Prewriting for Nonfiction Reviews
To write a great review, you will need to choose a book or article you enjoy and spend some time gathering key details from it. The reading and collecting activities on this page will help you prepare to do your best writing. That's the purpose of prewriting.
Prewriting for Topics
Your first prewriting step is to choose a nonfiction work for your review. Ideally, the work is something you have recently read and enjoyed and want others to know about. Consider a memorable biography, autobiography, magazine story, newspaper story, or online article. Remember that the work needs to provide true information about a real person, place, thing, or event.
Explore writing topics.
Answer as many of the following questions as you can to help you think about topic ideas for your nonfiction review.
- What is the last book or article you really enjoyed reading? Was it a true story?
- What is your favorite book or article about a person you admire?
- What is your favorite book or article about one of your interests or hobbies?
- When was the last time a book or article surprised you? Did it tell a true story?
Choose your topic.
Use your answers from the last activity to decide which nonfiction work you will review.
Prewriting to Recall Key Details
After you identify a topic for your review, jot down key details about the work. You may have to reread portions of it to help you remember or clarify important details.
Record what you know and still need to know.
Create three lists about the book or article you are reviewing. First, list the important details that you remember about the work. Then list any ideas you are not completely sure of. Finally, list any questions you still have about the work. After you finish your lists, reread parts of the work to answer your questions.
What I Know
What I Think I Know
What I Still Need to Know
Prewriting to Deepen Your Analysis
The following collection sheet helps you answer basic questions about your nonfiction work. You can use your answers to write your review.
Collect details.
Use details from the nonfiction work as well as your own thinking to answer the collection sheet questions.
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What is the book or article about? |
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What do I like about it? |
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Why is the topic important? |
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What theme or main message does the work express? |
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Why would others like it? |