Notes on writing book reviews


Choose one of the books from the auxiliary reading list or suggest your own title, but get the approval of the instructors first.

First - read the entire book carefully taking notes as you go. Reread parts of particular interest. You can't write a good review until you have gotten a good grasp of the content and intent of the book.

When you write the review, assume that the audience would be someone who might be interested in reading a book on that subject. Don't just summarize the book. Describe the general level of the material, the nature of the book (skeptical or credulous), and how well the material is covered and presented. Some concluding comments about the book are in order.

Write so that someone who might be interested in the book can read your review and make an intelligent decision whether to obtain the book and read it, or skip it because it is not what they are interested in.

Look at the reviews on amazon.com and in the New York Times to become familiar with the genre, BUT DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! You can submit your review at amazon.com for participation points, and with a free amazon.com account you can rate their books.

The book reviews must be turned in electronically. We will not accept paper copies. E-mail your assignment to pseudo@physics.smu.edu or turn in a PC floppy disk or a CD. Ascii text, RTF, or MS Word format: double-spaced, 12-point type, Times New Roman (nonbold) font, 1-inch margins. We can not read WordPerfect or Macintosh files.