HIST 300
BOOK REVIEW ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
You will review one scholarly book from the Book Review Book List (see
Resources section for document) that most closely relates to your family
history. Failure to use a book from this list will result in an automatic 50%
grade reduction. The goal of the assignment is twofold. First, students will
practice writing an academic book review that focuses on the author’s thesis,
research method, argument, and evidence. Second, students will expand
their knowledge of some aspect of their family history so they can prepare
historically relevant questions for the oral history interview and contextualize
their heritage for the final project.
INSTRUCTIONS
The book review should be between 600 and 700 words and should focus on
the author’s argument in support of his or her thesis. Use parenthetical
citations when citing material from the book.
Here are some additional tips and suggestions:
1. Above all, what is the author’s thesis? What is he or she trying to
prove? In other words, what is holding the book together?
2. Identify the key arguments used to support the thesis. You cannot
describe all of them in minute detail, but you should provide an
overview of all of them.
3. Always thoroughly read the introduction and conclusion. Often, the
author will describe the thesis in the introduction and emphasize how it
was proven in the conclusion. Determine what the author considers to
be the key chapters offering support for the thesis. Thoroughly read
those as well if time allows. There is an “art” to skimming chapters
that you should develop.
4. Do not get bogged down in the minutia of details. Facts matter,
especially when you rely upon evidence from books and articles to
support your own research agenda. In other words, you will use
historians' arguments and the distinct facts and evidence to support
the thesis statements of your own research papers in future classes.
But, those facts and minor details are not part of a book review. Focus
on the larger themes.
5. Be sure to tell the story or stories that make the book a work of
history. Retelling good stories we learn from other historians is an
important part of what we do.
Format:
Page 1 of 2
HIST 300
Top: Bibliographic citation in Turabian Format. Be certain to use title
case, not all caps. Italicize the title, and do not start words with
lowercase letters. Again, use title case.
Paragraph 1:
At the start, provide a succinct statement of what the book is about.
Mention the author’s full name and the full title and publisher of the
book. Then, explain the author’s thesis.
Paragraph 2:
Explain the main arguments the author uses to support the thesis.
Examine how the author lays out the main arguments. Do not provide
a “synopsis” of the book, where you walk through the book chapter by
chapter. That’s not the point of a book review.
Paragraph 3:
Evaluate the effectiveness of the arguments and the evidence used.
Always provide both positive and critical comments and encourage
ways the argument could be improved or otherwise sharpened.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin
plagiarism tool.
Page 2 of 2
