Get documents about "Book Report Guide
Document Sample
Name: ___________________________________
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This guide will help you read your selected
or
novel and write your report.
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2006-2007
Let’s get started!
Who are your reading partners in the book report project? __________________________
__________________________
__________________________
What is the name of your selected novel? __________________________
Who is the author? __________________________
How many pages is the novel? __________________________
How many chapters is the novel? __________________________
Vocabulary will probably be the most difficult problem when
you are reading your novel for the first time. You will
Vocabulary probably find many new words that you don’t understand.
You should write these new words down. If you think a new
word is very important to the story, you should look it up in
the dictionary!
There will be three main parts to your book report:
Introduction
The introduction should include two main things: 1) Background information 2) A general
overview of the story
Background information
• Information about the author
• Information about the book
A general overview
• setting (time/place)
• what happens
Summary
The summary is the part of the report in which you “report” the story of the book. Here
are some important things to remember about the summary:
• PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SUMMARY IS WRITTEN IN ONE
TENSE (past tense is best).
• If the story is written in the first person (“I/me”), please write the summary in the
third person (“he/she”).
• DO NOT PLAGARIZE( )! Be very careful when writing your report –
especially the summary. If I think you have copied parts directly from the novel,
you will lose points or even possibly fail the report.
Conclusion/Review
This is maybe the most important part of the book report, because this is where you write
your “feelings” about the book. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when
you write your conclusion:
• Did you like the story? Was it interesting?
• What was good about the book?
• What was bad about the book?
• What did you learn?
Fill in the information from chapter 1 of your novel:
Reading Chapter 1
1) What characters are we introduced to in the first chapter? Underline the main character.
2) Briefly describe each of the characters (age, job, personality etc.):
3) Where is the story taking place?
4) List three things that happen in chapter 1:
Fraser’s example:
Reading Chapter 1
1) What characters are we introduced to in the first chapter? Underline the main character.
Yossarian, the doctor, the nurse, Milo Mindbender, Yossarian’s son
2) Briefly describe each of the characters (age, job, personality etc.):
Yossarian - retired (old?) man
the nurse - pretty young woman; blond hair; kind to Yossarian
Milo Mindbender - Yossarian’s business partner; he loves money
3) Where is the story taking place?
Place: New York Time: ?
4) List three things that happen in chapter 1:
•Yossarian wakes up in the hospital
•Yossarian asks the nurse for a date, but she says no
•Milo Mindbender visits Yossarian in the hospital
Writing your Introduction
Here are two book report introductions that have been written by past students. Please read
the introductions and answer the questions on the next page.
Introduction A
Introduction
The name of the book I read is “Mr. Midshipman Hornblower”. The book was
written by Cecil Scott Forester. This book is a kind of adventure story. I liked it.
Introduction B
Introduction
Johnathan Swift was born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland and he grew up there.
Besides writing, he always helped poor people and was responsible for starting a
hospital for the poor. Swift’s most famous book, “Gulliver’s Travels” was published in
1726. It was a great success at the time, and was read by many people in the world.
Swift’s death in 1745 greatly saddened the Irish people.
This story is an adventure story. A man went to an island. There, he
encountered a dangerous accident. In spite of the accident, the man traveled to
various islands and experienced valuable things.
Look at Introduction A
Collect this information to start
writing your own book report
What is the name of the book?
introduction:
_________________________________
Who wrote the book?
_________________________________
Book name:
When was the author born?
When did the author die?
_________________________________ Author (name/birth):
When was the book written?
_________________________________
Written in (date):
Who are the main characters?
_________________________________
Where does the story take place? When does the story take place? Main characters:
_________________________________
What kind of story is it?
_________________________________ Setting (time/place):
What is the story about?
Genre:
.
Tips:
Look at Introduction B
It is important to include a
What is the name of the book?
little background
_________________________________
information of the book,
Who wrote the book?
and a general overview of
_________________________________ the story.
When was the author born?
When did the author die?
Remember: your
_________________________________
introduction doesn’t have
When was the book written?
to have ALL of this
_________________________________ information (for example,
you don’t have to include
Who are the main characters?
the main characters’
_________________________________
names).
Where does the story take place? When does the story take place?
_________________________________ You can use the internet to
research your author/book
What kind of story is it?
if you want, but remember
_________________________________ not to plagiarize!
What is the story about?
Your introduction doesn’t
have to include your
Which introduction do you think is better? Why? opinion of the book (that
will come in the
conclusion).
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is copying someone else’s writing and handing it in as your own work.
Plagiarism is cheating. If you plagiarize your book report, you will probably fail your writing
course.
There are three main kinds of plagiarism:
1) copying another person’s book report
2) having someone else write your book report
3) copying parts of your report directly from the book
#1 and #2 are very serious kinds of plagiarism, and universities often expel students for these
kinds of plagiarism.
#3 is a more common kind of plagiarism, and it sometimes happens by accident. Students
must be very careful when they are writing their book reports. You cannot copy any
sentences or paragraphs directly from the book you are reading.
Practice:
Here is a famous short story. Read it and write a brief summary. Do not plagiarize!
The Rabbit and the Tortoise
The rabbit was once bragging about his speed in front of the other animals. "I have never
been beaten," he said, "when I run as fast as I can. I challenge any one here to race with me."
The tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
"That is a good joke," said the rabbit; "I could dance around you all the way."
"Keep your bragging until you've won," answered the tortoise. "Shall we race?"
So a course was decided and they started the race. The rabbit darted almost out of sight at
once, but soon stopped and, to make fun of the tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The tortoise
plodded on and plodded on, and when the rabbit awoke from his nap, he saw the tortoise just
near the finish line and could not run up in time to save the race.
Then the tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the race."
Write your summary on a separate piece of paper. Do not look at this story when you write
your summary. Your summary should be shorter than 40 words.
The Vocabulary Bank
Chapter 1 __________________________ How to remember
__________________________ new vocabulary:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________ 1) Write the word down
__________________________
It’s good to have some kind of
__________________________
vocabulary notebook to write down
__________________________
new words and expressions. If you
__________________________
don’t write down new vocabulary,
__________________________
you will forget it very quickly!
__________________________
__________________________
Example: Fraser’s new word...
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________ Chapter __
__________________________
__________________________ 2) Make your own
__________________________ sentences using the
__________________________ new word
__________________________
__________________________ Try to make sentences using your new
__________________________ vocabulary. If you can make a
__________________________ sentence about your own life, it will
help you remember the word.
__________________________
Chapter 2
Fraser’s example sentence:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________ 3) Try to use the new
__________________________ word in conversation
__________________________ as much as possible
__________________________
__________________________ Some experts think that we must use
__________________________ a new word an average of seven
__________________________ times before that word becomes part
of our permanent vocabulary. When
__________________________ Chapter __ you have a chance to have an English
conversation, try to use the new
__________________________ words you have recently studied.
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________ Good Luck Reading!
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Chapter __
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
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