When you are lurking around the internet to research about what book should you read next, all you need to look for is an excellent book review since there are a lot of reviewers on internet. However, most people miss on that and don’t realize that their reviews are making a difference. They rarely know the proper format of a book review and end up messing up the whole vibe and review of the book.
If you are looking to write a book review, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to make that mistake and tell your audience how the book actually is. But for that to happen, you should know what the correct format of the book review is. And I’m here to tell you just that.
However, one thing to take notice of is that the book is your thoughts and views. And yes, a person can tell a lot about you just from the way you write. When you write a book review, it is extremely important for you to make your thoughts abundantly clear and make sure that the reader understands exactly what you are trying to convey.
There are also going to be instances when in a book, you will not like a certain chapter or idea. At that moment, it is extremely important to put forth those things as well in a manner that shows no disrespect towards the author or the book. Here, I have fomulated this article to help you with that.
Format Of A Book Review
Writing a book review with the correct format is a cakewalk, but people complicate it for no reason. What I feel is important about the format of a book review or how to write a book review is not what you write, it is how you write it.
What are the things you have to avoid or what are the things you have to put more emphasis on- little things you put/avoid matter a lot.
Why writing an excellent book review is important is because I have seen people with outstanding language and vocabulary writing horrible things about a book while “reviewing” it and making a complete fool out of themselves.
What I want to say?
Be respectful. Yes, even about the things that you did not like. Especially when you are putting it out for the entire world to read. Writing your review in a proper format gives your review a proper structure and feet to stand on.
Now, stopping my jibber-jabber, let me straight get to the format of a book review.
Below are 7 points that not only describe the format of a book review but also tell you about how you can write it neatly.
1. Start With An Interesting Introduction
Whenever you write a piece that is for mass reading, grab the attention of the reader in the first few seconds or first few lines of what you are going to write.
Intriguingly introduce the book, add a quote from the book, leave the reader wanting to read more of what you have to say.
It can be anything. But make sure you don’t reveal too much of the book or the review right in the book’s introduction review. That would decrease the probability of the reader reading what you have to say further.
Your introduction can also be something that the reader might relate to. This increases the chances of the reader to read further. Relatability gives a reason to know more.
You can also add a short and interesting story about how you got your hands on the book.
And there you are, done with your introduction. And now is the time to slide into the overview of the book.
2. Writing The Overview Of The Book
The next step after you set the pace for the reader of the review is to summarize the book.
This is the place of the book review, where you provide factual information about the book. The date of the publishing, information about the author, the publisher, etc.
This is not where you put forth your opinion. Keep this portion of the book review short and crispy.
Put the information straight to the point and don’t cushion the overview. It does not leave a good impression of the review, and writing a lot of words when unnecessary is not always the best choice to make.
You can have two different areas in the overview portion if you want to one for the book, the other for the author’s overview.
When writing the overview of the book, provide information that is directly related just to the book.
When writing the author’s overview, tell the readers facts about the author.
Now that you are done with the overviews of the author and the book, the next step when writing a book review is slightly transitioning towards the book.
Let’s see how we can do that, and what are the things that we have to avoid writing.
3. Slightly Getting Into The Book Without The Spoilers, Please.
Yes, the person reading your book review is there for the review of the book, not the spoiler. After writing the overviews, you write about the book- basic plot, preferably.
Now, giving too much information about the plot of the book might put the reader off the hook.
Keep this section of the book review short, not over 200 words.
You can give a character insight if you want to (in case of writing the review of the fictional book). Or if you are writing about a non-fiction/self-help book, you can write about the core values while still keeping it short.
4. Summarize The Book [Don’t Add Your Opinion]
If you want to know where you can add your opinion in the book review, you’ll have to wait a little more.
When you are done with writing the basic plot of the book and writing the overview, now is the time to summarize it. By this time, it’s your choice to let the reader know how you found that book to be, or not. Preferably, don’t.
This section of the book review is just like a little capsule of what you can gather about the book or the author- if I put it in simple words.
Since this is the section of the book review where you summarize the book, the wise thing to do would be to keep it short as well.
5. Write What You Thought About The Book [Be Respectful]
Here is the thing you have been waiting for!
Finally, you get to tell the reader what you thought of the book. But the thing to remember here is to be extremely respectful about the author and the book, even if you didn’t like certain aspects of it.
I have seen people writing very harsh book reviews, even using abusive language, which I am not a enormous fan of.
So, put forth your opinion of the book in front of the readers and let them know what you feel- respectfully.
If there are things you didn’t like about the review, make a different section within the review to write just that.
6. Write What Your Takeaway From The Book Is
Now that you are slowly approaching ending the book review, it would be a great idea if you would let your readers know what your takeaway from the book was.
You can make a list of aspects or quotes that you liked in the book. And give the reader a reason to read/not read the book, according to your opinion of the book.
7. Conclude The Review With Your Last Statement
Here is the last step in the format of a book review. You just have to conclude the book review in around 50-80 words and write the last statement.
Tell the reader why or why not to read the book, and you’re done with the review.
There are a couple of things that you can also do in addition. Let’s look at that.
What More Can We Do?
You have written all the things that should be there in a book review. But, there are a couple of things more that you can do.
You can give a star rating to the book based on your review. You can also add a few details about your favorite parts of the book, and more!
Final Words
For the last time, can I put emphasis on being respectful in the book’s review? I have seen people using “bad” language in public forums. This is not probably the best way to put the best first impression, is it?
And this was pretty much all you needed to know about the format of a book review. If you think you can add more meaningful information in the book, do so!
And don’t forget to check out these exceptional articles that every reader should read:
- How To Read A Boring Book Painlessly!
- What Are The Exceptional Skills Of A Good Reader?
- Should You Buy Second-Hand Books?
- Why To Date A Reader?
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Makes a Book Review Good?
A book review is a critical evaluation of a book that helps compendiums decide whether or not to read it. It’s an important part of the erudite geography and can be used to help inform implicit compendiums about the quality of a book. To write an effective book review, it’s important to have an understanding of what makes a good bone.
This includes being familiar with the kidney, having knowledge of the author’s work, and being suitable to form an opinion on the content. Likewise, it requires being suitable to communicate your studies in an eloquent manner that captures both your enthusiasm for the book as well as any examens you may have.
2. How Long Should a Book Review Be?
Writing a book review can be a pleasurable and satisfying experience, but it’s important to keep in mind the length of the review. The length of a book review can vary depending on the purpose and followership, but generally reviews should be between 500-1000 words.
This allows enough space to give an acceptable summary of the book’s content and themes, as well as offer an opinion on the work. also, by keeping the review within this range it ensures that compendiums won’t be overwhelmed with too important information or too little environment. With these considerations in mind, writing a great book review can be both fun and instructional!
3. Can a Book Review be Negative?
Writing a book review can be both satisfying and grueling. While it’s instigative to partake your opinion on a book, it can also be delicate to write a negative review without offending the author or compendiums. A good book review should be honest and balanced, pressing both the positive and negative aspects of the book.
It’s important to flash back that while you may not have enjoyed the book, there may still be compendiums who appreciate its value. Thus, while writing a negative review, it’s important to give formative review in order to help other compendiums make an informed decision about whether or not they should read the book.
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