Complexity and contradiction in architecture by Robert Venturi
BOOK REVIEW OF 4 pages INTRODUCTION Your audience has not read this book, so you will need to provide some background information. • Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information. • Specify the type of book (textbook, biography, technical manual, etc.). • Give an overview of the book’s theme or main idea. CONCISE SUMMARY Now you will provide a synopsis of the book. This should be brief—about one-third of your entire review—since the later evaluation takes priority. The summary should include: • A summary of the contents—similar to what you might find on the back of a book. • A description of how the book is organized. • The book’s thesis. • The author’s evidence. • Paraphrases and quotes. EVALUATION & CONCLUSION The final and most important part of your book review is the evaluation and conclusion. This will make up about one-half of your paper. Here you will answer many of the questions from the Q stage of SQ3R such as: • Did the title it effectively describe the message of the text? • Did the author cover the subject adequately? • How does the information compare or contrast to information that you already know? • Is the author’s evidence convincing? • What was successful or effective? • What could be improved? • Has the author accomplished her goals in writing this book?
