Book Review

A book review is a thorough examination of a book’s contents. Students should select a
relevant book in the field (closely related to the course objectives), and to complete the
review by June 20th 2019. The course instructor must confirm eligible books (e-mail
consultation is preferable).
Length: 3-5 double-spaced pages
Worth: this assignment is worth 20% of your final grade.
Objective: the objective of the book is twofold. On the one hand, it is an assessment of
a scholarly contribution to a major theme in the field of international development. On
the other, is to develop individual abilities and analytical skills on students through the
process of reading, writing, and communicating a book or a film’s contents. For a
preliminary list of books to be reviewed please see additional information on Moodle. A
fiction piece will also be considered, although it requires approval by the course
instructor.
A book review shows your ability to describe the book contents, to analyse the strengths
of the book in trying to achieve its purpose, and your creativity (based on your analytical
reading) in expressing your own reactions.
Some questions to be asked to the text:
• What are the author’s principal questions/interests?
• What kind of evidence is presented to substantiate the arguments?
• Is the argument convincing? Why or why not? Does the author support his or her
points adequately?
• What is this book’s most significant contribution to the understanding
development?
• How does this book relate to other books on the same topic? Is the book unique?
Does it add new information? What group of readers, if any, would find this book
most useful?
• In the light of the seminar’s discussions, what are the most appropriate criteria by
which to judge the book? How successful do you think the author was in carrying
out the overall purposes of the book?
• What questions remained unaddressed in the book?
Submission: The book review must be submitted electronically through Moodle in the
due date (June 20th, 2019). Please notice that early submissions will be allowed
through Moodle. Late submissions will not be accepted. Referencing: MLA