) format, and a reference page also formatted in APA (also please see policy on plagiarism in the Part III syllabus). If you need a little more guidance on how to develop a critical book review, please refer to the following website: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/bookreview
Suggested Structure of the Book Review (5-8 pages total):
- Introduction (2-3 paragraphs) Provide a brief description of the book, and a brief statement about your assessment of the book: does it achieve its objectives?
- Summary of the book (about 1.5-2 pages) Provide the reader with the information necessary to gain a good sense of the book, and enough additional information to understand your analysis of it.
- Critique of the book (about 3-5 pages) Consider the following questions in your critique: How appropriate and convincing is the evidence provided for the argument or theme? How complete is the argument? Has the author neglected important counter-positions? Give a brief summary of the weaknesses and strengths you have found in the book. No book is perfect, but on balance, does it accomplish its goals? Here is where your critique comes in (be sure the critique remains objective).
- Conclusion (about 1 page) Does the book have additional shortcomings or strengths, and should it have expanded its purpose, evidence, and argument? This is another opportunity for you to engage with course content.
- References