Writing a Book Review

Alexis A. FruiaMarch 16-20, 20156th Grade English

Objectives Writing a Book Review Understand what a book review is

Understand the form and content of a book review

Plan, Draft, Revise, Edit and Publish a book review

What is a Book Review?

A book review is a brief essay in which you retell important events in the story and relate an insight.

An insight is an important idea readers come to understand as a they read and think about a book or story.

Note: Forming an insight means understanding (or seeing) how ideas or events are related to one another.

Responding to TextWriting a Book ReviewHave you ever been carried away by a book? You start to read but soon lose tract of where you are and what time it is. For a while, nothing exists outside of the story, and you and the book soar together on a flight of fancy.

Writing a response to a book helps you relive these flights of fancy. In this assignments, you will write about an insight you have discovered in a book or story. As you recap the important events, you’ll soar once more.

Writing Guidelines Subject: A book or story

Purpose: To share an insight

Form: An essay

Audience: Classmates

What does it mean to be “carried away” by

a book? Have you ever been so involved in a book you..

Didn’t hear your name being called?

Relived parts of the story after putting the book down?

Dreamed of being a character in the book or couldn’t wait to get back to the book.

Traits of a Response to Literature

Four traits to the development of the content and the form of your writing. These traits will help you focus during your prewriting, drafting, and revising.

Focus and Coherence

Organization

Development of Ideas

Voice

Understanding Your Goal

How do you know what to include in your response? For starters your response must clearly and concisely retell the story and develop an insight. The traits listed below will help you. Refer to it often to import your writing.

TRAITS OF A BOOK REVIEW.

Focus and Coherence: Build on ideas and insights to create a focused, coherent piece of writing.

Organization: Organize your response using an appropriate organizational strategy.

Development of Ideas: Tell what your insight is and support it with carefully selected details.

Voice: Be sure your voice reflects your personality and fits the assignment and the audience.

Conventions: be sure your grammar is correct. Use complete sentences . Check for correct punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Writing a Book Review

The following essay was written by a student who tells how the events in the story Brothers lead to his understanding and insight. Page 303-304

Respond to Reading

Answer the following questions about the sample response. Discuss your answers with a partner.

Focus and Coherence

1. Which sentences explain the writers focus?

Organization

2. How is the last paragraph like the first paragraph?

Developing Ideas

3. What events from the story support the writers insight?

Prewriting Prewriting is the first Step to the Writing Process. It involves

selecting a book or story to write about, listing important events in the plot, writing a focus statement, and planning your paragraphs.

Keys to Effective Prewriting

1. Select a book, story or piece of expository write you have recently read and would like to write about.

2. Use a cluster bubbles to help you remember key details or events that support your center focus.

3. Write an opening and clear focus statement to guide your writing.

4. Review the events or ideas and pick those you can explain in detail to support your controlling idea.

5. Provide evidence from the text to demonstrate your understanding and support your controlling idea.

Suggestions

Look at the list of titles you created earlier as your think about a book or story to write about.

Remember the focus statement ( item 3) contains an insight or an understanding that you have formed about a book or story. You will learn more about writing a focus statement and developing an insight during prewriting.

Prewriting: Selecting a Topic