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History Teacher.
http://www.jstor.org
RobertBlackey
Volume 27 Number2
February1994
RobertBlackey
160
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RobertBlackey
162
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What I do expect from studentsis a reactionto the book, but since not
knowing what to react to is part of the problem, I present a significant
number of questions that I encourage them to keep in mind before,
during,and afterthe book is read.Collectively, these questionscomprise
the bait to lure studentsaway from the security of inexperienceand the
easy way out, and toward developing their minds and critical thinking
abilities. They are not, I insist, to be answered seriatim, taken like
numbersin a store by customerswaiting their turnto be served; in fact,
there are many more here than any single review could hope to address.
Instead, they are meant to prod, to prime intellectualpumps, to suggest
avenues of explorationfor those who are new to the domainof criticism.
Teachersshould review this list and choose to include as many as would
be considered appropriateguides for their students. Students, in turn,
shouldbe instructedto select severalof the most useful (say, five to seven
for a three-pagecritique) on which to concentrate.Thus, answers to as
many of the questionsas are fitting shouldformpartof a smooth-flowing
essay, complete with topic sentences andtransitions.Effective criticism,
in other words, also involves writingthat is clear and coherent.
1. What is your overallopinionof the book? On what basis has this
opinionbeenformulated?Thatis, tell thereaderwhatyou thinkandhow you
arrivedatthisjudgment.Whatdidyou expectto learnwhenyou selectedthe
book?To whatextent-and how effectively-were yourexpectationsmet?
Did you nod in agreement(or off to sleep)? Did you wish you could talk
backto the author?Amplifyuponandexplainyourreactions.
2. Identify the author's thesis and explain it in your own words.
How clearly andin whatcontext is it statedand,subsequently,developed?
To what extent and how effectively (i.e., with what kind of evidence) is
this thesis proven?Use examplesto amplifyyourresponses.If arguments
or perspectives were omitted, why do you think this might have been
allowed to occur?
3. What are the author'saims? How well have they been achieved,
especially with regardto the way the book is organized?Are these aims
supportedor justified? (Aims are usually found in the preface or introduction to the book, or sometimes in the opening paragraphsof the first
chapter.If they are not found, whatdoes this tell you aboutthe book and/
or the author?Were you able to discernthem anyway?If so, how?) How
closely does the organizationfollow the author'saims, whetherstatedor
implied?
4. How are the author's main points presented, explained, and
supported?Whatassumptionslie behindthese points?Whatwould be the
most effective way for you to compress and/or reorder the author's
scheme of presentationand argument?
164
RobertBlackey
165
you add to render the book more thorough and well rounded?What
would you subtractthat might be extraneousor distracting?Explain why
you would take these actions.
15. Where and how does the book fit in relativeto the content of the
course for which it was read?Does it add or contradictanythingyou read
in other books or texts or what was discussed in class? How would you
explain, and possibly resolve, these differences?
16. How well is the book written?If you wish to use quotationsto
illustratea particularstyle or point, keep them short,preferablyno more
than one sentence.
17. If the book includes graphicmaterial(e.g., pictures,charts,diagrams, appendices), how easy are these to follow or read? Are they
referredto in the narrative?If so, are they used to enhance both the text
and your understanding?If you had difficulty utilizing this material,
explain why.
18. How useful are the footnotes (or endnotes)to you as a reader?If
you made use of them, explain how. If morethanjust sourcecitationsare
included in these notes, what purposedo they serve?
19. What is the quality of the bibliography provided? With the
book's date of publicationin mind, does the authorseem familiarand up
to date with the literaturein the field? Upon what kinds of sources does
the authorseem to depend?Whatkindof primaryandsecondarysources?
To what degree are you impressedby the use of these sources, and why?
20. If you had occasion to make use of the index, how easy was it to
use and how useful was it in finding whatyou were looking for? Did you
find any subjectsmissing?
Armed with these questions-veritable written stimulantsto reflection-students have morethanenough directionwith which to formulate
and organize a critical book review. Ignorance as to how to proceed
cannot be an excuse, and better students can use this direction to be
creative.It even becomes possible for studentsto develop skills whereby
they are able to integratesummaryand critiquein a way thatdiscourages
these two componentsfrom being presentedas separateand distinct.
Moreover, by being aware of and thinking about these questions,
studentscan learnto readmorecritically andto thinkaboutwhat historians do and why they do it. Every bit as important,learningto think and
write critically in history can be carried over into their work in other
disciplines, just as it also can, in general, furthertheir development as
educatedand thinkingcitizens.
Without the experience of writing critical book reviews, studentsare
likely to thinkthe task is beyondtheirability.But with these signposts in
the form of directions and questions to guide their thinking, many dis-
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RobertBlackey
Note
For an excellent look at how to teach students to analyze works of history
1.
critically, see Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr., "Demystifying Historical Authority: Critical
Textual Analysis in the Classroom,"in History Anew: Innovationsin the Teaching of
History Today,edited by RobertBlackey (Long Beach:The UniversityPress, California
State University,Long Beach, 1993).