Objectives of the review
What it gives the reader is clear as it is: the first acquaintance with the book, help in making a decision (to read or not), a general idea of the author and the work.
For the reviewer, these are:
- the opportunity to understand the text more deeply, look at it with different eyes, find new meanings;
- honing writing skills (useful for everyone involved in the text – copywriters, editors, bloggers, etc.);
- a chance to show yourself as an expert, become a literary critic in the future and earn money this way.
It is necessary to write a review thoughtfully and attentively, avoiding subjectivism, personal attacks, and a complete retelling of the work. Firstly, you form the opinion of the audience, and secondly, you demonstrate your awareness of the topic, the level of expertise. It is important not to deceive the reader, not to offend the author as a person (even if you have a personal dislike for him, you evaluate his work, not himself), not to lose face because of incompetence.
Structure of the review
If the review is written in a free form, then everything is different with the review. There are clear points that need to be highlighted:
- Bibliographic data: title, author, year of publication, publisher.
- Style, genre, form of narration (prose, poetry, etc.), theme, idea, what the book is about. Briefly.
Important: there is no need to retell in full, especially when it comes to new works - spoilers cause anger for many. A concise description of the main storyline (in the case of fiction) or the main idea (regarding scientific, educational, journalistic materials) is enough.
- Personal opinion and analysis: whether the topic is covered, what emotions the book evoked, what you liked and disappointed, whether there were logical inconsistencies, whether the character of the characters is clear, etc. Add your own thoughts: what the work makes you think, what deep meanings it can hide, how it stands out from the rest of the books of the same genre.
- Pros and cons. Here be as objective and unbiased as possible. Even if you don't like the book at all, look for good features in it, and if it goes with a bang, find something to get to the bottom of. In addition, such an "exercise" develops critical thinking and helps to better understand the work.
- Inference. Your own assessment of the book, who will like it, what it teaches, what impression it makes. Here you can also compare it with other works of the author: what parallels are visible, how it fundamentally differs from the rest.
In many cases, the review also includes a description of the cover: hardcover or paperback, book or landscape orientation, dimensions, weight, color, design, as well as font size, "newsprint" or coated paper, the presence of illustrations, etc. If you read on an electronic medium, it is impossible to evaluate the book according to these parameters.
Want to write a good review but don't know where to start? Then read our tips and tricks.
We all understand perfectly well that a review is, first of all, an assessment of the work, and it, most often, gives an answer to the most important question of the reader, whether the person who wrote the review liked or did not like the book. If you want the written review to be as interesting, objective and detailed as possible, it is enough to follow a few simple rules.
We will tell you which ones in our article.
- The first and very important is to follow the given structure
- A brief overview of the content of the book, a list of the main characters and, possibly, an indication of the main topic.
- What is your personal opinion about this book, did you like it, caused negative emotions or even made you indifferent with regret for the time spent on it?
- And now it's time to move on to a detailed analysis, which may include the following assessments: the persuasiveness of the characters of both the main and secondary characters; how much the work corresponds to a given genre; the degree of intrigue; the uniqueness of the plot; the complexity of the composition, and so on. Everything that seems interesting and worthy of special mention to you.
- A very responsible and undoubtedly significant moment is personal reflection. After all, if the book is deep and made you think about it, remaining in the plot for some time, prompted your own thoughts about the topic raised by the author or the characters, you realized something, realized that not all of us are trembling creatures, but we have the right – do not be silent, let other book lovers know about it. Tell about it in a review, making it unique and personal.
- The right balance: less retelling of the text, more of your personal emotions from what you read
- Constantly ask yourself "Why?"
- Do not reject interpretations
- Try to compare the work with other works of the author
- Indicate the target audience of the book in the review
- Decorate your review with associations and comparisons
In most cases, only two things are expected from a written review of a work: a story about what is written in the book (what it is about) and your personal opinion about it (you write because you liked the book and hooked you, or vice versa – this is a negative review). This means that when you start writing a review, you should stick to something like this structure:
Of course, a good review should undoubtedly talk about the content of the work, and there should be more information in it than in a classic annotation. But it should be understood that it is better to make the presentation brief, you do not need to describe all the details and actions of each character. It is unlikely that people who are not familiar with the work will be grateful for spoilers. A simple example: if you tell how "Crime and Punishment" ended, nothing will happen to you, everyone already knows everything, but if you reveal the intrigue of the book "Inside the Killer" or, for example, "The Silent Patient", then you can get a punch in the face.
