Towards an analysis of Book Reviews as an Academic Written Genre

The present work attempts to characterize book review
in terms of its macro and micro constituent elements
and to document the effect of
disciplinary variation on its characteristics as a genre.
Book review as an instance of evaluative discourse,
which is aimed at evaluating knowledge production in
different disciplines, plays a significant role in
the process of the acquiring academic literacy.
Familiarity with the global rhetorical structure and
local lexico-grammatical features of this genre can
equip language learners with certain strategies to
help them read and write critically.
Furthermore, the findings of such studies can help
scholars create more acceptable and accountable
instances of book review by developing sensitivity to
and awareness of the subtle interplay between the
elements generating this genre.
Students with interest in genre analysis would find
lucid implementation of both Swalesian move analytic
model as well as Hallidayan Systemic Functional
transitivity framework in the current book. The
findings are highly applicable to teaching English
for Academic Purposes, and to materials development
for reading and writing courses.

Autorentext
Esmat Babaii, PhD : Studied applied linguistics at Shiraz University, Iran. Assistant professor at the University for Teacher Education, Tehran, Iran. Member of the review panel of several professional journals including System, Asian EFL Journal, Asia TEFL and Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics.

Klappentext
The present work attempts to characterize book review in terms of its macro and micro constituent elements and to document the effect of disciplinary variation on its characteristics as a genre. Book review as an instance of evaluative discourse, which is aimed at evaluating knowledge production in different disciplines, plays a significant role in the process of the acquiring academic literacy. Familiarity with the global rhetorical structure and local lexico-grammatical features of this genre can equip language learners with certain strategies to help them read and write critically. Furthermore, the findings of such studies can help scholars create more acceptable and accountable instances of book review by developing sensitivity to and awareness of the subtle interplay between the elements generating this genre. Students with interest in genre analysis would find lucid implementation of both Swalesian move analytic model as well as Hallidayan Systemic Functional transitivity framework in the current book. The findings are highly applicable to teaching English for Academic Purposes, and to materials development for reading and writing courses.