Notes For Book Reviewers

This article was written for Nazariyat Islamic Philosophy and History of Science Research Journal, which attaches importance to review articles in its academic publishing approach, with the aim of providing guidance especially to those who want to share book reviews.

What is an Evaluation Letter?
Evaluation Articles are texts written for the discussion of a compilation or copyrighted book, a scientific meeting or an event, or a scientific article.

Book reviews are different from book reports. While a book report only provides information about the content of the book; It constitutes only a part of the content-related article among academic book evaluation articles. What is expected from the evaluation is to criticize the ideas put forward about the subject of the book and the way this subject is handled, and to make constructive comments. Likewise, in the evaluation of a scientific article, the prominent ideas should be criticized in a critical manner, and the consistency of the views and the way the sources are used should be discussed with a similar approach. In the evaluation of scientific meetings, it is aimed to convey the presented papers and the discussions in a scientific manner to the relevant readership.

Review writings require intense effort on the book/event being studied. Evaluation articles are indispensable in the process of scientific work, rather than a 'chore' that requires long studies. This issue can be followed in many academic journals. Book reviews, in particular, are regularly followed by the academic community, to be informed about interesting ones and to get to know new studies soon, but especially to enable scientists to monitor how their own work resonates in the scientific field. Here, many scientific gains are achieved both for the products evaluated and for those making the evaluation.

How to Write a Book Review?
While many reviewers review only one book for review, some authors wish to review two or more works. The basic form does not change in these works. Such studies may be longer than studies evaluating a single book. Nazariyat Magazine is open to both types of articles.
The process before starting to write a book review can be divided into two phases: the reading process of the book being studied and the preparation for writing. After this two-part process, the evaluation letter can begin to be written.

The Process of Reading the Book
If you take into consideration the considerations we will list below, it will help you in the book evaluation process. Take notes as you read so you don't have to go back later to look for your observations and reference points.

Purpose: What did the author of the book you read aim for? Does the author clearly state this purpose, or are you inferring it from the text? Is there a central idea presented by the book?

Interpretation: How is the connection between the topics covered, how are the events or people described, and what order of importance are they placed in the book. Does the author base his work on a form of analysis or a theory, or does he express ideas based on his feelings? Do you think the author's comments are logical and consistent? Does it clarify the subject or make it more blurry? Can you offer an alternative to their analysis or comments?

Context: Are the ideas and events in the book broadly contextualized? Was the author able to focus on his subject? Does the author's approach help you understand the subject better?

Silence: Are there any parts of the subject that the author has overlooked or overlooked? Do these parts weaken the impact of the book? Does this make it easier for you to understand the author's purpose in the book?

Format: Is the book well written? Is it easy to understand? Is it fluent? Or does it use heavy expressions and heavy jargon, making it difficult to understand? Does the author demonstrate a talent that transcends easy communication? Does this style of writing make the book more interesting and effective?

Sources: What kind of sources does the author use? Do the sources generally include printed documents or archival records? Can the author point to other materials such as novels, interviews, and artwork? Can it mention all the main sources on the subject or are there neglected sources?

Field-Literature: How connected is the book to other sources in the literature? Does the book open up new territory? Does it amend general approaches? Or does he repeat accepted views and take a particular side? Does it introduce a new methodology or theoretical approach? Does the work contain any harassment? If it is an old book, did it cause such taunts and various discussions when it was published? You may also need to do some additional reading to answer these questions.

Background: Many academics want to get to know the author's experiences and qualifications. You can get an idea about the author's works by scanning various databases, libraries or the internet. Is the author a young academician, has he opened new fields, or does he have extensive experience in this field?

Preparing to Write the Evaluation
Once you have read the book and thought about it, you should begin to develop the main parts of your review. Think about these issues and how they might feature in your work. Then you should make a plan that will determine the main points: Your work will consist of an introduction, body and conclusion.

Key points: Go back to your previous notes and prioritize your findings. This will provide you with the discussion at the center and help you evaluate the topic. While thinking about the main points, you should also think about the most effective order to put your thoughts in an effective order. If the book is a compilation, you can create your study by criticizing the articles that stand out or fall within your field of study and referring to the relevant sections.

Main idea: Your evaluation needs a main argument, as in every scientific study. How will you summarize your evaluation of the book and integrate this main discussion into the introduction, body and conclusion sections of your study?

Format: As part of your evaluation, you should prepare a short synopsis covering the book's main topics and discussions. This should be about a paragraph long and not a summary of different sections.

Writing the Review
Your evaluation is a short criticism. When writing or editing your work, you should make sure that the following points are included in the content.
a) A short, compelling introduction that will present the topic and main argument of your work.
b) A brief introduction of the book. Many review writers do this in the second paragraph of the review. Of course, it doesn't have to be in the introduction section, you can do it in a different section if you wish.
c) The development part of your study should include a series of your findings about the book, you can indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Your ideas should be presented in a logical order, related to each other. Do not present ideas in a disorganized manner and strive to organize your ideas effectively.
d) A short conclusion to summarize your main ideas. You can leave your readers with some points to think about.
e) General article writing rules for Nazariyat Magazine also apply to review articles. To do this, take into account the spelling rules and citation system.
f) Review articles for Nazariyat Magazine should contain between 1250-2000 words.
g) Your evaluation must be written in a clear and grammatical manner. After writing, read it carefully and if you worked on the computer, print out the final version. Never trust the computer to correct grammatical errors.
h) The title of your evaluation should include the following points:

Names and surnames of the author(s) or editor(s) (if it is a compilation, show it)
Title of the book
Year of printing
print location
Publisher
Number of pages
Price if possible (also specify cardboard or hard cover feature)
ISBN number
i) At the end of your evaluation, include the following information to introduce you:

Your name and surname
Your institution and mission
Your short bio in 15-20 words:
Example: Ahmet Sağlam, MD, completed his PhD in Philosophy at Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences. He currently works as a lecturer in the Department of Western Philosophy at Sakarya University.