DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/parole.v15i1.47-63

ASSESSING WORTHINESS IN BOOK REVIEW ARTICLES: AUTHORS’ STRATEGIES IN EVALUATING THE REVIEWED BOOKS

1Doctoral Program of Applied Linguistics, Education Faculty, University of Bengkulu, Indonesia

2English Education Postgraduate Program, Education Faculty, University of Bengkulu, Indonesia

3Zifirdaus Adnan is a professor at Indonesian Studies, School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (HASS), University of New England, NSW, Australia

Received: 19 Aug 2025; Revised: 4 Oct 2025; Accepted: 1 Nov 2025; Available online: 23 Jan 2026; Published: 23 Apr 2025.
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 PAROLE: Journal of Linguistics and Education under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Book review articles highlight the worthiness of new publications through critical insights, encouraging deeper interest and appreciation among readers. Previous studies often lack focus on journal reputation and publication regions. This study aims to analyse authors’ common rhetorical pattern and strategies for evaluating and issuing final opinions. Forty-eight articles from eight Scopus-indexed journals in language-related field were analysed using four moves with sixteen steps model. The results indicate that the first three moves (Introducing the book, Summarizing the content, and Evaluating the book) are obligatory, while Issuing a final opinion is conventional. Additionally, two steps (Defining the general topic of the book and Providing a general assessment) consistently appear. The analysis reveals that the authors tend to use praise more frequently than criticism in their evaluations, particularly when assessing the book as a whole. Furthermore, the findings show that authors primarily provide recommendations and rarely disqualify the works for final judgment. This study has important implications for novice writers, as they should be familiar with the rhetorical structure and aware of the strategies used for evaluating and issuing final opinions in book review articles, thereby enhancing their chances of publication in high-impact journals.

Fulltext View|Download Email colleagues
Keywords: discourse study; book review paper; language related journal; evaluate; high impact journals
Funding: The doctiral program of appplied Linguistics of Education Faculty of Bengkulu University

