How To Write a Book Report
Book reports and reviews have plenty of things in common. Book
reports usually take descriptive form and focus on the content of the
book. Book reviews are more into expressing the reviewer’s own opinion
about the book and often contain advice whether a reader should read it
or not. So, these are just a little bit different angles of the same
view. Despite their differences, both types of papers may contain
summary and commentary. The main aim of both book reviews and book
reports is to give the reader a certain attitude to the book under
consideration.
If you do not know
how to write a high school book report, there
are different ways for you to express your own impressions about a book
and to demonstrate your attitude to it. Remember that the more
interesting your review or report is, the more your audience will be
excited in finding this or that book. Perhaps, you may be the one who
impacts your classmates as readers or even touch your teacher’s feeling
about a particular book. There is no need to say that it is impossible
to base a book review (or report) on other reviews (or reports). Always
use the primary source. Using the secondary ones is optional, but
advisable.
Usually, teachers have their own patterns as to how their students
should write their works. No doubt that it is better to follow them, as
it can make you more popular with your teachers. The basic rules,
however, are quite general. Here are some useful tips that will help
you, no matter what requirements your teachers have.
What Your Introduction Is to Include
It is a part of an essay that is to give essential information about
the book that you are going to review. It also should be a very
informative and entertaining part. In case your reader won’t be
attracted by your introduction, there is little chance that he will
continue reading your paper further. The necessary things to include
are:
- The title and the name of the author. You can add some information about the author, but don’t make this part too long.
- The year when a book was published. That information is really
easy to find out. A publisher and the number of pages are indicated
inside front cover. So don’t rely too much on unlicensed low-quality
electronic copies.
- The genre of the book. It gets really interesting if the genre is controversial.
- Introducing the book under consideration briefly.
The Main Body
This section usually consists of two parts. The first part concerns
the book itself. The second one is more about your opinion about it and
of the book. Don’t forget that there are certain differences between
book reports for different genres.
As mentioned above, in the second part, you may analyze the reasons
why the book had become successful (or whether it was successful during
the author’s lifetime, which did not happen to a great share of classic
literature). Thinking about what led the author to create this work is
another great idea, alongside with who inspired the author.
Description of the idea and the plot is also an important part of
every book review. It is a good choice to start with comparing the main
idea with the similar ones in other pieces of literature. This part is
important if you want to talk about the impact this particular work has
left in the history of literature. Everything else depends on the genre
of the book.
Fiction
Analyzing a piece of fiction literature is a bit different from
analyzing non-fiction books. Mind this before writing your paper. In
this part, pay your attention to the setting of the book, the narrator,
the protagonist and also specify the mood of the book.
Write a suitable plot summary. Focus on the main events, and plot twists
of the book, and literary devices that were used to convey them. Be
careful and try not to spoil the story for those, who haven’t read it
yet. This is considered to be one of the worst mistakes among book
reviewers.
Non-fiction
Write about the author’s topic, the main points of the book and the
idea that it has. Why is this book important? Why not? This can make
your reader easier to consider whether to read this or that book or not.
Don’t focus your attention on the things described or argued in every
chapter. Especially, when the book is full of different points of view
compared. Chose those which are essential or most significant for you
personally. This is your review, and it can be based on events that
matter to you personally.
How to Write an Analytical or Critique Work
This part is dedicated to criticism of the book. Don’t be afraid to
write about things you didn’t understand in the book or things that
seemed to be uninteresting to you. Also, feel free to write about your
own attitude towards the book. Don’t forget to provide it with good
examples to make your criticism more objective. Think about such
aspects:
- Was the author successful in delivering his ideas?
- Is the form of the book is suitable enough for the author’s purpose?
- What are the strong and the weak features of the book?
- Is the author qualified enough to write about this or that subject? Do you agree with author personally?
- Did the book impress you and to which extent? Why?
- Can you recommend it to someone? Is it worth for a reader to spend his time on it?
How to Summarize
Look thoroughly through the text. Is your review well thought? It is
possible for you to restate your own opinion of the book, or you may
warn your readers what is waiting for them under the cover. Don’t be shy
and express your thoughts. Mind that different groups of readers may
take the same book differently. Always leave your reader something to
think about, even if they decide not to read the book itself.