WRITING A BOOK REPORT
Adapted from Jean Huot’s website:
http://station05.qc.ca/csrs/bouscol/anglais/book_report/scenario3/html
What plan should you follow when writing your book report?
First, read the book carefully. Then write a short summary of each of its nine chapters.
At the end of each chapter, the author (s) usually restates the chapter’s main idea. You
may select points to develop in your book report from these chapter summaries.
Second, study the plan below.
Third, write your outline. Refer to the model attached.
Fourth, write your rough draft, and have a tutor check it.
Fifth, write your final draft.
Book reports may vary greatly in subject and in style. However, almost all book reports
may follow a simple plan which will include the following three-part pattern of
organization: introduction, body, and conclusion.
1. Introduction
The first section of a book report consists of a simple paragraph that introduces
the topic and the main idea of the book report. The introduction includes the
title of the book, the author’s name, and the topic or theme. The most
important sentence is the thesis statement, the sentence that tells the main idea
of the book report. Why is this book important, or why is it a failure? Give
the two or three ideas in your thesis that you will discuss from the book. The last
sentence in the introduction is the thesis statement.
2. Body
The middle section consists of three or more developmental paragraphs.
The first paragraph is a synopsis, or brief summary (6-8 sentences), of the book
organized in the same order as the book itself.
The next two or three body paragraphs explain topics related to the subject matter
of your book. Organize them in order of importance to your thesis, from
important to most important. Develop each paragraph using a topic sentence
followed by supporting details, which explain or support the topic sentence,
transition words to link the details, and a concluding statement.
Add direct quotations from the book to support the general statements and to lend
authenticity to the report, using parenthetical documentation, After the
statement(s) taken from the book, include the author’s last name, followed by the
page number. (author’s last name, 135).
3. Conclusion
The final section consists of a single brief paragraph that reveals the book’s
contribution and the reader’s reaction to the book as it relates to the subject
matter of the class. The most important sentence in the conclusion restates and
emphasizes the main idea of the book report. That sentence is called the
concluding statement.
WRITING THE OUTLINE FOR THE BOOK REPORT
The Title of the Book
1. Introduction: You should have two to four sentences and a thesis statement.
2. Body: Three (or four) paragraphs:
1. First paragraph: Main idea (important)
a. Supporting idea
b. Supporting idea
c. Supporting idea
2. Second paragraph: Main idea (important)
a. Supporting idea
b. Supporting idea
c. Supporting idea
3. Third paragraph: Main idea (the most important)
a. Supporting idea
b. Supporting idea
c. Supporting idea
3. Conclusion: the concluding statement
WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT OF THE BOOK REPORT
The fourth step is to draft and write your report on the outline above while paying
attention to the following guidelines:
1. For the introduction, see if the author has written other books. You might use
Google or go to amazon.com. Also, look up the author’s background and make note of
what relates to this book’s subject matter.
2. The first paragraph is a short synopsis that should not be longer than one fifth of the
report.
3, Maintain unity within the report as you develop two or three other paragraphs
including supporting details and quotations from the book. Omit irrelevant details.
4. Use transitions to help the reader move logically from sentence to sentence and idea to
idea. Provide words like “while, also, in addition, of course, consequently, on the other
hand, however, although, so, in fact, moreover”, etc.
5. Be considerate of your readers by using vocabulary and sentence structure adequate to
your subject.
6. End with an effective clincher; i.e., a decisive fact, argument, opinion, etc.
7. Have your paper reviewed by a tutor before submitting it.
8. Submit all three parts of the Book Report: (1) questions, the PowerPoint, and the
Book Report itself.