Neuroscience, Ethics, and Criminal Punishment

Selected books must be: 1) non-fiction; 2) related to crime, ethics, and justice; 3) recently published (2023 books if possible); and 4) at least 200 pages in length.
Book reviews are critically different from book reports: book reports mainly just summarize a book from start to finish. Book reviews, by contrast, briefly summarize the book and go on to critique it and make target audience recommendations. Book reviews require several in-text citations, which serve as textual evidence for your claims about the book (regarding both content and style - writing style of the author).
Book reviews are not considered peer-reviewed, normally, because they can be invited directly from a journal editor to a researcher who the editor believes will be interested in the newly published book’s topic.
Students are encouraged to book an appointment with the Writing Center especially if this is their first time writing a Book Review.
Total word count: 500-750 words; worth 20% of your final grade.
Structure
Your title will follow this formula: A Review of [insert Book Title: subtitle in italics] by [insert your full name].
Summary (roughly 1/3 of your book review) that describes how the book is organized and summarizes the main argument of the book as a whole and the main points in each chapter / section. Hit on main themes, arguments, and takeaway messages. Assume your readers have not read this book: keep your readers in mind as you write and provide them with a good understanding of the book’s content.
Critique (roughly 2/3 of your book review) wherein you discuss the book’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of what’s covered and what’s not, and how effectively it’s covered. Is it a pleasure to read or difficult, tedious, and slow-going? Did you learn a lot from this book or not much? Was the author’s tone informed and educational or casual and engaging? What did the author do well? What did the author miss the boat on? Be thorough. Reading book reviews online and in OneSearch will be helpful. This section must include multiple quotations from the book itself with page number references after each one that look like this: (p.45).
Target Audience (just a few sentences at the end) – a brief comment on who will want to read this book and why: is it technical and thus for working professionals in the field? Or is it broader in scope and thus appropriate for graduate students specializing in this field? Or college students or the general educated public? Who will benefit from reading this book and in which ways? Be specific.
Your reference goes directly below your book review, and follows this APA format for books:
Author, A. (Year of publication). Title of Book: subtitle of book. Publisher Name.
Book reviews will be evaluated on these criteria:
Does the book review fulfill the required 3-part format of summary, critique, and target audience recommendations with the appropriate balance of content for each section?
Is the review written in clear, academic language that is easy to read, to the point, and well-organized?
Does the reader get a good sense of what this book is about from reading this book review?
Are all the mechanics of writing well executed? (e.g., effective paragraphing; punctuation; grammar; spelling; book reference correctly formatted; title correctly formatted; page numbers; class info; etc.).
Is the book review completely devoid of fluff (e.g., overly general or overly broad statements that could be written about any book)? Does every sentence add value to the book review? Is there any irrelevant stuff?
Students are encouraged to utilize the Writing Center at least once for this assignment.