Reading and

Writing Skills
Quarter 2- Week 1 & 2
Composing Academic Writing

Name of Student:_________________________________

Grade and Section:_______________________________

Signature of Parent/Guardian:_____________________
 Lesson
Book Review
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Have you experienced frowning and arguing over a reading material as if it will
respond and defend itself from your judgment? I’m pretty sure you would like to
know and understand what you were doing in instances like that.

What’s In

In the previous module, you learned about determining textual evidence to validate
assertions and counterclaims made about a text read. This time, you will understand
the requirements of composing academic writing.

What’s New

Read the sample book review below and complete the matrix with information about
the text on a separate sheet of paper.

Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Climate Change and

Natural Disasters
By Yingigba Akenyemi

Climate change is increasingly of great concern to the world community. The earth
has witnessed the build-up of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere changes
in biodiversity, and more occurrences of natural disasters. Recently, scientists have
begun to shift their emphasis away from curbing carbon dioxide emission to adapting
to carbon dioxide emission. The increase in natural disasters around the world is
unprecedented in earth’s history and these disasters are often associated to climate
changes. Many nations along the coastal lines are threatened by massive floods and
tsunamis. Earthquakes are increasing in intensity and erosion and droughts are
problems in many parts of the developing countries. This book is therefore to
investigate ways to prepare and effectively manage these disasters and possibly
reduce their impacts. The book takes an in-depth look at climate change and its
association to socio-economic development and cultures especially in vulnerable
communities; and investigates how communities can develop resilience to disasters.
A balanced and a multiple perspective approach to manage the risks associated with
natural disasters is offered by engaging authors from the entire world to proffer
solutions (Worldscientific 2020).

Main Idea
Purpose
Your Evaluation of the Text

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Answer the following questions and write them on a sheet of paper:
1. What skills did you apply in the activity?
2. How were you able to come up with responses needed for the activity?

What is It

A book review describes and evaluates a work of fiction or nonfiction and offers the
book’s overall purpose, structure, style of narration to the unknown readers. It tells
not only what a book is about, but also how successful it is at what it is trying to do.
It is a sneak peek at a book, not a summary.

As a reviewer, you bring together the two strands of accurate, analytical reading and
strong, personal response when you indicate what the book is about and what it
meant to readers. Hence, in writing a book review, you combine your skills of
describing the content of the pages, analyzing how the book achieved its purpose, and
expressing your most personal comments, reactions and suggestions.

But before you start writing a book review, you have to read the book first and ask
yourself these questions: What are the author’s viewpoint and purpose? What are the
author’s main points? What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his or her
points? How does this book relate to other books on the same topic? Does the author
have the necessary expertise to write the book? What are the most appropriate
criteria by which to judge the book? How successful do you think the author was in
carrying out the overall purposes of the book?

If it is a short review, you may not be able to fulfill your purpose. If it is too long, it
may stray too much of the plot or of the content, you may lose the interest of your
readers. Take this general guideline: the length of the review depends upon the length of the
book itself, and a review should not be less than 100 words. Longer books usually asks for
more than 500 words.

A book review title should be based on your total impression of a book. Similar to
creating passwords, strong titles might be “Drew girl power to new height”, “A night
owl that seldom sleeps even during daytime,” “Beautiful illustrations with a story to
match,” “Perfect for a weekend getaway” while weak titles are: “State of the art book,”
“Five stars,” “A breath of fresh air,” “Fast and furious.”

How do you START writing a book review?

1. Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information.
2. Specify the type of book (for example: fiction, nonfiction, biography, and
autobiography). Help your readers to review with perspective.
3. Mention the book’s theme.
4. Include background, if necessary, to enable reader/s to place the book into a
specific context.
5. You may also use an interesting quote, an interesting fact, or an explanation
of a concept or term.

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What do you DO with the content?
1. For nonfiction books like biography, history and the like: pay primary
attention to the major points (the argument) the author is putting forth and
to the sources the author has drawn upon to back up his/her point of view.
2. For fictional works such as novels, chic lit, graphic novels, manga: Pay
attention primarily to the novel or book’s setting, plot, style, characters,
theme/s, use of language and voice. Caution: Do not give away the story for no one
appreciates a spoiler!
3. Provide your reactions to the book.
4. Describe the book.
5. Respond to the author’s opinions and analyze it.
6. Explore issues the book raises.

How do you CONCLUDE?

1. Relate your argument to other books or authors.
2. Relate the book to larger issues.
3. Tie together issues raised in the review.
4. Briefly restate your main points and your thesis statement.
5. Indicate how well the book has achieved its goal, what possibilities are
suggested by the book, what the book has left out, how the book compares to
others on the subject, what specific points are not convincing, and what
personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.

How do you REVISE the draft?

1. Allow time to elapse, at least a day, before starting your revision.
2. Correct grammatical mistakes and punctuation as you find them.
3. Read your paper through again looking for unity, organization and logical
development.
4. If necessary, do not hesitate to make major revisions in your draft.
5. Verify quotations for accuracy and check the format and content of references.

