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English 112: Book Reviews vs. Literary Criticism

Choosing a Literary Topic

Literary criticism is the study and evaluation of literature. Depending on your assignment, you may be looking for information about a particular work, author, or themes from the text. Use the library's print and electronic resources to find literary criticism on short stories, poems, or books.

Take a look at the examples below to discuss
Book Reviews vs Literary Criticism:

Book Reviews

Book reviews:

  • Give a brief overview of the plot followed by a surface viewpoint about the book.
  • Short in length and discuss their opinion of the book, not themes or close examinations of the story.
  • Written for a general, non-academic audience. Often uses "I" statements ("I enjoyed the book", "I appreciated this", etc.).
  • Below is a sample book review about Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing:

 

Literary Criticism

Literary criticism:

  • Give a brief overview of the plot followed by a close examination of the themes in the story.
  • Longer in length; often makes comparisons and references to other books and articles about similar topics.
  • Written for an academic audience in a formal, third-person style.
  • Below is literary criticism about Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing:

Choosing Keywords

Find literary criticism by searching the databases for scholarly articles. undefined

  • Search by the title of a particular work (ex: A Rose for Emily)
  • Search by the author's name (ex: William Faulkner)
  • Search for themes found in the work (ex: racism)

Find literary criticism in print books by searching the library catalog. 

  • Search for the author's name under "subject" in the library catalog.
  • Search for the author's name and criticism (ex: Jane Austen and criticism)
  • Search other works by your author to explore similar themes.