What to do before starting a book review

When writing a book review, one should prepare adequately. The book review evaluates the content and purpose of the book.

  • The first step to writing a book review is the actual reading of the book. The writer should have read the book and internalize all the concepts in it before beginning the review. This might seem obvious but is very important. The writer should not just read other reviews of the book and begin from there but must form their own perspective of the book from reading it. They should be able to describe how the book made them feel and personalize the experience.
  • Before beginning to read the book or write the review, the writer should think about some of the following factors. They should focus on the title and what it represents. The title is important in the book as it sets the tone and level of expectation. They should also read and understand the preface to place the book into the right context. The table of contents also tells the review write about the organization of the book and therefore helps them arrange their thoughts on the book.
  • The review writer can do well to consult additional sources, especially those referred to in the book, if any. They can read similar books for comparison and also read other works by the same author. Other information the writer should find out at this stage is the qualifications of the author and their reputation. This will help in establishing the authority the author has in the field on which they have written.
  • The next step is writing an outline. Here the writer works with their general impression of the book and the author in mind. They should then unify their ideas into concise points that they will present in the book. It helps if the writer chooses the major points they will put across at this point in the process.
  • They then go about writing a rough draft of the book review. The review should have a complete citation of the write and a captivating introduction that has a sentence setting the tone of the review. They should then develop the stand they took in the introduction with the few solid points selected before concluding.

It is recommended that the review writer leave some time before revising the review for any mistakes or omissions. These processes guarantee a captivating and in depth review.