Professor Chester

IAFS 4500

Book Review Guidelines

Provide a 600-800 word review of a scholarly book that you plan to use for your final paper.  Submit the paper copy at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 25, then upload it to Turnitin.com.  Books assigned on the syllabus are not eligible; neither are articles.

Your review must indicate the author's main argument and evaluate it critically.  How convincing is the argument?  What evidence does the author use to support it?  You should also analyze the scholarly value of the book and note its intended audience (e.g. historians of Pakistan, scholars of terrorism in Sri Lanka, undergraduate students of contemporary South Asia).

Look at the Journal of Asian Studies (CU IP address required for access) and Foreign Affairs for examples of professional reviews in the fields of Asian studies and international affairs.

Submit your review to Turnitin.com by 11:59 on February 25.

See “Book Review Guidelines” on course website for more tips.

Checklist:

• Full citation

• Summary of argument

• Discussion of evidence used to support argument

• Analysis of argument’s strengths and weaknesses

• Discussion of audience

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Book Review Grading Sheet

Analysis:  Includes discussion of evidence; evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.

Grade: ____/50                        Remarks:

Organization and Approach:  Includes summary of argument; discussion of audience; overall logic of review.

Grade: ____/30                        Remarks:

Writing and Style:  Includes quality of writing; grammar; presentation (e.g. was the review proofread?); citation format.

Grade: ____/20                        Remarks: