Many might think that it’s easy to write a book review for school. This is because they think that all they have to do after reading a novel is to just summarize it. Well, that’s not true. When you’re reviewing a book, you need to have critical thinking skills. This is because a book review will require you to prove that you can actually think critically about the work you’ve been doing in class. So what exactly are you supposed to do to get A+? Well, the best way to earn it is to by ensuring that your essay is answering certain questions about the book. Below are few examples of questions that you should be able to answer.
1. Who the author is
You can’t really appreciate a book unless you spend some time writing about its author. This does not simply imply that you cover who they are, where they were born, and other basic biographical details that can be found on the internet.
2. What’s the key conflict?
This may be the most critical issue to answer in your book study. There is always a key conflict in a plot, no matter what genre you’re writing about. Your book report should demonstrate that you comprehended the dispute. Many students, on the other hand, are unaware that a story’s conflict can have more complexities than what appears on the surface.
The dispute in “Hamlet,” for example, isn’t simply about the protagonist’s desire to avenge his father’s death. It’s all about his internal conflict. You’ll be much more likely to get a good grade if you can show your instructor that you understand the deeper depths of a novel’s or play’s conflict.
However, simply summarizing the dispute is insufficient. If you want to look further into it, you’ll need proof to back up your statements. To support your point, you can use facts from the text itself, such as quotes. You may also use some of the author’s information as proof. Just be careful not to rely on too many quotations. Use just as much as is appropriate to prove your case, and no more. Otherwise, your instructor would assume you simply added quotes to lengthen your paper.
3. What are your thoughts about the Book?
This could be the most difficult question to answer in your book review. On the one side, your teacher needs to see that you can express an opinion about the novel rather than merely repeating what others have said.
In the other side, you can’t just tell whether you enjoyed it or not. Instead, try to respond to a more detailed question about your feelings. Did you suggest that the author was trying to make a point of their own in the section of your essay where you addressed the key conflict? Write on whether you think they succeeded or not, and why. A book report isn’t as straightforward as you would imagine. Fortunately, if you obey these instructions, it is possible.
