1. Select the books with care, so that they will meet your own needs and interests. The reading assignments, if they are well chosen, should be both enjoyable and of permanent value to you. It is a good idea to check with the instructor about the appropriateness of your book.

2. Title Page: include the full title of the book (with subtitle, if used), the author's name, date of publication, and the number of pages in the book. Unless you select an especially large book, you are expected to real all of it; if the book is extremely large, indicate the number of pages, and which ones you actually read. Your name and the date should also appear on the title page. Do not repeat the title at the top of the first page of review.

3. Synopsis, summary or digest of the book: In this section, you should identify the major elements of the work, such as its basic thesis or interpretive framework, central themes, major events treated, and main conclusions presented. This is to be your distillation of the book's contents. This section should not exceed four typewritten pages, or their equivalent. If you illustrate a point from the book by quoting, use quotation marks and cite the page reference in parentheses. Avoid "overquoting."  PLEASE NOTE:  there is no place in a book review for a mere recitation or rehashing of the factual content of the book; any reference to the factual content of the book should be for the purpose of illustrating those major elements mentioned in the first sentence of this section.  For example, if you have read a biography, do NOT recount the sort of information found in an encyclopedia article about that person; if you have read a book about some event or development, do NOT simply rehearse the sequence of events associated with it which might appear in a textbook treatment of the event.  Stress the author's uses and interpretations of the basic story line recounted.

4. Critical analysis or review: This section is of equal importance with the first; it should be between two to four pages in length. In this section, you should have under consideration all of these points:

    A.) Does the author deserve special treatment because of any peculiar qualifications (or lack thereof)? You need not make special reference to the author unless you feel it is helpful or necessary to properly evaluate the worth of the book, but you won't know unless you do some checking.

    B.) How convincingly has the author supported his thesis, conclusions, etc.? What kind of evidence does he use (best determined from footnotes and essay on sources at the end of the book)? Are there any noteworthy observations you could make on the reliability of the sources he uses? Remember that the types and uses made of evidence can be as indicative of bias on the author's part as blatant value judgments he might make about his subject; has the author been fair and objective in his treatment of the subject?

    C.) Comment on the author's style. Does his organization, use of language, grammatical structures, etc. make the book easily readable or does it have the opposite effect? Is the work a general overview or an extensive treatment of the subject? Does it seem to be designed more for the specialist or for the general student of history? Are there any special features of the book which merit attention?

5. The above points are intended as suggestions for the type of information you might well include in the critical review section; they are not intended as an exhaustive list or in any way designed to limit your evaluation of the book; most importantly, they are not designed to be a checklist to be marked off in mechanical fashion; this section must appear as an integrated essay.

6. Papers should follow standard rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling; papers will be graded as carefully as an English theme, and grades will be lowered for excessive errors. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively may not be confined to work done for the English Department.

7. YOU ARE CAUTIONED AGAINST PLAGIARISM IN THE USE OF BOOK REVIEWS FROM HISTORICAL JOURNALS OR BOOK REVIEW PUBLICATIONS.  While you are encouraged to read published reviews of the book to gain additional insights, remember that if you use ideas of another or quote from a review, you must give proper credit; all reviews submitted will be carefully checked for violations of this rule; any paper found guilty of such violation will result in the enforcement of the penalties described in the Department of History and Social Sciences Plagiarism Policy.