5 Great Tips for Writing A Book Report

Does your kid need to write a book report? Well, look no further, this article could help your kid write an A-worthy paper!

Step 1: Take Notes on Each Chapter

You should have notes on each chapter, so that you can include it in your book report. They should be very detailed, and be sorted as follows:

1. Character Development
This should be a major part of any book report. Put down a bunch of characters, and the write what happens to them in each chapter. Be sure to include as many characters as you can that are not transient. Some characters may appear transient, but are not (transient means that they are a one time encounter, and are not important later). For example, in Great Expectations the criminal in the first chapter may seem transient, but he does come back in the next chapter, so write about him.

2. Plot Development
Write down anything major that happens. If a character dies, or something gets destroyed, write about it.

3. Setting Changes
Write about the specifics of settings, and what changes.

4. Quotes
Write down anything that sounds cool, or interesting, and include it in your book report.

Step 2: Create Flashcards for Each Character

This step is pretty self-explanatory. Write about the development of each character throughout the book, their relatives, and anything else important.

Step 3: Read What You Need to Write About

Some classes assign very specific book report topics while others have very general topics. They will also very on factuality of the essays, and the focus.

Some teachers want you to write an opinion (“What did you think about…”, “Did you agree with…”, “How would you have behaved differently in…”). If you must write an opinion book report, do not just make a long-winded opinion to meet the 1,500 word requirement. Provide factual description, and back up your opinion with support from the book.

Perhaps you have read the book Great Expectations, and think that the main character should have been kinder to his benefactor. If so, then provide support for your opinion, with “historical” evidence, how he could have behaved differently, and make predictions on the outcome. If there is an element of risk, analyze the risk, and state possible outcomes. The key elements of opinion essays are as follows:

1. Thesis: Must involve your opinion and hint at the evidence
2. Evidence from the reading: Should involve specific page evidence, quotes, and more general plot developments
3. Analysis of specific examples: No matter what opinion you are writing about, you can apply it to specific examples and either say why you think they were good, or how they could have been better
4. Predictions on how something would have changed: Personality of characters, development of plot, location/setting, and potential dialogue could all change as a result of something happening differently. If you liked the way the author dealt with the book, then describe how you agree, and what you think was done well, and any critiques.
5. Counterpoints: Why other people may disagree with you. If you can, include a refutation.
6. Conclusion: Should make final statements

Other teachers want a more factual recounting of the events, and then an in depth analysis of character, plot, setting, and/or dialogue in the book report. Examples of this might include”Analyze Author’s usage of setting, and how that ties in with the personality of the characters, the dialogue, and how it develops the plot.” For these, focus heavy on factual analysis of the four mentioned elements. Don’t forget to include the following:

1. Thesis: Must be factual, such as with the book The Count of Monte Cristo: “Edmond Dantes’ desire for revenge forces him to reckon with three difficult moral concepts, which Alexandre Dumas subtly resolves.”

That report could then go on to discuss the concepts of how people can change as time goes on, how Edmond does not want to become the very person whom he is punishing, and how by taking his revenge he is hurting the people whom he loves most. Then go on to say how Dumas deals with and resolves the moral issues.

2. Use factual examples from each of the four categories: Plot Development, Setting, Character Development, and Dialogue. Remember, in books we are only shown what the author wants us to see. If your report is on the author, analyze what the author sees as important based off of those four elements.

For example, most authors do not describe the process of washing hands, or anything relating to that, because it is irrelevant to what they want the reader to experience.
The setting (a bathroom) is probably irrelevant, there is little plot development (suddenly we learn the character has clean hands), most likely no character development, and little to no dialogue.

However, if this were a murder mystery centered around a bathroom, or a book describing the plight of someone who is scared of bathrooms, or in general has something important for a bathroom, every detail counts

3. Analyze point of view: Point of view can greatly vary, and is a direct choice of the author. First person and second person are very uncommon, so if it is used, mention it, and describe its importance. If third person is used, describe what type, is it third person omniscient (we know the character’s thoughts, details he/she may not be aware of, and everything that happens), or is it more limited (more like a fly on the wall following a character around).

4. Structure your essay in a logical manner: It could be chronologically organized, or it could be different as long as it is logical. Teachers do not want to read a poorly written book report.

As a general rule, factual book reports tend to involve more analysis, while opinion book reports require more factual backing up of an argument. For that reason, factual essays tend to make statements, while opinion essays tend to ask open ended questions.

Some essays, however, are a little bit of both, such as: “How do the needs Character X interfere with Main Character’s  desires, and how does Main Character deal with them? Do you agree with how Main Character dealt with it? Explain.” Develop the mentioned strategies according to what your essay requires.

Remember: Every teacher is different, and has different requirements. These are just general guidelines. Listen to your teacher. It is more than likely that either she has said what a good essay has been composed of, or it is written in your textbook.

Step 4: Use Adult Vocabulary in Your Book Report

Write well, using sophisticated vocabulary that is applied accurately.

Do not use words that don’t belong just because they look long or sophisticated. I recommend having a good thesaurus, and changing your usage of verbs. Do not write with “to be” verbs or “can” verbs. Be definitive, nobody wants to read an essay that makes no solid point. If you can’t defend your views, then either come up with a defense or change your views to become more reasonable.

I recommend Roget’s Thesaurus for Writers. It provide “excellent”, “amazing”, “wonderful”, “great” advice to those that need help choosing the right word for a sentence, gives a small contextual definition of the word, and offers plenty of synonyms to choose from.

Step 5: Do not Be General

Go back through your essay. Read it out loud, or to yourself. Then ask yourself questions about it. If you can’t answer those questions, then add them in there. For example, if you write a book report on Don Quixote, but do not every explain why he behaves in the way that he does, add it.

Also, go back through the key points of the book, if you are missing anything vital, add that to your report as well. Do not just avoid something because you do not want to write about it.

Do not make general statements like: “The book was good”, “He writes well”, etc. Be specific. Say “Alexandre Dumas uses a wide array of adjectives in his work to make it seem like the reader is really experiencing what Edmond Dantes is experiencing.”

If you liked this article, be sure to read the article on Rhetorical Analysis on planandorganize.com. I hope this helps you write the perfect book report! Here’s to an A+ on your book report!