Writing a Scholarly Review

Jessica B., Peer Writing Tutor

Please keep in mind that these are only general guidelines; always defer to your professor's specifications for a given assignment. If you have any questions about the content represented here, please contact the Writing Centers so that we can address them for you.

A scholarly book or journal article review is a method of critiquing literature in which you consider the author’s intent in writing the text and then evaluate the success of the author’s execution of intent based on the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, evidence, and writing style the author chose. Essentially, you are making an argument about the author’s argument or stance on the subject.

The length restrictions of your assignment will influence how much depth you can include. Nevertheless, it is important that you demonstrate thorough knowledge of the text and how its components affect the strength of the author’s argument. At the bare minimum, your review should

• introduce the author and the text,
• state the author’s main argument or purpose for writing the text,
• assess how the author supports this purpose or argument, and finally,
• analyze whether or not the author’s methods are effective.  

Within the field of academic book reviews, there are single text reviews and multi-text reviews. A multi- text review follows the structure of a single-text review with the addition of a comparative discussion of the texts as they relate to one another.

When writing a multi-text review, you will consider texts that deal with the same subject in different ways, whether those differences are in argument, perspective, supporting information or presentation format. A multi-text review compares and contrasts how different authors present this similar information.

A multi-text review differs from a literature review. A literature review generally serves aspart of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis. Meanwhile, a scholarly review is a self-contained critical essay. It should stand on its own as an argumentative piece and contain all of the elements of a traditional argumentative essay—introduction, thesis, body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a conclusion.

A scholarly review differs from an op-ed review of a fiction or creative non-fiction book in that the content of a scholarly review should be primarily evidence-based rather than opinion-based, just like any other piece of academic writing.

What to Look For While You Read

The University of Alberta History and Classics department has compiled a list of things to consider as you read the text(s) you will review. You can refer to the list while you write to keep track of the topics you want to address. They list the following:

• Purpose: What was the author's intent behind the book? Did she or he state it explicitly, or did you have to infer it? Does the book have a clear central thesis?
  
  
• Interpretation: One of the key parts of writing history is interpreting what happened, drawing connections, and explaining the significance of events. How does the author do this? Does she or he make explicit use of a mode of analysis or theory, or are the bases of analysis implied, "common sense" ideas? Do you think the author's interpretations are logical and consistent? Do they help you understand better or do they obscure more than they clarify? Can you think of alternative ways to explain what happened or analyze developments?
  
  
• Contextualization: How well does the author explain the wider context of the events or developments that he or she is discussing? Is the book narrowly focused or does the author try to connect to wider developments? Does the focus make sense to you? Does it help you better understand what happened?
  
  
• Silences: What does the author omit, exclude, or overlook? Does that weaken the book? Does this help you understand the author's purpose?
  
  
• Style: Is the book well written? Is it easy to understand? Does it flow well? Is the writing dense and heavy with jargon, making it hard to grasp? Does the author show a flair that goes beyond simple communication? Does the writing make the book more effective or more interesting?
  
  
• Sources: What kind of sources does the author use? Are they mainly published documents, or do they include archival records? Does the author draw on other materials such as novels, interviews, or artwork? Do you think he or she has tapped all the major sources available or are there omissions?
  
  
• Fit: How does the book relate to other historical literature? Does the book break new ground or advance knowledge in significant ways? Does it modify common understandings, or does it reiterate and uphold accepted views? Does it bring a new methodology or theoretical approach to the topic? Is it a contentious work? If it is an older book, was it controversial when it was published? Have the author's ideas been widely accepted since then? Why or why not?

Approaching Organization

In its guide to writing critical book reviews, the University of New South Wales, Australia, notes that “evaluating requires an understanding of not just the content of the text, but also an understanding of a text’s purpose, the intended audience and why it is structured the way it is.”

Likewise, you should carefully consider how you want to structure your review.

Introduction: It is important to include a brief summary of the context surrounding the text in your introduction. This summary might include information about the subject of the text, discussion of how the text under review fits in to any important traditions or trends in related literature, and the author’s background. If you are writing a multi-text review, you should introduce all of the texts in the introduction.

Body: You probably want to get the audience on your side right away, so begin the review with the information that supports your argument. Discuss how the author supports his or her argument and what implications his or her chosen methods have. Don’t neglect to seek out and explain points that go against your argument. Including them helps establish your authority as a reviewer who considers all sides of an argument, and refuting them (explaining why the counterpoints don’t actually hurt your overall argument all that much) strengthens your argument. Present each topic in a new paragraph, and be sure to link each paragraph to your thesis with a topic sentence. Support each point you make with quotations or paraphrased material from the text under review. Summarize the information in the paragraph and link it to the topic of your next paragraph in a concluding sentence.

Conclusion: Wrap up your review by summarizing your thesis, the relationship between your points, counterpoints, and refutations, and declare your final conclusion: the evidence-based opinion you are ultimately left with.

Citations: A scholarly review must include citations for all quoted and paraphrased material as well as a list of sources you cite. The citation style for a scholarly review will vary depending on the field of the text’s subject and your professor’s preferences. Consult your assignment sheet or your professor for the most accurate guidance.

A Note on Sources: The primary source(s) of your scholarly review will be the text(s) you are reviewing. Thus, references to the text(s) you are reviewing should make up the majority of your references. Occasionally, you may need to reference outside texts to establish context or a counterargument, but your focus should always remain on the text(s) under review.

For additional information about the structure and components of an argumentative essay, see the UCWbL’s Argumentative Essay writing guide.

Additional Resources

Sources Consulted

University Library at University of California Santa Cruz - "Write a Literature Review"