READING
AND
WRITING
WEEK 10
4TH QUARTER
CONTENTS OF THIS TEMPLATE
WRITING A BOOK REVIEW OR AN
ARTICLE CRITIQUE
READ THE MATERIAL
INTRODUCTION, BODY, CONCLUSION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you
should be able to:
a.identify the unique features of a book
review or an article critique and the
various disciplines that typically require
it.
b. familiarize with the different techniques on
writing a book review or an article critique
and;
c. know the importance of a book review and
an article critique.
LESSON 10:
WRITING A
BOOK RE-
VIEW OR AN
ARTICLE
CRITIQUE
4TH QUARTER
One of the basic school
requirements is writing a book
review or an article critique.
A
book review or an article cri-
tique
gives essential information
about a book (fiction or nonfic-
tion) or an
article e.g., from newspaper,
magazines, academic journals)
and
provides an evaluation or a crit-
ical analysis of it. This type of
academic writing is usually re-
quired in
courses in the Humanities such
READ THE MATERIAL
Before you can begin writing a book review or
an article critique, you have to read and under-
stand the material first. The material that you
will review
or critique would require you to read actively,
intelligently, and critically. You have to go
beyond the content of the material.
As you read, take down notes.
Formulate questions about the content.
Read the material more than once for an
in-depth understanding of what the author is
trying to convey.
Write the Review or Critique
o Your paper should give an in-
Paper
formed analysis of the material.
It should be more than just a
summary of the
book or article.
o Be mindful of the structure of
your
review or critique. Like all es-
says, a
book review or an article critique
has
an introduction, body, and conclu-
INTRODUCTION
As a starting point for your book review or arti-
cle
critique, use the notes that you have taken
down
while you were critically reading the material.
Be
guided by the following when writing the
introduction:
INTRODUCTION
Know the context or information in which the
material was written—author’s background
(i.e., life, culture, and beliefs); and social, eco-
nomic, or
political conditions in which the material was
produced.
Mention the title of the material, year or date
of
publication, and author’s name.
INTRODUCTION
Come up with a thesis statement which will
indicate what your evaluation of the material
will be. If you are doing a book review, is it a
positive,
negative, or mixed review? If you are writing an
article critique, are you for or against the main
argument?
Briefly summarize the book or the main
points of the article.
INTRODUCTION
BODY
This is the analysis
and evaluation part
of the
review or critique
paper. Here are
some questions that
can
help in your critical
WHEN WRITING A BOOK REVIEW:
o What is the setting, theme(s),
plot, characterization, and other signif-
icant literary devices used by the au-
thor?
o How do these elements contribute to
the overall meaning of the
book?
o What are the strengths and weak-
nesses
of the book?
WHEN WRITING A
BOOK REVIEW:
o What significant human experience
and
relationships can you relate with in light
of your personal experience?
o How is the book similar to and/or
different from other books in the same
genre?
o Is the book informative, entertaining,
or meaningful? Would you recom-
mend it to others? Why or why not?
WHEN WRITING AN
ARTICLE CRITIQUE:
o Are the ideas presented clear and con-
vincing? What pieces of evidence are
used to support the author’s ideas? Are
they valid or accurate?
o Is the purpose of the paper achieved? If
yes,
how? If no, why not?
o What is the overall structure of the arti-
cle?
Are the ideas logically organized and ade-
quately
developed?
WHEN WRITING AN
ARTICLE CRITIQUE:
o What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the article?
o What further issues does the article
raise?
o Does the article contribute to your
knowledge or understanding of a
particular concept or topic? How is it
helpful to other works in its discipline or
to works of related topic?
CONCLUSION
This is a brief summary of your over-
all
evaluation of the material. You may
include here the main reasons, stated
in
the body paragraphs, why you agree
or disagree with the author.
CONCLUSION
After writing the review or critique,
do
not forget to cite the references you
used for your paper. Ask your teacher
which style guide or citation format
to
use.
CONCLUSION (Example 1)
Book Review: The Devil's Company by
David Liss"The Devil's Company," a
treat
for lovers of historical fiction, sees the
return of Benjamin Weaver in his third
exciting romp through the varied and
sometimes surreal landscape of 18th-
century London.
CONCLUSION (Example 1)
Weaver is an endearing protagonist, a
former pugilist and investigator for
hire whom we first met in David
Liss's "A
Conspiracy of Paper" (1999). His
underlying humanity saves him from
the macho posturing that ultimately
undermines the moral authority of
most
CONCLUSION (Example 1)
And he is a Jew, which imbues him
with
the romance of an outsider and per-
mits
Liss to show us how anti-Semitism
was
expressed in the relatively unfamiliar
context of Hanoverian England.
Reference: Frank Tallis. "A Bridge to 18th Century London." The Washington
CONCLUSION (Explana-
tion)
The sample paragraph is an excerpt
of Frank Tallis’s book review of The
Devil’s Company. It can be observed
that he included important elements
such as the setting, theme(s), and
characterization in his introduction of
his
book review.
CONCLUSION (Example 2)
Article Critique
Article Critique: Pesch, Udo, “Administrators
and Accountability: The Plurality of Value
Systems in the Public Domain,” Public In-
tegrity 10, Fall, no. 4 (2008): 335-343. The
article,
“Administrators and Accountability: The
Plurality of Value Systems in the Public
Domain,” by
Udo Pesch seeks to address how account-
ability and value systems interact in the
CONCLUSION (Example 2)
The research problem being addressed
is whether public administrators are
free
from accountability for their decisions
and what are the different influences
that can affect their decisions. It is
clear from the
abstract of the article that this is no
simple issue. In fact the article is fairly
CONCLUSION (Example 2)
The author starts by saying that explicit
ethics
codes of reference systems make it easier
to
hold individuals accountable for their ac-
tions,
however a conflict emerges when an
individual’s moral values are different from
such accountability policies.
CONCLUSION (Example 2)
What can make accountability more compli-
cated are the motivations of the administra-
tor and
also the individual’s inability to perceive fu-
ture
consequences of their decisions.
CONCLUSION (Example 2)
Reference: Retrieved from University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Accessed
March 30,
2016.
http://www.uwlax.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Departments/Political_Scienc
e_and_Public_Admin/journal_article_critique_example.pdf
tion)
This sample paragraph is an ex-
cerpt of a critique of the article
“Administrators and Accountability:
The Plurality of
Value Systems in the Public Do-
main”
by Udo Pesch. The writer’s evalua-
tion and analysis of the article are
supported with details which can
be
REFER-
ENCE:
Quipper Philippines (2016). Reading and
Writing Skills. Writing a Book Review or An
Article Critique.
https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations
/5cd0d42fc5323d58110000d4/curriculum
#curriculum
. (Retrieved
from July 2, 2020)
