Writing Guidelines
1. FONT: Use Times New Roman 12-point font
2. PAGE NUMBERS: Insert page numbers in the same font as your text at the bottom
center of the page by using the Insert function of your word processing program.
3. HEADING: In the upper-right hand corner of the first page insert the following make
sure that you single-space your heading.
First Name Last Name
HIST 1301/1302/2301.Section #
Assignment Name
4. TITLE: Book reviews do not have titles. Instead, cite the bibliographic material of the
book (author, title, publisher, and city and date of publication) in single space in place of
the traditional title as follows:
Author last name, Author first name. Title (Italicized). Location of Press: Press Name,
Year Published. (Note indent the second line)
Example
Cockroft, James D. Mexico: Class Formation, Capital Accumulation, and the State. New
York: Monthly Review Press, 1983.
5. SPACING: Double space only your prose/text of the essay.
6. MARGINS: Set margins at 1 on all sides. Most word processors usually have this preset.
Use only left-hand margin justification.
7. INDENT PARAGRAPHS: Indent to indicate a new paragraph. DO NOT SKIP A SPACE
BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS
8. CITATIONS: If citing or quoting material there is no need to use endnotes, footnotes or a
works cited/bibliography page. Instead use parenthetical citations by placing relevant
source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase. This means that the
author’s last name, the sources year of publication, and the page number(s) from which
the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in parenthesis at the end of the quoted or
paraphrased sentence, ex. (Bennett 2013, 13) or (Buzzanco 2004, 67).
Note Avoid using quotations in a book review. This essay is meant to be original and
based on your thoughts/ideas and reflections, not that of the books author(s). Use quotes
sparingly and only to back up or reinforce a certain point. Instead of using quotes, it
might just be useful to put the material in your own words. UNDER NO
CIRCUMSTANCES ARE BLOCK QUOTES ALLOWED FOR THIS ESSAY
USE THE THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW: Never use I, my, or otherwise refer to
yourself in formal academic writing. You should also avoid using the second person point of
view, such as by referring to the reader as you. Instead, write directly about your subject matter
in the third person.
For example, replace I think the most important part of your day is having a good
breakfast, with The most important part of the day is having a good breakfast, or A
nutritious breakfast is an important part of a healthy diet.
10. USE OBJECTIVE LANGUAGE INSTEAD OF INFORMAL EXPRESSIONS: Informal
expressions include slang, colloquialisms, clichs, and contractions. Theyre common in speech
and casual conversations, but they arent appropriate for academic writing.
a. Slang words and colloquialisms are casual expressions shared by a region or social group,
like lit, basic, cap, extra, turnt, wanna, gonna, got it, sank/sunk in.
b. Clichs are overused expressions that have become meaningless or boring, such as only
time will tell, actions speak louder than words, the grass is always greener on the
other side, and you cant judge a book by its cover.
c. Examples of contractions include dont, wouldnt, hasnt, and its. Instead of
using them, spell out the words in full.
11. INTRODUCTIONS vs. CONCLUSIONS: These are actually different! However, you may have
been taught that a conclusion is just a restatement of your introduction. Here is the difference.
Your introduction explains the question youre going to address, including who cares about it and
why. And then your conclusion is about the answer: you explain how all the stuff in the body of
your paper fulfilled your promise and thoroughly answered the question. So, the structure is
question, evidence, answer.
Its preferable that essays are composed using Microsoft Word as these guidelines are based on
and intended for that word processor. Essays composed using other word processors will be
accepted but there may be issues in formatting which could impact grades
While book reviews are typically written as an analysis, for class purposes, I would like a fairly detailed summary of the contents of the book, say about 1 to 2 pages surveying the contents.
-It will probably will be necessary to refer to specific portions of the book to illustrate your statements and conclusions, but it is generally not advisable to quote extensively from it.
-Theme: Your review needs a central argument, like any academic essay. How can you sum up your evaluation of the book, providing a theme around which you can organize your review? Considering the authors purpose in writing/the thesis/argument, did you find the work generally successful, partially successful, flawed, etc?
