Writing Book Reports

writing book reports"writing book reports"

Penning Really Good Book Reports

There are many ways to write about literature, but one of the first forms that many people come into contact with is the book report. This form is one of the simplest to master, but writing a coherent, interesting, and complete book report takes practice and skill. This guide will show you how.

A book report is typically focused on the plot of the book: what is the story about and what happens in it? However, a truly outstanding book report contains more than that. It is a good idea to include some information on the historical background of the work, and also how it affected you. What did you think of it? Did it inspire you? Change you? Bore you? You can even add in some of the elements of literary analysis: what was the author trying to say, and what tools did he or she use to say it?

Your book report should answer these questions. How you answer them is what makes the difference between a good book report and a bad one. The key thing to remember in any type of writing about fiction is the principle of balance. If the reader wanted to know every single thing that happened in the book, they would go read it, so your job is the give the highlights.

Usually in a book report, it is acceptable to give away endings and plot details, so don't worry too much about that, but remember that you do not want to get bogged down in the minutia of the author's storytelling. You need to keep your book report flowing smoothly and moving along.

Start out with the title and author of the book, so that your audience knows what you are talking about. Once you have done that, you can give either a one-sentence summary of the setting and basic plot of the story, or perhaps a brief portrait of the main character. It really depends on the book: in this story, is the plot the most important thing, or is it the characters?

Think back to the characters as you move through the rest of your report, as well. In all likelihood, the protagonist will interact with many different people, and you don't need to include them all in your report. It is a good idea to focus on a few key events and characters, and leave out the rest.

At the end of your report, have a few lines that summarize the book in the reader's mind. You want to leave them eager to read it, and to let them know how you felt about it. In fact, one of the benefits of writing book reports is that they help you to crystallize in your mind exactly what it was that you liked or disliked about a book. Book reports do not have to be simply a dry retelling of the book: make them your own, and you will find that you enjoy writing them.

About the Author

Jay has been interested in family, finance and health issues for many years now. Please visit his latest website on how to choose the best
White Linen Pants
or
Womens Linen Pants
. The site offers shopping tips, reviews and pricing on many different types of linen pants.

How to Tutor - Book Report, 1 of 5


writing book reports
writing book reports
writing book reports