Before commencement of book review writing, you should distinguish between two terms: book report and book review. Many people use these terms in the same breath, however there are vital differences in the very essence of these notions.

Book Review and Book Report – Is There a Difference?

A book report has a factual emphasize. It is a factual account of the subject matter of the book, which implies to be descriptive rather than persuasive and analytical. Its aim is to present the content and the structure of the book as objectively as possible. The book report includes a plot summary; it doesn’t look into deeper meanings of the book and doesn’t contain the identification of the symbolism.

Book report writing is a good way to structure and articulate the thoughts about the book you’ve just read. In a nutshell, it is simply a summary of the contents of the book.

A book review is a critical evaluation of the book that provides a thoughtful and in-depth analysis, and evaluation of the main idea, and purpose of the book. It is also a kind of reaction paper, which analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the book in terms of accepted historical and literary standards, supporting this evaluation with evidences from the text. In a word, it presents the assessment of the quality, meaning, and significance of the book.

What, in fact, sets book reviews apart from book reports is their personal character. Book reviews are highly personal and reflect the opinions of the reviewer on the given literary work. In the book review the reviewer clearly states his position and impressions regarding the book under consideration.

Structure of Book Review

The structure of book reviews resembles other types of academic writing. Book reviews usually comprise of a thesis statement, a supporting body paragraph, and a conclusion.

Typically, reviews are succinct, they rarely exceed 1000 words. Book reviews usually comprises of two elements: descriptive and evaluative. In the descriptive element you provide the essential information about the title, author, type of book, and general subject matters. While in the evaluative element you should present the assessment of the book, particularly of the perceived ideas and implied purposes, quoting exemplary passages from the text.

A good book review is well organized, and as well as the critical assessment and analysis it elucidates the essence of the literary work. Book reviews may vary in tone, style, and subject; however they share the common structure.

• Begin your Book Review with Introduction

Your introduction will bristle with factual and descriptive data, including the name of the author, some relevant details about his life and creative work, the title of the book, and the main theme of the given piece.

The second component of the introduction is the thesis of the book, which may be very perplexing to uncover since stories, novels, and plays don’t explicitly state the argument. Though, you should reveal this special angle and novelty of the piece that will actually become the ground for your further discussion and evaluation and allow you to make your book review original.

The introduction infers to be descriptive; however it should be catchy to seize the attention of the readers. So you should choose an interesting form of presenting your thoughts and ideas to make sure that the readers will keep on reading your book review up to the end. Many writers begin their book reviews with a quip or an anecdote that delivers their argument.

• Keep on Summarizing

Second, you should give your readers a concise summary of the literary work, where you state the author’s purpose of writing the book, provide its leading idea, compare and contrast main characters.

Here your aim is to plunge the readers into the atmosphere of the book, to make them interested in the ideas discussed in this literary piece, and to uncover them your understanding of the symbolism and implicit themes contained in the book. To reach this goal you should articulate your thoughts clearly, logically, and make your argument persuasive and sound.

In the course of making critical assessment of the literary work, you’ll have to back your arguments and assertions with concrete evidences from the text. Remember that critical assessment implies not only to analyze the literary piece under review, but also to tell your readers what struck you the most in this book, whether or not reading it was effective, persuasive, and exciting, and also your discussion on how it enhanced your understanding of the issue at hand.

Your analysis and evaluation should be organized into separate paragraphs that deal with particular aspects of your argument. You don’t necessarily should work chronologically through the book, though, you should make the structure of your summary logical and comprehensive for the readers.

• Draw a logic conclusion

Sum up and restate your thesis or make the final judgment regarding the book in the conclusion. Don’t introduce any new ideas and evidence for your argument, make up your conclusion copious with the ideas that extend the logic of your thesis statement.

Harnessing these simple and winning strategies of book review writing, you’ll surely turn your work into a writing marvel.

Having had the opportunity to preview America’s renowned intuitive specialist, Joan Marie Whelan’s book, “Soul-Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts,” set to premiere Tuesday, June 24, 2008 — Whelan welcomes readers to explore their sacred and authentic self to discover the soul being that exists within us all.Perfect motivational reading for men and women, who have reached a crossroad in their lives, and who are seeking exciting and innovative ways to acquire prosperity and happiness in life, “Soul-Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts,” takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the inner depths of the soul.If you’re one of the avid fans of “The Secret,” then Whelan’s unique exploration of the soul takes you on yet another journey in your life; and how you can effectively use each moment in your life to benefit you in the greatest and most productive ways.As readers dive into “Soul-Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts,” they begin to understand how true destiny is shaped by Divine powers that reside in each and everyone of us — and how this innate soul power can help to unveil the special gifts we each possess; how to interconnect with the soul on profound levels; and most importantly, how to use this soul power to amplify, transform, and manifest all the surrounding positive energy to create an extraordinary life!To learn more about intuitive specialist, Joan Marie Whelan and her latest literary endeavor, “Soul-Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts,” feel free to visit her exclusive book premiere website at http://souldiscoverybook.com/ today.Book Review — Soul-Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred GiftsBy CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd

There was a lot of talk going around when Rhonda Byrne’s book ‘The Secret’ was released and millions of people worldwide either read the book or watched the DVD or both. For those who haven’t read the book here is my book review of ‘The Secret’.

This book is all about the law of attraction and shows how you can use it to attract the things that you want into your life. We all have the capability of using the law of attraction within us but most of us just don’t know it. We all have the incredible power to control our own lives but only a few know how to use it to its full potential and live that life that most people just dream of.

I’m not just talking about attracting wealth and material things into your life but you can attract good health and happiness which in reality is what we all want for our lives.

This book discusses how people have been using the law of attracting to live a good life for many years and the secret is something that we all have and can all use. There are those select few who have been teaching the law of attraction for many years but it took a book like ‘The Secret’ to make the whole world aware of this amazing tool that we all possess.

Rhonda Byrne found how to use the law of attraction when she was at a low in her life and used it to bring back happiness into her life. She is now a true example of how using this inbuilt tool really can change your life for the better. This is a book that you can read over and over again and each time you will find new and powerful messages within it.

Within this book there are personal stories and examples of how the law of attraction has worked for different people in completely different ways. It is a very uplifting and motivating book that when you read it you really want to make those changes into your life.

The Secret has 10 chapters and starts of explaining what the secret is and how to use it and then it even goes deeper into showing how you can use it for specific areas of your life such as ‘the secret to money’ and ‘the secret to health’ and others.

If there is anything that you need to improve in your life then learning the ways of ‘The Secret’ will certainly help you to do so. For many just reading a book alone is not enough to persist and make the changes needed in your life. For those people taking a course in ‘the secret’ and manifesting good things into your life may be very beneficial.