How to Write a Book Report?

Prior to writing a book report or even before sketching the outline, it is first important for you to understand the difference between a book report and book review. A book report is different from a book review in that it only summarizes a literary work and discusses its strength and weaknesses unlike a book review that also present the author’s interpretation of the book. While writing a book report may overlap some areas with writing a book review, there are some distinct elements i.e. writing style, tone and format that separate out these two different types of paper. Here some helpful tips to write a successful book report:
Read the book thoroughly. Create notes of important information while reading the book. Note down the key themes of the book and underline the parts that you consider as highlights of the book.
Now considering your notes, create an outline. Write down the information in such a way that can give a clear idea about what you should write in your report. Arrange your outline in a standard essay layout i.e. introduction, body and conclusion.
Start your report with an interesting introductory paragraph. Here you will give a basic overview of the book that includes title of the book, author along with a summary of the book within a few words.
Afterwards, you will write the body part where you will discuss in detail about what you have mentioned in the introduction. Here you will describe the societal overtones discussed in the book and how they contribute in the story. Discuss the characters involved in the story and how they developed in the plot.
Lastly, you have to summarize your report in the conclusion. Here you will also touch upon other aspects that could have made the book more interesting to read. Finish up your report on a meaningful note.
Important Tips to Remember!
Note the writing style of the author and how successful he was in conveying his message.
Use excerpts from the book to illustrate the strong and weak points of the book.
Since book report is a summary of an author’s work, it is important that you keep your report focused on the important points while avoiding all the clutter.
And last but not the least; be sure to edit your work thoroughly before submitting it to the college. Having spelling and grammar errors in your report can significantly affect the quality of your work and ultimately your grades.