Summarize the book well enough so that you demonstrate that you have read the entire book, understand the entire book, and have thought about the entire book, AND thoroughly critique the book from a scholarly perspective.
Describe the book: Is it interesting, memorable, entertaining, instructive? Why?
Explore the major themes of the book and discuss what makes them important, and how and why they are important. Use quotations, but not extensively, from the book to support your argument. What possibilities does the book suggest? Explain. What matters does the book leave out? Explain.
Relate your argument to other books or authors: Support your argument for or against the author’s opinions by bringing in other authors you agree with.
Relate the book to larger issues: How did the book affect you? How have your opinions about the topic changed? How is the book related to your own course or personal agenda.