What’s More

Following the process in book reviewing, write a rough draft on Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel,
Noli Me Tangere. Focus only on the author’s portrayal of the main characters Ibarra,
Maria Clara, Sisa, Padre Damaso, and the like.

What I Have Learned

In your own words, write at least five pointers for writing a book review.

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 What I Can Do

Write a book review of a novel or a book that you like. You may choose to upload
your output to your class group chat or to your school’s Facebook page.
Book Review Rubric
Components Distinguished Proficient Apprentice Novice
(5 points) (4 points) (3 points) (2 points)
Introduction Book review “grabber” is Book review Book review No attempt was
very interesting or “grabber” is mildly “grabber” lacks made to catch the
catchy. interesting. interest. reader’s attention.
Plot Reviewer does a good job Reviewer offers a Reviewer offers Reviewer gives
Summary of leaving the reader in little too much plot way too much plot away the ending.
suspense about conflict summary, but summary, leaving
resolutions while paints a fair picture the reader little
painting a clear, of what the novel is reason to read the
interesting portrait of about. book or novel.
the novel or book’s
story.
Opinion/ Reviewer offers his/her Reviewer offers a Reviewer offers Reviewer consist
Commentary opinion on the book’s little of his or her very little of of plot summary
aspects. Reviewer also opinion on the his/her opinion and offers no
writes a book’s aspects. on the book’s opinion of or
recommendation to Reviewer writes a aspects. Reviewer commentary on
readers. recommendation to also writes the book or novel.
readers. recommendation
to readers
Spelling/ No errors. Somewhat Some errors. Error-filled all
Mechanics errorless. throughout the
text.
(Myenglishclass 2020)

Assessment
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. It is a sneak peek of the content of the book that includes relevant description as
well as its overall perspective and purpose.
A. Fiction Review B. Movie Review
C. Newspaper Review D. Book Review

2. The following are the focus of reviewing a book, except:

A. Purpose of the Author B. Title of the Book or Novel
C. Relevance of the Issues D. Content of the Book or Novel

3. Which of the following parts of a review provides the author’s name, book article’s
name, source, and their statement?
A. Introduction B. Body
C. Conclusion D. Synthesis

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4. How long should a book review be?
A. 50 words B. strictly 500 words
C. 500 words or more D. strictly 100 words

5. The following skills are enhanced when one writes a book review, except :
A. Describing B. Expressing
C. Analyzing D. Assessing

6. What is your best basis in creating titles for a book review?

A. Background of the Author B. Book’s Impression
C. Book Illustrations D. Book’s Sales and Popularity

7. Which of the following are identified first in writing a book review?

A. Author and Title B. Page and Number
C. Publication House D. Audience

8. Which of the following is a strong book review title?

A. Hilarious B. Student Reviewer Went Viral
C. Five Thumbs Up! D. Millennial Philosophy to the Highest Level

9. Which of the following shows a weak book review title?

A. Quite Tough
B. A nerve-wracking thriller to date
C. She is a rose among thorns
D. Pinoy frontliners honored insanely

10. In reviewing fiction books, what elements should be paid with most attention by
the reviewer?
A. Setting and plot only B. Language and audience
C. Setting, plot and characters D. Language and genre

11. Which should be given particular treatment in reviewing nonfiction materials?

A. Argument and sources B. Style and diction
C. Content and context D. Audience and relevance

12. The following are categorized as fiction, except :

A. Poetry B. Novel
C. Biography D. Sci-fi

13. Which of the following cannot be classified as nonfiction?

A. Fantasy B. Documentary
C. History D. Autobiography

14. What do we mean by this book review warning, “Do not give away the story?”
A. Avoid distributing the story B. Avoid the story
C. Avoid telling the entire story D. Avoid reading the story

15. What should reviewers do first in revising the draft?

A. Checking the format of the references
B. Correcting grammatical mistakes and punctuation
C. Verifying quotations for accuracy
D. Allowing time to elapse before revising

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 Lesson
Literature Review
2
Literature review is one of the components of the research process. Aside from that,
a student researcher like you should have the ability to determine what you should
read and include in your study.

What’s In

In the previous lesson, you were introduced with the process of writing a book review.
However, in this lesson you will be required to read a lot and learn how to write a
literature review faithfully following a few guidelines and an attached rubric.

What is It

A literature review (LR) is a type of academic essay that examines what has already
been written about a topic. As a collection of published research about your topic by
recognized scholars and researchers, it is a way for you to examine also what has
already been done in regard to your research question or problem. Likewise, it
summarizes and synthesizes the conducted research driven by guiding principles.
Although, it is not a research paper, it provides background for your problem and a
rationale for your research (Abadiano 2016, 51-52).

