 Writing a critical book review can seem like a daunting task, but outlining your review, according to the components described in this brief video, can actually make the work of writing a review a little bit easier. Hang with me for a few minutes and we'll think about how to write a critical book review. The outlining process that I'll be describing helps to keep your review clear, concise, and compelling. Now of course the first thing you ought to do when writing a critical book review is to read the book. This is a very important step. You'll want to read the book critically and discerningly, asking questions that help draw out the purpose and significance of the writing. It may be helpful for you to take notes or to highlight and mark up your book as long as you're not using a book that belongs to the library. On the resource page at the end of this video I've listed some helpful resources for learning to read critically, but for now we will assume that you have read your book and are ready to begin writing a review. The first thing I do when writing a review is to create a properly formatted document, including a title page. This helps me to visualize how the information will be structured, and for this video I will illustrate formatting in Tarabian style. So check with your instructor about the formatting style required for your particular class. So first create a properly formatted title page. Then at the bottom of the first page after the title page provide a full correct citation for the book that you are reviewing. There's a citation. Well here let's take a look again at the layout of the first two pages and note the type of information that's included on the title page. Then after the citation add the following headings to your document. An introduction. A thesis purpose and audience. Strengths and challenges. And recommendation. Now of course you don't have to title your headings by the names that I've supplied here, however it is important that you incorporate each of these components into your review and that they can be easily and clearly identified. Now let me briefly explain each of these components. To begin with in the introduction you will creatively introduce the book that you have selected and offer brief information about the authors. Such information will likely include who the author is, his or her title or position, and possibly the titles of a few other significant works produced by the author. Notice that the introduction is answering questions like what is the title of the book being reviewed? Who is the author? Where does the author live and work? What are the author's credentials? What are examples of other works or achievements by this author? Listen, keep the introduction brief. It is typically no longer than a full paragraph which is between five and eight sentences. The next component might also be described as the problem, purpose and significance section. It relates the aboutness of the book. This section describes the issue or problem that the author addresses. It provides a clear restatement of the author's main assertion or thesis. It describes the strategy by which the author supports the thesis and this section also notes the specific audience impacted by the implications of the assertion. Let's take a look at a few of these examples of these concepts. The author's thesis is the main assertion that drives the content of the book. The thesis is not a generic statement of what the book is about. Consider these examples. Here's one. This book is about the specific kinds of communities that Paul tried to establish through his letters to the various churches. Now, compare that with the author's thesis is that rainy days needn't be boring if one is friends with a fashion sensitive magical cat. All right. Between the two statements, the first does not adequately capture the thesis that the author explains and defends throughout the book. The second example is actually more in line with a restatement of an author's main assertion. Now consider this excellent restatement of an author's thesis. The author's thesis is that the history of Western worldviews is inextricably linked to the development of the Christian faith. A departure from the biblical worldview around the 13th century has had a profound and ultimately negative effect on Western culture, resulting in much of the cultural confusion found in postmodernism and deconstructionism. This restatement of the thesis truly articulates the core message of the book, providing readers with a stronger sense of the book's aboutness than a generic description of what the book is about. In the following example, note how the thesis is sandwiched by a description of the problem that the book addresses and an identification of the author's purpose in writing. Let's unpack this sandwich and take a closer look. The first sentence identifies a problem that the author is addressing through the book. In this case, the recognition that modern readers tend to overlook cultural nuances in the text. Now the second sentence provides a restatement of the thesis, the book's central concern. Yet the Gospel's narratives cannot be adequately understood without an appreciation of their cultural context. That's a thesis. The third sentence describes what the author does in order to support the thesis. In this case, the author helps readers identify and understand the cultural situation of the characters in the text and the powerful cultural nuances that shape interaction, determine roles, and control language. Now I'm calling this third type of sentence a purpose statement because it describes how the author purposes to support the thesis. And here we can be even more specific about what the author does to support the thesis by using more sentences. For example, in this book, the author views the text through social scientific lenses and discerns three aspects of ancient Palestinian culture that modern Western readers easily overlook. These cultural categories include honor and shame, patron client relationships, and insider outsider groups. The author describes each category and then shows how these cultural aspects impact the narrative's flow and meaning. Okay, you see, this is what the author does to support the thesis. Now next, the statement of purpose