The Reader's Guide to Women's Studies includes entries on some 500 topics in women's studies and women's history. Each entry consists of a listing of the best-known books on the subject (usually 6 to 12), and an essay of 800 to 1000 words, prepared by an expert in the field, in which these works are thoroughly discussed. The essays provide advice on the range and depth of coverage as well as the emphasis and point of view espoused in each publication. For example: the essay on "Bible: Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible" distinguishes clearly between Trible's God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (with its focus on word study) and Laffey's Introduction to the Old Testament: A Feminist Perspective (with its survey approach to texts that include women).

The Reader's Guide to Women's Studies is a searching and analytical description of the most prominent and influential works written in the now universal field of women's studies. Some 200 scholars have contributed to the project which adopts a multi-layered approach allowing for comprehensive treatment of its subject matter. Entries range from very broad themes such as "Health: General Works" to entries on specific individuals or more focused topics such as "Doctors."