Print and Multimedia  Writing a Review Guidelines

These guidelines will help reviewers prepare a well-written review and will make the editorial process efficient. When you receive a review assignment, please read these guidelines carefully and refer to them as you write the review. Reviewers will receive a copy of the material to review along with a deadline, which is usually about 1 to 2 months after the assignment. If you are unable to meet that deadline, please inform the editor immediately. Reviewers may keep the books, software, and videotapes they review, with our thanks.

For the sake of impartiality, and to avoid any conflicts of interest, reviewers may have no contact with the authors or editors of the material, nor should they have contributed (advisory, financial, research, review, etc) to the work. If this applies to you, please inform the editor and decline to review the work.

Purpose of the review
ILCA reviews books, DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs, and websites that are of interest to lactation consultants. Read or view the entire product before you begin writing your review. If you wish to make notes during this time, note-taking suggestions are provided. Special tips are available for reviewing a website. You may also find it useful to read through other reviews before you begin writing.

The main purpose of the review is to inform the reader of the merits of the product. By the end of the review, the reader should know whether the product is worth reading or viewing. The review should discuss the content; analyze the content, format, argument and context; and express the reviewers' reaction to the product.

Writing the review
Reviews should be fair and balanced, while still offering a clear opinion. Please be objective, succinct and precise, adding your personal touch and creativity to make your review interesting for the reader. A chart of descriptors is provided with terms and comments that may help you in writing your review. Use your judgment in deciding which of the elements are relevant to a particular book or product. End the review with an overall summary and recommendation. Your observations will lead the reader to decide if the product is worth purchasing.

Maximum length for reviews is 350 words for a full-length review and 150 words for Briefly Noted. This does not include the heading information (see next column). If you are using a word processor, the Word Count feature will help you to remain within the word limit. Reviews that exceed the word limit will be shortened during the editorial process. Multi-authored or lengthy materials may require greater length, in which case the review editor will assign a specific limit.

Please spell out numbers from one to ten and use numerals for numbers 11 or greater. Punctuation is included "inside the quotation marks."

Heading
Provide all elements in the header that can help the reader to obtain the product. You can refer to publicity material, the outside of the material, or packaging for this information. Include the title, author and date of the publication. Include the publisher's address, telephone, toll free (800) and/or fax numbers, e-mail address, and URL if available. For a website, include the name of the organization, country, URL, and languages.

• Example of a header for a book review:
  
  Starting a Donor Human Milk Bank: A practical guide
  Gretchen Flatau and Sarah Brady
  Human Milk Banking Association of North America Inc. (HMBANA), 2006
  24 pages, softcover, US$25 ($30 elsewhere)
  Orders: HMBANA, 1500 Sunday Dr. Suite 102, Raleigh NC 27607 USA
  Tel: 919-861-4530
  E-mail: abergevin@firstpointresources.com
  URL: www.hmbana.org
   
• Example of a header for a video review:
  
  A Guide to Skin-to-Skin
  Mark-It TV; 2004
  VHS, 7 minutes, £56.40 + VAT
  Orders: Mark-It Television, 7 Quarry Way, Stapleton, Bristol BS 16 I UP, UK
  Tel: +44 117 939 1117; Fax: +44 117 939 1118
  E-mail: sales@markittelevision.com
  URL: http://www.markittelevision.co.uk/
   
• Example of a header for a website review:
  
  International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), Malaysia
  URL: www.ibfan.org/
  Language: English

Content

• Begin with one or more general statements about the purpose or theme of the material, and your overall impression. Indicate the audience to whom the book will appeal. For example, if a book is about encouraging teenage mothers to breastfeed, is it directed to the young mothers or to their counselors? This section should be straightforward, brief and introductory.
   
• Summarize the contents and significant points of the work, including the points the author emphasizes. Do not feel obliged to summarize the contents of each chapter or section of the book, or to give each part equal emphasis in your review.

Evaluation

• Present your critical evaluation, commenting on format, writing style, reading style, thoroughness, factual accuracy, understandability, persuasiveness, overall quality of writing, and the purpose/message of the book.
   
• Comment on supplemental features. If illustrations are used, evaluate their contribution to the text. Do they support, detract, contradict, enrich? Are the references adequate and up to date?
   
• You may wish to comment on the author's background (often found in the preface, foreword, or introduction), noting authorship of previous relevant works if these factors strongly contribute to the material's quality or suggest the author's authority or bias. Keep in mind that you are commenting on the author's work, and not on the author as a person.
   
• Discuss both commendable and noteworthy aspects of the resource as well as its shortcomings. Criticisms and negative comments should be tactful. Identify specific items that were objectionable or deficient. Suggest how these affected the material's overall quality and what could improve the material.
   
• Indicate whether all or part of the material is pertinent for lactation consultants. Reviews are designed to help readers determine whether to purchase the product. Therefore, reviews may include negative as well as positive statements about the book. If the book is not worth buying, you may say so as well as why you feel this way.

Reviewer identification
For publication, list your full name with a maximum of two identifying credentials after your name. List your city, state/province (spelled out), and country.
For editorial purposes, provide your e-mail address, phone and fax number(s) and the time of day/ weekend you can be reached. These will not appear in the published review.

Submitting the review

Format
In order of preference, reviewers may send submissions by e-mail (either as an attachment or pasted in the body of the message), or typed on an 8 1/2" x 11" paper, double-spaced (to allow for editorial changes on paper). Be sure to retain a copy of the review for your files. Reviewers are responsible for the accuracy of statements included.

Editing
Editors will review the submission and edit for grammar, style, and length. If substantial revisions occur, the submission will be sent to the reviewer for comment. Reviews that do not adequately address the contents and educational value of the assigned material will be returned to the reviewer, with suggestions for revising the review prior to resubmission.

Confidentiality
The content of your review is confidential until the review is published. If anyone asks to see what you have written, or asks for your opinion about reviewed materials, please refer that person to the editor. Reviewers may not share the content of their reviews with anyone other than the review editor until publication.

For additional information contact the editor Nicole Bernshaw at nicole.bernshaw@comcast.net