Why was I so hooked on the work? Why does my eye shake from the actions of the hero? Why did I realize that other books by this author will definitely be read and decorate my shelf? Why do I have to tell everyone that you can't waste time on this book? Why, not having read this book to the end, do I not feel regret? Why did tears flow from my eyes from empathy, then from laughter? Why can this book be compared with the books of classical authors? Why should it be read at this age? By asking yourself such questions and writing down the answers to them, you will already see an almost finished and very good review.
If the work is strong and really good, then it will inevitably have several interpretations. After all, a brilliant author writes in such a way that everyone in his work would find and see something of their own. In the review, describe your analysis of the book, what you found, how you comprehended and interpreted what you read. It's no secret that the book is not a monologue of the writer, but a dialogue between the author and the reader, so your interpretation will warm up the interest of a new reader in the book. Include this point in the outline of your review.
If this author is familiar to you, you have read his other books, then this is only to your advantage – feel free to draw parallels. Your thoughts and critical view will be very interesting. Indicate whether recognizable authorial features can be traced. Or maybe this book is out of the ordinary? Did the new book help you better understand the previous ones or vice versa, before taking it up, you will recommend first reading other works that can be taken as a model. And do not forget about the generally accepted comparison - the new book is better or weaker than the previous one. Such a comparative literary analysis will be both interesting and useful.
All books are different and the messages in them are also different. Tell me in your review to whom this work is intended, give advice at what age and at what period of life it will be really interesting to read it. Help the reader avoid mistakes. It is very important that a book based on real terrible events does not end up in the hands of a person on the brink of an emotional breakdown, a serious scientific work is in front of the eyes of a person who is far from this topic, and a book about the development of business abroad in the hands of a child (it is too early for him). Be sure to reveal in your review who will especially like it: teenagers and lovers of Young Adult, young ladies needlewomen or those who like to tickle their nerves.
It is human nature to compare and choose everything (although not always correctly). If, while reading a certain book, you remember three more – be sure to write about it. Such a comparison will reveal the genre of the work more deeply, attract fans of such stories and add color to your text. And one more piece of advice – try to compare not according to the classic scheme "better or worse", but to point out the common and different. And if you suddenly go further and are ready to compare the book with a movie, musical or artistic work, do not be afraid to talk about this as well. The reviewer always has the right to his own point of view.
These rules will help in writing the first reviews, and then such work will be simple, understandable and pleasant for you. Success!
We would like to remind you that the ghananeem website hosts a Review Contest. We will be glad to receive your wonderful reviews, which will undoubtedly open up many new amazing authors and works to readers.
Reviewer's commandments
Yes, and such a business has its own rules and ethics. We acquaint you with the main postulates.
- Don't read reviews and other people's testimonials before writing. You should have an opinion about the book, not about what has been written about it before you. In addition, someone else's point of view is likely to affect yours.
- Do not get personal. We have already touched on this point. You may love or hate the author, but your review is about the work.
- Do not be afraid to express an opinion, even if it goes against the point of view of the majority. On the contrary, it is even more interesting this way. Did you see something in the book that others did not notice? Have you proven that everyone is wrong? Yes, you are well done and talented!
- Don't let your emotions get the better of you. There is also a place for them in the review, but just a little. Do you want to demonstrate the whole gamut? Write a review!
- Do not be afraid to offend the author. Normal people do not get angry at constructive criticism, but draw conclusions (of course, if we are talking about writers who are still alive). The main thing is that each of your remarks or negative assessments is reasoned and supported by facts.
- Do not write about what you do not understand. It applies to any literature, including fiction. In this case, you must know the genres, their features, understand literary devices in order to be able to give an objective assessment. As for scientific and applied literature, it is necessary to understand the subject almost better than the author himself. All for the same reason – so that your opinion turns out to be authoritative, so as not to make a stupid mistake.
- Write in language that your audience can understand. If a review of a book on a medical topic will be placed in the appropriate journal, professional jargon and terms are appropriate and welcome. If the work and your review are aimed at a wider audience, use literary language, abandon jargon, slang, bureaucratisms.
- Don't make mistakes. None – neither grammatical, nor logical, nor factual. Do you doubt your own abilities? Give the text for proofreading to an editor who is also familiar with this work, reread individual sections so that there are no discrepancies in the facts.
We advise you to give any text to another person for proofreading, not just a review. And it doesn't depend on your profession, even if you've been writing and editing for years. Firstly, due to the constant processing of the text, minor errors and typos can simply fall out of focus, and secondly, the "blurred eye syndrome" has not been canceled.
- Do not engage in "naked" retelling. A review is not a summary of the work, but its analysis.
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