can be followed by a description of significance, who this thesis matters for, and why. Now exercise a bit of caution here. Articulating who this thesis matters for and why is not the same as describing who this book is helpful for and why such information will be stated later in the recommendation section. The significance of the book is an articulation of a specific audience for whom the thesis has implication. As an example, compare the following statements. This book provides preachers and ministers working with young people with a lot of good information to support their ministry versus ministers working with young people should be aware of the important indicators of teenage depression. Notice that the first sentence offers a recommendation of who should read this book, while the second sentence offers a description of who should do something in response to the thesis. This is an important distinction and a strong book review will not only recommend those who will benefit from the book, but it will also identify a specific audience for whom the thesis has implication. Now many students find it easy to describe a book's strengths. Often articulating a book's so called weaknesses can be a challenge. Yet identifying both strengths and challenges in a book is evidence that you have critically engaged the content of the text. A book strengths can include its presentation, its logical arguments, clear writing style, presentation of new and challenging ideas, etc. Weaknesses might include poor argumentation, unclear or inadequately defined terms, unsupported claims, poor organization and even low printing quality. When describing either strengths or weaknesses, it is very important to be specific and to be fair. The strengths and challenges section of a review is also an important place for describing the content of the book. There is no need to offer a wooden description of content such as in chapter one the author discusses such and such, in chapter two the author. This type of description is neither compelling nor very informative. In the following street statement, note how both content and appraisal are simultaneously provided. The author offers an important challenge for God's people as they strive to impact society in his discussion of what it means to exhibit an incarnational lifestyle in imitation of Jesus. If one remembers the limitations of both metaphor and model for presenting a perfect description of who God's people are, what the church is and how Christians are to interact with the world, then his model can be of great benefit to those eager for revitalization and a fresh approach. Now similarly, statements of weaknesses should describe content and offer appraisal. So consider this example. The fact that these essays first appeared as a as separate articles and scholarly journals and monographs gives a patchwork feel to the book. The purpose is clear, but there is no logical necessity determining the structure why one essay is connected with another in this particular way. The nature of a collection like this of connected yet disconnected essays produces a certain challenge for an author compiler that at times is not easily overcome. Certain chapters require an introductory treatment of technical or less familiar concepts which the author does not always provide. A negative critique of an author's work should avoid language like silly, stupid, dumb, ridiculous, etc. Besides its offensive tone, such language is ultimately unhelpful. Negative critique should provide specific information about the content that could perhaps be improved. Consider the tone of the following. It avoids harshness but still makes a strong point. One major criticism of this work is the author's use of polemic to either make or bolster his points. He often employs us versus them language especially against the institutionalized church and even when he does concede that Christendom, that the Christendom church has certain good qualities, his polemical tone still resonates. And so you see positive and negative critique provide an opportunity to both evidence your own critical engagement of the content and to provide readers with helpful information about the book. Now the final component of the book review is a brief recommendation. This section provides an opportunity to answer the question who is this book helpful for and why. Or your recommendation might be negative in nature as in this book intends to be helpful for such and such audience but in reality the language is too technical for that audience. But either way it is important to clearly determine the author's intended readership and then to make a strong recommendation for or against. The recommendation section should be concise yet clear. Here's an example of a recommendation for you to consider. The authors provide an excellent introduction to ministerial ethics that is accessible to both students and to practicing ministers. This book has been and should be a part of seminary curriculum and theological instruction as a guide for enabling the formative process toward competency and ministerial ethics these authors offer an outstanding resource. Now unless otherwise specified by your instructor book reviews are generally between 900 and 1200 words. Many instructors require that you include a word count at the end of your review. And finally I want to encourage you to see beyond the task of writing a book review and recognize the opportunity that writing a strong review affords. Many academic journals are willing to publish student reviews especially students at the graduate level. Some journals will offer a list of books available for review providing students a chance to get their foot in the door of the world of academic publishing. It's up to each student to critically engage the book they select and to write a review that is clear concise and compelling. Because it is helpful to read high level reviews to get a sense for how they are written I've included a helpful site for accessing scholarly book reviews on the resources page at the end of this video. All right so remember the three C's of writing be clear be concise and be compelling. In your reviews include the components described in this video. And I wish you all the best as you learn to write strong book reviews.