Book Reviews & Other Works; Definition, Structure, Method, etc.

Definition of Review

A review considers whether a work is good or bad that must be done objectively, following the quality of the book's content (Tim Kemdikbud, 2017, p. 205). The reviewer's job is to give the reader an idea of ​​whether a work is worth reading or not.

In line with the opinion above, Dalman (2015, p. 165) suggests that a review text is a term used to judge whether a book is good or not. It should be noted that both (good and bad) must exist in order for the review to become a constructive criticism. That is, the reviewer is not just an opinion of scorn or praise subjectively without contributing anything.

Is it only books that can be reviewed? No, the reviewer review, judgment, or discussion about work, be it a book, film, or other work as stated by Fanani (2016, p. 70) that a review is an assessment of the object of the reviewer which can be a book, film, music, or other work of art.

Meanwhile, from an etymological point of view, Mursidi (2016, p. 50) states that the word reviewer comes from the Latin, namely revere or reviewer, which means to look back, weigh or judge.

So it can be said that what a review is is giving an assessment, discussing, re-exposing to criticizing a book, or other review objects such as films, music, dramas, etc.

Difference between Review and Synopsis

Revealing what is presented by the book is also called a synopsis. So, if there is a question what is the difference between a review and a synopsis, it is very easy to answer; the reviewer re-expresses the contents of the book to judge it, while the synopsis reveals it only (doesn't rate it).

 

review	Synopsis
Reveal what is presented in the book to judge it Reviews usually tell the truth, without being embellished to attract the attention of potential buyers. Sometimes, if needed, a reviewer will tell you about "something" that will spoil the experience of a potential reader if they find out (spoiler).	Only reveal what is presented in the book, not to be judged. Synopsis is usually spiced up to make potential buyers curious to be interested in buying a book or work. The synopsis will not reveal an important plot that will spoil the reader/viewer experience if they find out (will not include spoilers).

 

Review Structure

What is the review structure like? Actually, it's as simple as:

1. work identity,
2. orientation (introduction),
3. review core,
4. analysis (excellence of work),
5. evaluation (lack of work),
6. Closing

However, reviews usually have a format that divides each part of the structure into different subtitles. This makes the reviewer have a taxonomy or order of arrangement like a scientific paper.

Therefore, the structure in the review is more often referred to as systematics or review elements. Here is the explanation.

Review Systematics (Elements)

According to the Ministry of Education and Culture Team (2017, pp. 205; Samad, 2008, p. 78), the elements or systematic reviews of them are as follows.

1.      Review title

a good title will be made to attract and animate the work reviewed; there is a close relationship with the work reviewed.

2.      The identity of the book (or other work) being reviewed

Various information about the work being reviewed, for example, if it is a book, includes book title, author, publisher, year of publication (including printed version), the thickness of the book, price.

3.      Introduction (introducing the author, the purpose of the author of the book, etc.)

It can contain the introduction of the author or creator of the work, exhibiting the author's uniqueness, the main uniqueness of the work, the publisher/other related parties, impressions, general questions, opening dialogues, etc.

4.      Contents of the review

synopsis, formulation of the framework or elements of the reviewed object, language/design review, error checking, etc.

5.      The advantages of the book (work)

As the name suggests, analyze what advantages a book or work has.

6.      Lack of books (works)

Reveal the deficiencies found and, if needed, suggestions to make it better.

7.      Closing

contains the final statement of the reviewer of the book, such as stating who the reviewed work is more suitable for, etc.

Review Language

Like other texts, reviews have distinctive linguistic features or rules that distinguish them from other types of texts. In the Indonesian book for SMA class XI, the Ministry of Education and Culture Team (2017, p. 223), the language features of the reviewer are as follows.

1. Many use descriptive conjunctions, such as: namely, that is, that.
2. Tend to use temporal conjunctions: since, since the end, then.
3. Many use conjunctions causeaban: cause, because.
4. It uses statements in the form of suggestions or recommendations at the end of the text. It is marked by the words: should, should, should not.

How to Make a Review

Of course, to make a review, we must master the book or work to be reviewed. The trick is to read or appreciate it carefully first. To produce a good review, the reviewer must use appropriate and effective measures. According to Dalman (2015, p. 174), the steps for writing a good review are as follows.

1. An assessment or introduction to the book to be reviewed. It can be in the form of pre-research, finding out information about the author or creator of the work, publisher, etc.
2. Read a book or appreciate the work that will be reviewed comprehensively, carefully, and thoroughly.
3. Mark the parts of a book or work that are of particular concern and determine the passages cited to be used as data.
4. Make a synopsis or summary of the reviewed book (make a description for other types of work).
5. Determining attitudes and assessing matters relating to the organization of writing, the weight of ideas, aspects of language, and technical aspects.

Book Review Example

According to the Ministry of Education and Culture Team (2017, p. 208), the following is an example of a knowledge book review and its elements/systematics/structure (with adjustments).

Review Title

Easy Writing Without Needing Talent

Book Identity

Title                             : So that writing can be easy

Author                         : Andrias Harefa

Publisher                     : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Publication Year         : 2002

Page                            : i-xi + 103 pages

introduction

Writing activity is often associated with one's talent. In fact, not always talent can make writing activities as smooth and easy as we imagine. Experts repeatedly state that writing is a basic lesson that we have learned since we were in elementary school and even in kindergarten. In other words, writing is an elementary school skill. However, often when we want to express our ideas in written form, something called "talent" always becomes a kind of "scapegoat" who must be ready to be blamed.

Contents Review

Writing is not an easy job. However, it is also not a difficult thing if there is a commitment, a promise to yourself, of course, if the commitment is intended to be really kept. Commitment is another keyword to make the writing and composing process easier. That commitment was a promise to me that I would become a writer. So, writing does not need talent because talent is nothing more than "interest and ambition that is constantly growing."

Book Advantage

This book uses simple language that is easy to digest. The various ways or steps in writing are also relatively easy to follow. Even so, this book still has an in-depth discussion in writing.

Lack of Books

The author does not discuss various techniques that are known to be effective in helping someone in writing. Maybe this was done to make the book lighter. However, it is still very unfortunate that various techniques and general knowledge of writing are not elaborated to complement the "easiness" of the book.

cover

So, if "talent" means that everything requires talent, not only in writing. The problem then, how to keep this ambition maintained for a long time? The answer is "commitment to yourself."