Mark R. Hatlie

Standard Policy on Book Reviews

In cases where the terms described here vary from those described in the course syllabus, the course syllabus has priority. That will rarely be the case, however.

If assigned to do a book review, choose a book that interests you. The book should be scholarly and should have as its topic some significant overlap with the course in question. Feel free to consult with the instructor about which book you should review. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the book may not be a novel or any other form of fiction.

The review will cover at least the following information:

Exact bibliographical information on the book so that others can easily find the book in question.
Background information about the author including other books written, academic, government, military or other affiliations, and other items of interest if they are relevant to the discussion of the book and, if applicable, a discussion of how they are relevant.
A brief overview of the scope and perspective of the book. Does it cover only some aspects of the subject, or is it comprehensive? What does it leave out? From which perspective is the book?
The major points that the book makes. You can ask and consider: What are the major ideas? Are there any points that are controversial or particularly interesting? What is the reader likely to be getting from this book that he or she won’t get from another book on the same topic? What are the new and interesting contributions that this book makes?
Your considered opinion of the book. If there are any published reviews of the book in question, it would be a good idea to consult them and cite them in your discussion of the book. You could use them as a source of ideas and compare your opinion to them. Be sure to cite any reviews of the book you consult.
Scholarly Context In upper level and graduate level courses I would expect reference to scholarly opinion of the book as reflected in published reviews from scholarly web pages and journals. A good graduate level review will also put the book into the wider scholarly context.

You can break the review down into clear sections covering these items or you can lump it all together, like a book review in a magazine or scholarly journal. Either way, strive for clarity and organization.

Formatting and Citations

Submit your term paper as a Word, rtf or pdf document, if possible. Use a standard sized font (like 12) and margins that are reasonable in size (like 1" or 2 cm). I will notice if they are unusually large. If you cannot submit your paper as a Word, rtf or pdf document, please get in touch with me in advance. If that too, should prove impossible, submit the paper to me as the body of an e-mail (not an attached document in some non-Word format).

Reasonable procedures for formatting and footnoting should be used. I do not have a system I require. Use any standard system you prefer as long as it is comprehensive (includes all necessary information), clear, and consistent. UMUC instructors often require the APA or MLA style, both described in the UMUC online library. APU/AMU instructors tend to favor MLA. See here for examples of these and other styles. A great reference for MLA is here. Use either one.

Be sure to also have a look at my Policy on Plagiarism.