Schewe
Sociology of Sex and Gender SOC/WGS 305
Book Review Guidelines and
Overview: Your book review should be written in the style of a review found in
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, which you can find in “E-Journals” from the SU Library website. Your review should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words.
It should contain the following parts:
• Introduction (100-200 words, 15 points)
• Synopsis of book (300-400 words, 30 points)
• Analysis (500-700 words, 50 points)
• Conclusion (100-200 words, 15 points)
• References (not included in word count) and appropriate Formatting (10 points)
The Introduction should:
• Contain a general description of the topic/problem that the book deals with
• Explain why the work is timely and relevant
• Draw your reader in so that they want to continue reading your review
The Synopsis should:
• Summarize the book’s argument
• Discuss the method(s) used in the book to collect data
• Use a short quote from the author, if available, that explains very clearly why the book was written. If a quote isn’t available, you should summarize why you think the book was written
• Talk briefly about the author(s). What are their qualifications and expertise?
• Discuss the organization of the book, and most significant findings. Remember, this is a work of non-fiction. You aren’t “giving away the ending”, there are no “spoiler alerts”. People read book reviews to decide if reading the entire book is worth their valuable time or not. Help them figure that out.
The Analysis should:
• Be the longest section of your review
• Identify what you think the greatest strength of the book is. Pick one, and explain it in more detail, using examples from the book.
• Pick up to two more minor strengths and explain them
• Identify what you think the largest weakness of the book is. Pick one, and explain it in more detail. How might the author(s) have done a better job dealing with the weakness you’ve described?
• Pick up to two more minor weaknesses and explain them.