Literature reviews consist of the following components and its purposes:

• Introduction
o Defines the topic and the scope being considered
o Notes intentional exclusions
o States the general findings of the review and the availability of the sources
• Main Body
o Organizes the evaluation of the sources whether chronologically or
thematically
o Showcases the critical summary and evaluation of the research’s premise,
methodology, and conclusion
o Uses grammatical connectors, relational words or phrases and transitional
devices
• Conclusion
o Summarizes the key findings of the review
o Offers the reviewer’s justification of the conducted research
• References

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 o Reflects the in-text citations
o Contains complete and correct citations

Here are four literature review strategies:

Summary Synthesis
State briefly the argument and main Combine ideas in order to form an integrated theory
points of relevant research or system through critical evaluation,
compare/contrast, etc.
Analysis Evaluation
Examine closely the elements or structure Assess the research based on the criteria or rubric that
of the research you choose, state, and explain.
Support it with another similar research.

What’s More
(See next page)

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Read the literature review of your previous research outputs (like your Grade 10
science investigatory project or any research in English). Rate the said review based
on the rubric below.

Target Acceptable Not acceptable

Content The inquiry question was well The inquiry question The inquiry question was
established in the broader was established in not established in the
context of an educational the context of an context of an educational
topic. (2 points) educational topic. (2- topic. (0 point)
1point
At least five articles were At least five articles At least five articles were
selected and each specifically were selected and selected; some minimally
related to the initial inquiry related to the initial related to the inquiry
question. (5 points) inquiry question. (5-4 question. (3-0 points)
points)
The findings/results of articles The findings of The findings of articles
were thoughtfully compared, articles were were mentioned with little
contrasted and/or connected compared, and or no comparison or
to each other. (5 points) contrasted and/or connection to each other.
connected to each (3-0 points)
other. (4 points)
The conclusion of the review The conclusion of the The conclusion of the
summarized the knowledge review summarized review did not summarize
found from this review and the knowledge found the knowledge found from
related the knowledge gain to from this review. (1 this review. (0 point)
the inquiry question. (2 point)
points)
The references were cited The references were The references were not
using CMOS or the Chicago listed. (1 point) listed. (0 point)
Manual of Style. (2 points)
Organization The review was organized The review was The review was minimally
using subheadings. The review suitably organized organized and writing was
was suitably organized considering the difficult to follow
considering the contents of contents of the throughout. (0 point)
the selected articles. (2 points) selected articles. (1
point)
Mechanics There were no grammatical, There was an There were many
spelling and/or punctuation occasional grammatical, spelling
errors and transitional grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation errors
phrases were used to guide and/or punctuation that distracted the reader
the reader throughout the error that did not from the content of the
text. (2 points) distract the reader. writing. (0 point)
(1 point)

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 What I Have Learned

1. The basic parts of a literature review are: .

2. The four literature review strategies are: _.

What I Can Do

Improve the literature review that you have evaluated in What’s More. Please refer to
the previous rubric for your guidance. Don’t forget to include the output in your
portfolio.

Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following does not describe the nature and purpose of a literature
review?
A. It attempts to develop a new argument.
B. It synthesizes and evaluates the relevant scholarly paper on a topic.
C. It contains some of the major concerns and debates within a discipline.
D. It is a type of an academic essay.

2. Why should students write a literature review?

A. to show knowledge of the topic
B. to keep current or abreast with the times
C. to serve as stepping stone for further research
D. all of the above

3. This system provides a means of identification for managing information on

digital networks
A. AOI B. FOI C. DOI D. FTI

4. Which of the following does not describe the literature review accurately?
A. It is a summary of existing literature
B. It is a synthesis of the arguments of others
C. It is a critical or analytical account of a finished research
D. It is an account of a selection of writing relevant to your work

5. This part of a literature review defines the topic and the scope being considered
A. Introduction B. Main Body C. Conclusion D. References

6. It offers the reviewer’s justification of the conducted research

A. Introduction B. Main Body C. Conclusion D. References

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7. Which part is the organization of the evaluation of sources chronologically?
A. Introduction B. Main Body C. Conclusion D. References

8. This is the part that accurately contains in-text citations

A. Introduction B. Main Body C. Conclusion D. References

9. Relational words and phrases are used in writing the literature to achieve
A. Coherence B. Cohesion C. Inference D. Reference

10. What literature review strategy should be applied when you state the
arguments and main points of the research?
A. Analysis B. Evaluation C. Summary D. Synthesis

11. This is a literature review strategy that combines ideas in order to form an
integrated theory or system through critical evaluation.
A. Analysis B. Evaluation C. Summary D. Synthesis

12. When one closely examines the elements or structure of the research is called
.
A. Analysis B. Evaluation C. Summary D. Synthesis

13. This is a literature review strategy that assesses the research based on the
criteria that you chose.
A. Analysis B. Evaluation C. Summary D. Synthesis

14. It is a literature review is simply a summary of what existing scholarship knows

about a particular topic
A. Book Review B. Article Critique C. Literature Review D. Book Report

15. The following are sources for a good literature review, except:
A. Databases B. Websites C. Textbooks D. All of the Above

Additional Activities

Write a literature review on the topic of your choice (like Facebook Page Netiquette,
Cyberbullying in Your School, Courtship among Millennials, etc.). Please refer to the rubric in
What’s More

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