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Research Article
Language : EN
Most cited articles
KOMPONEN MAKNA UNGKAPAN METAFORIS DALAM PILEG 2009 DALAM WACANA SURAT PEMBACA DI HARIAN SUARA MERDEKA Interruptions and Silences in Conversations: A Turn-Taking Analysis Interpersonal Metadiscourse pada Tagline Iklan Poster World Wildlife Fund (WWF) EFL Prospective Teacher Educators’ Beliefs towards the Use of WhatsApp in English Learning and Teaching Problematics of Technical Preparation and Constraints in the Spelling System of Madurese Language More cited articles
  1. Arabmofrad, A., Khalili, A. N., & Khosrojerdi, S. (2023). A genre-based investigation of book reviews in applied linguistics and system: An analysis of rhetorical structure. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes (IJEAP), 12(4), 43–55
  2. Araujo, A. D. (1996). Lexical signalling: A study of unspecific nouns in book reviews. Pós-Graduação em Inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
  3. Azizah, U. A., & Budiman, A. (2022). Challenges in writing academic papers for international publication among Indonesian graduates students. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 4(2). https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v4i2.405
  4. Bailey, S. (2004). Academic writing: a practical guide for students. Nelson Thornes Ltd
  5. Bailey, S. (2006). Academic writing a handbook for international students. Routledge
  6. Bailey, S. (2011). Academic writing: A handbook for international students. Routledge
  7. Bal-Gezegin, B. (2015). Book review genre in academic writing a comparative study of English and Turkish across ten disciplines. A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Middle East Technical University
  8. Bal-Gezegin, B., & Baş, M. (2020). Metadiscourse in academic writing: A comparison of research articles and book reviews. In Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 45–62). Hacettepe University. https://doi.org/10.32601/ejal.710204
  9. Bezerra, B. G. A. (2001). Distribuição das informações em resenhas acadêmicas. Dissertação (Mestrado em Linguística) – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza
  10. Bhatia, V. K. (1997). Genre Mixing in Academic Introductions. English for Specific Purposes, 16(3), 181–195
  11. Carvalho, J. L. Q. (2020). Diachronic genre analysis: patterns of rhetorical organization in academic book reviews. Revista Da Abralin, 19(3), 715–739. https://doi.org/10.25189/rabralin.v19i3.1763
  12. Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, XX(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000104
  13. Corder, G. W., & Foreman, D. I. (2014). Nonparametric statistics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc
  14. Dornyei, Z. (2011). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press
  15. Drisko, J. W., & Maschi, T. (2016). Content Analysis. Oxford University Press
  16. Fang, Z. (2021). Demystifying academic writing: Genres, moves, Skills, and strategies. Routledge
  17. González-Pereira, B., Guerrero-Bote, V. P., & Moya-Anegón, F. (2009). The SJR indicator: A new indicator of journals’ scientific prestige. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220484878
  18. Hamamah, Emaliana, I., Hapsari, Y., Degeng, P. D. D., & Fadillah, A. C. (2023). Using nominal group technique to explore publication challenges and the usefulness of AI-based writing technologies: Insights from Indonesian scholars. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 13(8), 2038–2047. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1308.20
  19. Hartly, J. (2008). Academic writing and publishing: A practical handbook. Routledge
  20. Hashemi, A., Mahdavirad, F., & Mazdayasna, G. (2021). Appraisal resources in book reviews: A study of cross-gender variations. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 13(28), 127–146. https://doi.org/10.22034/ELT.2021.46516.2404
  21. Hinkel, E. (2004). Teaching academic ESL writing: Practical techniques in vocabulary and grammar. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
  22. Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. The University of Michigan Press
  23. Jalilifar, A., & Tanavar, L. (2015). In Search of the Generic Identity of the Book Review: A Chronological and Pragmatic Study. Linguistik Online, 72(3). https://doi.org/10.13092/lo.72.1972
  24. Junqueira, L. (2013). A Genre-based investigation of applied linguistics book reviews in English and Brazilian Portuguese. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(3), 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.05.001
  25. Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical structure of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24(3), 269–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2004.08.003
  26. Kuckartz, U., & Rädiker, S. (2023). Qualitative content analysis: Methods, practice and software. SAGE Publications Ltd
  27. Lewis, M. N. (2022). Here’s a good book: Hints on writing a book review for academic journals. RELC Journal, 53(1), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220916239
  28. Moreno, A. I., & Suárez, L. (2008). A study of critical attitude across English and Spanish academic book reviews. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.009
  29. Motta-Roth, D. (1995). Book reviews and disciplinary discourses: Defining a genre. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages - 29th Annual Convention Long Beach, CA, USA
  30. Murray, R. (2005). Writing for academic journals. Open University Press
  31. Nodoushan, A. M. S., & Montazeran, H. (2012). The book review genre: A structural move analysis. International Journal of Language Studies (IJLS), 6(1), 1–30
  32. Obeng-Odoom, F. (2014). Why write book reviews? Australian Universities Review, 56(1), 78–82
  33. Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis: An introduction (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury
  34. Prasantham, P. (2023). Dynamics of academic writing and its impact on professional growth. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 8(4), 017–021. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels.84.4
  35. Rasmeenin, C. (2006). A structural move analysis of MA thesis discussion sections in applied linguistics. Mahidol University
  36. Suárez, L., & Moreno, A. I. (2006). The rhetorical structure of academic journal book reviews: A cross-linguistic and cross-disciplinary approach. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268378711
  37. Suryawinata, V. Z. S., Eri Kurniawan, & Arif Husein Lubis. (2023). A genre analysis of science and technology Scopus-indexed journal articles: Does impact factor project different rhetorical moves? JL3T (Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching), 9(1), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.32505/jl3t.v9i1.5563
  38. Ulum, Ö. G. (2016). A genre analysis of ESP book reviews and its reflections into genre-based instruction. International Black Sea University Faculty of Education and Humanities IRCEELT-2016 THE 6th International Research Conference on Education, Language and Literatures Conference Proceedings, 604–616
  39. Zou, H., & Hyland, K. (2022). How the medium shapes the message: Stance in two forms of book reviews. Journal of Pragmatics, 193, 269–280

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update: 2026-07-13 19:30:47

No citation recorded.