For your writing assignment of the semester you will be required to write a book review of one of the autobiographies listed on the syllabus. The book review will need to be at least 1,500 words (4-5 pages in length), typed and double spaced in 12 point New Times Roman font and submitted it through Canvas as a Word or PDF file.
A book review does not only tell you what a book is about, but also whether it achieves what it is trying to do. Therefore, a book review is more than a summary of the content (even though this is an important component), but a critical analysis of the book and your reactions to it.
While you are reading the book, take notes about the following issues:
– What is the author’s main goal in writing this book? (Convince you of his position on a controversy? Explain the background of an event? Raise awareness of a particular issue?)
– What are the author’s main points?
– What kind of evidence does the author provide to make his or her points? How convincing is this evidence?
– Is the book well written? (Easily understandable? Good style?)
– What group of readers would find this book most useful (Lay people? Students? Experts in the area?)
A book review usually has the following components
1) Introduction (one or two paragraphs)
– Bibliographic information (author, title, date of publication, publisher, number of pages, type of book)
– Brief overview of the theme, purpose and your evaluation
2) Summary of the content (about two pages)
– Brief summary of the key points of each chapter or group of chapters
– Paraphrase the information, but use a short quote when appropriate
3) Evaluation and conclusion (about one page)
– Give your opinion about the book. Is the book easy to read or confusing? Is the book interesting, entertaining, instructive? Does the author support his arguments well? What are the book’s greatest strengths and weaknesses? Who would you recommend the book to?
Choose from these choices of books to write about:
Melba Patillo Beals, Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High
Angela Davis, Angela Davis: An Autobiography
James Farmer, Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement
Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide
Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Wallace Terry, Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam: An Oral History
Richard Wright, Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth
