David Lauderback
Professor of History

ANALYTICAL BOOK REVIEW
U.S. HISTORY II — DIL
B-LEVEL OBJECTIVE

http://www.austincc.edu/dlauderb

For the grade of B

Option One:  In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 exams, and make 24 or better ON EACH TEST.  See the Course Schedule for the exam deadlines.
If you do not score at least 24 on each of the 5 exams, then see Option Two.
Option Two:   In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 exams, and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions)

AND

complete one B-Level objective:  the analytical book review.  See the Course Schedule for the exam deadlines and the deadlines by which you must:

a.) submit your choice for the analytical book review;
b.) submit the outline for your analytical book review; and
c.) turn in the completed  book review.
NOTE:  You do NOT have to complete the Book Review AND the Oral History Report to qualify for an A in the course.  You do the Book Review for a B OR the Oral History Report for an A.

Remember, in addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 exams, and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions) to be eligible to complete the Book Review for a B OR the Oral History Report for an A.

See your Course Schedule for the dates by which you must:  select a Book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

Rationale

The analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States History since 1877.  The purpose of the review is twofold:  first, to acquaint the student with a classic volume of historical scholarship and second, to allow the student to think critically about an important facet of American history and then to organize your thoughts in clear, cogent prose.  You should not view this simply as a hurdle which you must overcome in order to earn a grade of "B" (Option #2) in this course, but rather approach it as an opportunity to expand your creativity in thinking and writing, two very important aspects of any individual's necessary life skills.  Therefore, be advised that I consider this a VERY important aspect of this course and your reviews will be read and graded VERY carefully.

Selecting a Book

The book will be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  Take advantage of the search tools at the ACC Library to find a book.   As you search, remember that you want a work by a single author that examines some moment of America's past since 1877, and does so at a university level.  Do not choose novels, edited volumes, or illustrated books.  Students MUST confirm their choice by e-mail with the instructor.  See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

Completing a Book Review

This is not a book report but a critical review of a professional work that demonstrates a student's ability to write clearly, use good grammar and punctuation, analyze the material in a concise manner, and offer their thoughts on the validity of the work.  Students completing a book review will also be asked to give some comparison of what they learned from their book with the material contained in America Past and Present, as appropriate.

There are a few important things to consider when you write the book review.  To begin with you must:

READ THE ENTIRE BOOK.

Authors do not always accomplish the task they set out to do, so you cannot rely on the preface or introduction.  Part of your task is to evaluate how well the author proves his/her point.  So read the entire text.

NEVER ASSUME.

When you write this review, DO NOT ASSUME that you can leave critical information out because you know that I have read the book.

Instead, you must tell me the:

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

so that I will clearly understand your analysis of the book's argument, the evidence the author presents, and your reaction to the work as a whole.

DO NOT REWRITE THE BOOK.

One of your tasks in this assignment is to show that you can digest an entire book, and then distill it down to its essence.  You simply do not have the space to repeat everything.  So, do not waste time and effort trying to rewrite the book.

Students are expected to accomplish five tasks in the critical book review:

To assist you in developing your final draft, students will be required to complete an Outline of their proposed book review history.  Please see the Outline page for the requirements for the outline.  A typical review would be organized as follows.

Remember:  ONLY students who do submit the Outline before the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to revise their Outline as necessary and to submit a Final Draft.

A Review of [Book Title]
By [Your Name]

I. Introduction

In this paragraph you should briefly summarize the book.  Do not simply rewrite the table of contents.  Tell me what the book is about.  Most of all, tell me what you think of the book and why.  In the last sentence of the introduction, tell your reader me whether the author succeeded/failed in proving their point and -- most important -- why. This is YOUR thesis.

Use the review to prove the point you lay out in the thesis statement.

II. Analysis
A. Thesis

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

In this paragraph you need to carefully summarize the author's argument, or thesis.  Explain what the author is trying to prove.  Generally, authors are very explicit and will state up front, "the purpose of this book is. . ."  But they are not always so helpful.  Many times you have to read closely to understand their purpose.

B. Evidence

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

Here is where you get to play detective.  In the next two paragraphs, you must examine the evidence the author uses.  Does the author prove his/her point?  If so, how?  If not, why not?  Give some examples.  They may do a good job in some areas but not in others.  If this is the case, give examples and explain why.

C. Evidence
See B. above
D. Comparison

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

This is where you briefly tell what the authors of at least three secondary sources have to say on the subject of your book.  Secondary sources are books and articles written at a later time, usually by historians who were not participants in the event.  Encyclopedias and general information web sites, e.g., The History Channel, Wikipedia, History.com, etc., are not considered scholarly works and will not be accepted as secondary sources.

You may use your textbook America Past and Present as one of your three secondary sources. Then, compare the accounts in your secondary sources with what you learned from your book.  Did the book support or contradict what you read in your secondary sources?  What did you learn that was new?  Give some examples from each book.  Demonstrate your points by quoting from your book and the text.

E. Reaction

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

This is the most important part of your book review. In this section, you must describe your reaction to the book.  Do you agree or disagree with the book's conclusions?  Did you detect any biases on the part of the author?  If so, quote some examples.  How could you have improved the book?  Did you like the book?  Why or why not?  Explain.  Give some examples.  Would you recommend this book?  Again, why or why not?  Explain.  Again, give examples.

III. Summary

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

In this paragraph you must summarize your paper.  Briefly restate your purpose; the author's thesis; and your evaluation of the evidence.  Finally, you should conclude by answering the following question:  how did this book help you to better understand life in America's past?

Some tips on writing

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

Each paragraph should be at least thirteen (13), but NOT more than twenty (20), lines long -- NOT sentences, but lines on the page.  Each paragraph is a mini-paper.  Make the first sentence of each paragraph an introduction to that paragraph.  Tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph.  This is called the topic sentence.  Summarize your point at the end of the paragraph, like the conclusion of a paper.  In between, give lots of evidence to prove your point.

Make your sentences active.  Fill your review with verbs that move the reader along from point to point.  Writing that relies on the verb "to be" -- is, was, are, etc. -- quickly becomes repetitious and will NOT convince your reader.  I do not expect you to eliminate the verb "to be" entirely, but come very close.

Quotes help spice up a paper by giving the reader the flavor of the book.  So, include quotations where appropriate to illustrate your points.  Using quotes helps to establish your understanding of the key themes, events, person, etc., in your book.  Hence, the use of quotes constitutes a substantial portion of your Final Draft grade.

Format Requirements

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The format requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

Please:

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO NOT ITALICIZE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

your text.

The above particulars are designed to ensure that all students complete works of similar length.

Please:

Do NOT use folders or other such binders; and
You do NOT need a cover sheet.

Documentation

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information.  Please use end notes to document your sources using the appropriate formatting (see above).  For the correct style, see John Grossman, ed., The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). You can also use an abbreviated version by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). The ACC Library has a new link to TurabianBoth guides can be found at the ACC Library.  Include a Bibliography on a separate page (with no page number), at the end of your Outline and Final Draft.  Here you provide a complete citation for each work cited.  Please use the appropriate formatting (see above).  And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA.  Use the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Grading Policy

The Outline will be graded "ACCEPTED" or "NOT ACCEPTED."  Recognize that an Outline rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will not be considered acceptable.  Any Outline that does not conform to the format requirements above will NOT be accepted.  If you submit your Outline before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.  Any Outline submitted after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

The Final Draft of Book Review will be graded "ACCEPTED" or "NOT ACCEPTED."  Recognize that a Final Draft rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will not be considered acceptable.  Any Final Draft that does not conform to the format requirements above will NOT be accepted. If you submit your Final Draft before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.  Any Final Draft submitted after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a Book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

Deadlines

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SELECT A BOOK BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULEWILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT TURN IN AN OUTLINE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULEWILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

ANY FINAL DRAFT THAT IS NOT SUBMITTED BY 5:00 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Students may submit the Book choice the Outline and the Final Draft via e-mail as a Word attachment or by turning in a hard copy to my box at ACC Rio Grande NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM on the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a Book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

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© David Marcus Lauderback, 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED