BOOK EVALUATION- ALL SHOOK UP

Instructions for Writing a Book
Evaluation
You will be required to write one major book evaluation for this course. Writing a book evaluation is a different task than writing a book review. While a book review is simply a retelling of the main
points of the assigned book, an evaluation requires you to step into the shoes of a historian and analyze the work of the author. One of the critical skills one should develop in their lifetime is the skill of being able to dissect something that has been written and presented as factual. How does one know that the author has done due diligence to present accurate information? What components are necessary to indicate to a reader that the author has considered all aspects of a story or an event? How do you the reader understand bias in the author’s writing? These are critical skills.

Layout of paper:
The evaluation will include three sections: A) Author’s argument/purpose for writing, 2) Support for Argument, and 3) Evaluation and conclusion.

Authors argument:
the author’s argument should encompass the overall argument of the book. Why did the author write the book? What point was the author trying to make to the reader?This information can often be found spelled out in the book’s introduction.

The use of resource materials by author to support their argument:
When writing a“Support for Argument”section, the student should be very concise in their writing. Take the author’s argument andexplain how the author supported that argument in the book. Don’t retell parts of the book. This section requires you to look at the big picture and determine the author’s overall approach to convincing the reader of their argument. What materials did the author use to write the book? Did he/she use official reports? Newspapers? Personal papers? Other books? This is important for the reader to know in order to determine the validity of the author’s argument.

Evaluation and conclusion:
The final section, Evaluation and Conclusion, requires the student to evaluate whether the author was convincing enough to support their argument. Did something seem to be missing? This section should be brief, concise, and leave no doubt in a reader’s mind as to thevalue of the book.Also analyze the relevance of the book to the overall course. Does it seem to fit well in a survey course on U.S. History? Does it bring to light information that one typically doesn’t find in atextbook? Does the book capture the attention of the student in such a way as to more fully engage the student in the topic?