Writing a book report may seem an effortless task at the very beginning. However, as you start working on it, you realize it requires individual writing skills and experience. For that reason, we provided all the necessary information on writing a book report below and hope it will help you create your perfect paper.
What Is a Book Report?
You should distinguish a book review and a book report. The latter is an explicit summary of the text. It requires making notes and creating a good outline. It will make the process easier. But here you find how you should do it step-by-step.
Steps Before Writing a Book Report
Writing a book report is not very different from writing some other types of essays. So follow the steps below and do it hassle-free.
1. Pick Your Book
You will need to write about something, so your first task is not even to read the book but to choose what you will learn. However, if your professor assigned you a specific topic, this will already make your work much more comfortable.
2. Read the Book
We hope you understand that to write a report on something, and you will need to read it first. Make sure to make the process easy and not torture for you. But in the process of reading, make notes when you think it is essential. It will help you create a good outline easier and faster. It will take you to the next level.
3. Write an Outline
After reading a source, this part is probably the most important, so don’t neglect to write an outline for your book report. The overall writing process takes about 20 minutes, so it will not take much of your time or effort but will make everything so much easier for you.
An outline is a sort of a draft that you still can edit, and that will help you write your paper within as long as five minutes only, so pay special attention to that critical step.
Basic Book Report Format
If you, just like many other students, have no idea where to put which information, you should follow our guidelines on format writing a book report.
If you have your unique system to follow and stick to it, you will succeed and will write your report quickly without any troubles. Of course, you can let your imagination and creativity free, but if you are not a creative person, follow the format we offer.
Introduction
What is an introduction? As a rule, it is necessary information about what you are going to tell in your essay. So make sure to provide a good statement. For example:
- Universal declaration. Here you can write something evident about the book. “Romeo and Juliette” by W. Shakespeare is the biggest drama of its time. Yes, it is obvious, but now you can go from here. Include this, as it may seem obvious, information.
- Body sentences. Now you should write up to five sentences with the information about the author, setting, and genre of the book under discussion. Don’t forget to support the thesis statement.
- Thesis statement. This part is the most important because here, you should provide some facts, in your opinion, supporting them with the examples from the book.
Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs should describe the book character (or characters), its purpose, and, of course, the plot of the book. Your task will be to monitor the experience of the role throughout the story, analyze its theme, etc.
As a rule, your book report will require you to write three body paragraphs, as well as any other essay. However, sometimes, teachers need only one section. Rarely, you may be required to write more than three ones. In other words, you are required to analyze the book.
Conclusion
The conclusion is the reflection of the introduction, but in other words. Here you should provide a summary of everything necessary that you have written in your presentation and what you have learned.
Think about whether you would recommend that book and write a reflection. Then go through all the body sentences and summarize the main arguments in each of the body paragraphs. Each of them should not be longer than just one sentence. Also, don’t forget to restate the thesis and admit why it is crucial.
Details to Include
It would also be useful to discuss why correctly you have chosen that book. The best thing is to write it in the introduction.
Any other essays do not allow going to personal, unlike the book reports. Here you can tell your reflection on the book, provide some connection between the life of the characters and your own, using real-life examples, etc. This way, you will develop your academic skills.
Listen to Your Teacher
Whatever you read in that article, you should not forget about the instructions provided by your teacher. So if your professor requires a certain number of paragraphs or a particular format, follow his instructions. In the process, you can use different resources to help you. It is popular to use online sources when you are in high school or college.
MLA Format
Just in case you didn’t get any instructions from your teacher, better use the MLA format for your writing. It is a standard college and high school format suitable for every student. We will remind you of the main rules of it:
- 12-size Times New Roman font for the body text;
- Double-space;
- Your name, teacher’s name, class, and the due date of the assignment are to be written at the top left of the page;
- The title is centered below the name and the information about the course;
- Paragraphs are indented with a tab;
- Add the number of the page at the top right of the one.
Showcase Your Style
Any book report is less formal than other standard essays. You can even go creative if the teacher doesn’t forbid it. Always provide your arguments on why you like or didn’t like the book. Showing your approach and style will only boost your grades. Revising a book can be a lot of fun for you, choose the right theme.