How to Write a Book Report
A book report is just a summary of what you have read in a book. It is easy to master the necessary skills needed to write a book report.
Requirements
You’ll need:
A book
A computer or a typewriter (depending on your resources)
Many sheets of bond paper (whose size depends on the specifications of your class or organization)
Liquid white-out (for correcting mistakes in typing)
A legal pad (for those who prefer handwritten notes and outlines)
Pen or pencil
A dictionary, and maybe even an encyclopedia (so that you can research on facts)
Instructions
Here is how to go ahead with your book report:
It is always important to know why you were asked to create a book report first. For leisurely types of book reports, choose a fiction novel or humorous non-fiction work. For scholarly book reports, choose a more serious type of book.
Find out what your instructor or superior is looking for, first. If the teacher gives you a free hand, then that is great. You can write even a humor-filled book report in that case. But if he wants a book report which is a detailed analysis and no more, stick to the rules.
Check if the instructor or superior has allowed you to insert your own opinions into the report. If not, do not do so. There will come a time when you will be asked for your own opinions, so be patient.
Proceed to read the book. It helps to jot down notes as you read through. If you own the book, you may highlight or underline passages. Then make comments in the margin. If you prefer, you can put small slips of paper to mark pages you find important. You can write down small notes to yourself on those slips of paper.
Ask yourself what the main point of the book is. You can usually glean this from the title and introduction.
You may use your legal pad or a word processing document to create an outline first. This helps create the structure for your report. It prevents the integration of irrelevant digressing material into the flow of the report. It also makes you more confident that you are on the right track.
Some may prefer to use one page in their legal pad or electronic document contain all the questions, comments, and related information for one branch of their outline. This is very useful to prevent your thoughts from mixing and meshing into one messy report. You can even make one file in the word processing software contain all the necessary information for one branch of the outline. This is a very good idea, especially for those who have a lot to say.
Even for book reports that are purely for academic credit, it is important to write carefully. You may find your thoughts to be noteworthy enough to be expanded into a bigger document later in your life. A well-written book report will also hone your critical thinking and writing skills. In the end, you will always benefit from a well-made book report.