![]() Ale brewing was low-skill and low status labor that was complimentary to women’s domestic responsibilities. Historically, ale and beer (not milk, wine, or water) were important elements of the English diet. Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600, investigates how women used to brew and sell the majority of ale drunk in England. Tactfully voicing agreement and disagreement, praise and criticism, is a valuable, challenging skill, and like many forms of writing, reviews require you to provide concrete evidence for your assertions.Ĭonsider the following brief book review written for a history course on medieval Europe by a student who is fascinated with beer: Nobody expects you to be the intellectual equal of the work’s creator, but your careful observations can provide you with the raw material to make reasoned judgments. You may not be (or feel like) an expert, but you need to pretend to be one for your particular audience. Who are you to criticize Toni Morrison’s new book if you’ve never written a novel yourself, much less won a Nobel Prize? The point is that someone-a professor, a journal editor, peers in a study group-wants to know what you think about a particular work. Someone has asked for your opinion about something that you may feel unqualified to evaluate. Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests whether or not the audience would appreciate it.īecoming an expert reviewer: three short examples.This involves your reactions to the work under review: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective or persuasive, and how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand. Second, and more importantly, a review offers a critical assessment of the content.This includes a relevant description of the topic as well as its overall perspective, argument, or purpose. First, a review gives the reader a concise summary of the content.While they vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features: In either case, reviews need to be succinct. In newspapers and academic journals, they rarely exceed 1000 words, although you may encounter lengthier assignments and extended commentaries. You should clearly state your opinion of the work in question, and that statement will probably resemble other types of academic writing, with a thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization. It allows you to enter into dialogue and discussion with the work’s creator and with other audiences. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. For a similar assignment, see our handout on literature reviews.Ībove all, a review makes an argument. Reviews can consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture, art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, and many other forms. ![]() ![]() What is a review?Ī review is a critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. ![]() It offers a process and suggests some strategies for writing book reviews. This handout will help you write a book review, a report or essay that offers a critical perspective on a text. ![]()
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