Authority
- Who is the author?
- What are her qualifications for writing on this subject?
- Does the author have a point of view? How does it come across in the text?
Organization
- How is the subject matter organized? Is it constructed in a logical way?
- Are facts and concepts easy to follow and understand, keeping in mind the age of the intended audience?
- Is there a table of contents, an index, any appendices? Are they organized clearly?
Design
- How are illustrations or photographs used? Do they support and/or extend the information presented?
- Are photos clearly captioned?
- How are design elements used to support and extend the subject matter? Are sidebars, graphs, charts, infographics, and other elements integrated into the design? Are they effective?
- Is the style and size of the typeface pleasing and appropriate for the intended audience?
- Does the text flow in and around design elements in a pleasing way? Must readers flip pages back and forth in order to follow along? If so, does it break up the flow of the reading experience?
Style
- How is the information presented? Is it dry, matter-of-fact, lively, thrilling?
- Does the tone respect the intelligence of the intended audience?
- Are stereotypes used? Is didactic or condescending language used?
Documentation
- Is there an index? A bibliography? Footnotes or endnotes? How are they organized?
- What sources are used: primary, secondary? Are they up-to-date?
- Is additional backmatter included? How does it extend learning and inquiry for readers?