How should I go about doing this book review?

College Life
1

Its for an ancient Chinese History course that is required for core. I already picked the book I want to write on out, but when I downloaded the PDF file she gave my class and I for it, its a full book (200+ pages). Even though I chose the book because it seemed the most interesting of all offered, I just tried to read it and its boring. I’m not sure if I understood everything I read. I’m also very shocked for the 200+ pages!

Assignment:

Book Review Instructions
Your review should be 4 to 5 typed pa
ges, double-spaced, with 1” margins.
Your paper should contain the following information:

  1. What is the topic of this book? What people
    and time period does it cover? Summarize its subject
    matter.
  2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. Usually this information is in the preface or the first
    chapter.
  3. How does this book contribute to the field of Chinese studies?
  4. Evaluate whether or not this book is well-writte
    n, well-argued, interesti
    ng, and coherent. Would you
    recommend it to others?
  5. What did you learn from this book? What do you wish you had learned from this book, but didn’t?

Book Chosen: Wu Zhao: China’s Only Female Emperor (I chose it because the part that says ‘‘Only Female Emperor’’ caught my eye, since I’m a women’s gender studies major and I love gender discussions.

So, how would you tackle this if you had to do this? If its possible to do this with minimal reading, explain?

2

Minimal reading?
Don’t you have to read the entire book to do an honest review?

3

It’s a college paper, not a 6th grade book report. You’re not going to be able to review it with “minimal reading”— keep in mind, the person who assigned the book HAS read it, every word, and thought highly enough of it to include it on the list.

Keep the criteria in mind as you read, and keep notes (including the page and paragraph) so that you can make a convincing point on your answers.

4

Ok thanks guys! Maybe next time I won’t make such a fuss about it.

5

Good luck to you!