http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/20/the-well-catherine-chanter-review-novel
Now compare your own analysis with that below.
Layout and Content
1. The article headline is : a) printed in large bold font and b) gives the book title and author’s name and indicates that the article is a review possibly adding a comment on the book which may be part of the headline or in a “teaser” summarising the content immmediately underneath. Example –the review headline and the three lines following.
2. Under the headline there is a photo of the author (eg: this text) and/or the book cover (see the texts listed below).
3. The text is divided into relatively long paragraphs in comparison to other journalistic genres. They may have 6 or more sentences, (eg paragraph 2 has 10).
Content and Organisation
1. The review starts with a comment on the book (paragraph 1), the setting is described, the plot summarised and the characters introduced (paragraphs 2 and 3), and the article concludes with the writer’s opinion on its quality (paragraphs 4 and 5).
2. After the main body of the article, there are details of how the reader can buy the book. Example: The final sentence with a large bullet point.
3. Quotations from the book are included to back up points the reviewer is making. Example: In the final chapter, her narrator, Ruth, goes in search of “a book of British wild flowers, because I think I may not know the right names for some of the things I have seen”.
4. The writer attempts to place the book within a specific genre and indicate what type of reader would enjoy it. Examples: What manner of book is this? Murder mystery? Science fiction? / Fans of the once-upon a time, read on.
5. References to other writers and comparisons with other works abound – the reviewer knows s/he is writing for an educated, literary audience and presumes these references will be understood. Example: While from a distance, the story of a country in which the rain stops falling looks like environmental SF in the mould of Margaret Atwood, or John Christopher’s The Death of Grass,...
Style and Linguistic Features
1. Frequent use of apposition when characters are described - eg: Ruth’s wayward daughter, Angie, and their beloved grandson, Lucien
2. Direct personal style using first and second person pronouns, and possessive adjectives
a) Comments on the book are given using the first person and the reader is addressed directly. Example: The extent to which the novel works for you will depend on your ability to do so. In the end, I fell short. The lack of rigour felt to me like...
b) In addition, first person plural pronouns are often used to indicate that the reviewer identifies him/herself with the reader. Example It’s Chanter’s steadfast refusal to provide us with straight answers that gives…
3. Rhetorical questions are used. Example: What manner of book is this?
4. Literary style with eg frequent use of metaphor and imagery. Example: the odds are stacked against him.
If you missed any of the features, have a look at the following reviews and see if you can find examples of the same feature. Find some other examples too from any newspapers or magazines which you have access to. The more articles each feature occurs in, the more sure you can be that it is a “typical” feature of the genre.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/widows--orphans-by- michael-arditti-book-review-tale-with-a-bleakly-comic-dark-side-10111654.html
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jan/30/review-the-catalyst-helena-coggan
There is also a further feature not present in the first review, but which is a common linguistic feature of the genre:
5. Adjectives with evaluative meaning are used to give the reviewer's opinion, sometimes premodified by intensifying adverbs. Example (from the review of The Catalyst): ...became unique and intensely gripping.
