Social Sciences

Writing Reviews

David Buchbinder, Communication and Cultural Studies

Tips on writing reviews and some sample reviews

Avoid replicating the structure of the book ('In the first chapter, the author does X; in the second he discusses Y') or article ('First the author says X, and then she goes on to Y'). Rather, provide a succinct summary of the overall argument, and indicate the latter's overall structure. A review should be short, pithy and to the point. Therefore avoid excursive prose, introductions and irrelevancies. Equally, avoid rambling, disconnected and discontinuous or lavishly baroque prose. Take note of any keywords in the title of the item, or in its table of contents. The first sentence of the review should address these. A review is intended to alert other readers to the substance and usefulness of the item being reviewed. Therefore you should ensure that you address the following elements as you write your review:
What is the item about?
What is the author's theoretical position?
What are the key illustrative or other means by which the author makes clear the nature, structure and direction of the argument?
Where relevant, is there any sense or knowledge of a debate in which the item you're reviewing participates?
What is the disciplinary area in which the argument is situated (e.g., is it historical? sociological? cultural studies? art history? etc.)
How useful is this article? Does it further knowledge? And to whom is it useful (i.e., even though it may not turn out to be very useful to you, others may want to read it for specific reasons, arguments, illustrations, etc.)?
The reviews you are writing for this unit should be directed toward a readership consisting of your fellow students. Therefore you should bear in mind that the information you provide should indicate to a colleague whether it would be worth her/his while to go away and read the item. Please note: Good annotations or reviews of books, chapters or journal articles can quite often be simply dropped, with some modification, into essays, by way of summary of a book or an article.

We welcome comments, suggestions (and notifications of non-functional links). Quotation and use of the materials contained in these pages also is welcomed, under the usual conditions: that full acknowledgment is made of the source.

Comments about this page should be sent to David Buchbinder, d.buchbinder@curtin.edu.au