3HAVO - Book review

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Lesson goals

After this lesson you will

• Know the elements of a book review
• Can identify good and bad examples of a book review

BOOK REVIEW

A book review

1. What is the goal of a review?

2. Who would write a review?

3. Who would read a review?

4. When would you read a review?

5. What makes a review good?

We are going to take this book as an example for today's lesson

quick assignment (5 min.)

go to goodreads.com and look for the book 

Skim through the reviews on it.

Note which review you prefer and why?

Which aspects grab your attention, make you trust the review?

What to Include in Your Book Review

A title

A Hook

Essential Book Information

Basic Plot Summary

Your Praise and Critique

Your Recommendation

Your Rating

Title

The title:

1. Should trigger my interest
2. Connects to the review

Which title would be best for the review?

1. Best ideas in The Hate U Give
2. /The Hate U Give/: A review on the characters
3. Justice and injustice in /The Hate U Give/
4. Why The Hate U Give is a good book

Introduction

The introduction:

• Should start with a strong opening ( a hook)
• Should contain title, author and broad opinion
• Should not contain any details yet

What could be
a strong opening?

Strong opening

• Question
• Interesting fact
• Title and setting
• Meaningful quotation
• Author

The Hate U Give begins with Khalil, Starr’s childhood best friend, shot by a white police officer after the events of a party.

A HOOK 

A “hook” is a line that catches your audience’s attention so they’ll continue reading your review instead of scrolling past it.

Your hook could be a compelling or provocative statement.

Or even a question.

How many bodies should this review consist of?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. more than 4

Body

Paragraph 1: Discuss the plot

Paragraph 2: Discuss the characters

Pragraph 3: Discuss the theme(s)

Your opinion should be linked to the book

Each paragraph should have at least 1 supporting quote!

Name themes a book
could have.

Topic sentences

The first sentence of a paragraph summarizes the main point(s) of the paragraph.

In The Hate U Give, Starr grows as a person throughout the plot, whereas Hailey shows very little growth. 

Linking words

Within paragraphs and between paragraphs

Coherent and connected

Be creative, use different linking words 

Which linking words
do you know?

Conclusion

The conclusion should:

• Include a recommendation
• Not include new information
• Should have a strong ending

"I would recommend this book, because I really liked it and I finished it quickly."

1. Strong recommendation
2. Weak recommendation

"It is worth the read, because it leaves you with tears and laughter, but it also has a strong message."

1. Strong recommendation
2. Weak recommendation

Adjectives

Avoid using the same words over and over again

Avoid simple adjectives and language

Try to challenge yourself!

very angry

very bad

very good

very big

Tips

• Think what you are trying to achieve and, in the introduction, of the structure of your review.
•  You should also start a new paragraph for every item/aspect you are addressing in your review.
• Try to make it interesting by using a wide range of vocabulary comparisons to describe something; specialized topic vocabulary.
  

• Give your assessment of what you are reviewing and points mentioned in the task input.
  

Include a final recommendation or evaluation

• Language of opinion (positive, negative), recommendation, description is necessary.

Tips

• Read a wide variety of different reviews to help you with learning appropriate language use, such as the right adjectives, and it will help you learn how to describe and explain. Furthermore, it teaches you how to give an opinion, positive or negative, and make a recommendation.

• What I liked most was …..
  
• I was pleasantly surprised by …..
  
•  ….. would appeal to …..
  
•  If you get a chance to ….
  
• What I disliked most was …..
  
• I was (very) disappointed by ……
  
• I was (intensely) disappointed with …..
  
• I recommend/suggest [title/name] to + person
  
• I recommend/suggest + -ing
  
• I recommend/suggest that …
  
• You should + base verb
  
• You might want to + base verb

"Did you know.....?" - Ask a question in the review to make the reader more interested in what you're saying.

"give it a miss" - this means do not watch or read the book/film/television series.

"It will have you in hysterics" - this means when you cannot stop laughing.

"...gives a great account of..." - this means the book/film summarizes or describes something very well.

"the plot was dull..." - this means the story line was boring.\

I would strongly encourage you not to miss/not to waste your money on...

I would definitely recommend reading/having a look at ...

Being a bit of a film buff/book worm, the news that … released a new film/book had me itching to see/read it.

Having never seen/read… before I approached … with a sense of trepidation, not knowing what to expect. Soon however, all fears were allayed.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

Assignment

Every pair chooses a review 

What is good, what could be better and how?

1. Title
2. Introduction
3. Body --> Topic sentences
4. Conclusion
5. Word use (linking words/adjectives)

Which 5 elements should a review have?