Writing an academic review * Erich Fromm, Escape from freedom (15%) * Title and the author * Don’t start at the beginning and take notes * About arguments facts, debates, interpretation * Prepare for questions and answers * You are going to “fight” the author by researching * Start by googling the author * Why bother to write the book * Look at his approach * Look for opposing arguments * How his ideas fit into the course * Take notes in your own words * Overall picture in the introduction * Indicate your response
Mapping the text * Reads the title carefully * Read back cover, flyleaf, preface/forewards * Read the table of contents an introduction * Read through chapter headings, sub-headings, charts * Skim for main ideas (topic sentences) * Read conclusion and appendix * Pause and reflect, jot down first thoughts of what the book is about
What are you looking for * The thesis * The evidence used to support the thesis * Whether or not the argument is convincing * Fromm’s theoretical arguments * How fromm’s ideas fit into the course
Taking notes
Read each section carefully and write down 2 things * Its main point * Its function in the text (i.e. what it does- a new idea? An analysis? An analogy?)
Think about yourself * What do I know about the subject * What experiences would influence the way I respond to it? Why? * What did I feel when reading? * For mw, what are the 3 best or worst things about the book * How did I respond to the authors style? (anything irritating? Is it repititve,?)

Context * Are these connections between this book and other s on the subject or is this a one-off? * What contribution does it make