Book report format is a structure of your report that should have an opening paragraph, about three body paragraphs, and a closing paragraph.
What is a Book Report?
A book report is an essay summarizing a book/story to check for the reader’s comprehension skills and ability to express their thoughts. It allows students to think deeply about a book they have read as a way of demonstrating their understanding. A book report should not be confused with a book review as the latter seeks to analyze a book with the goal of identifying the key arguments as well as evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the book.
The objective of the book report is to provide a summary of a book by giving a short description of the plot, characters, setting and theme of writing. It does not require one to make an argument about anything. Book report writing lays a foundation for effective essay writing by equipping the students with the ability to communicate basic information clearly before they are required to write logically and make thorough arguments.
Book report writing can be a challenging task as students may struggle giving judgments about the content as they are uncertain as to what standards apply. It requires time, preparation and practice on the writer’s part to create favorable book reports. In elementary level, teachers supply the students with working sheets with leading questions and prompts for easier writing. As students progress through their academic journey, they are required to write and critically analyze their thoughts independently.
Students need to read and evaluate the book with care before embarking on book report writing. Whether it’s a popular scientific book, fiction story or journalistic investigation, it’s important to create an outline and have a particular format to follow when writing the report.
What Is a Book Report Format
Book report format is a structure of your report that consists of an opening paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a closing paragraph.
There is great flexibility in how one can design a book report but it always helps to follow a specific format when writing. If your teacher recommends a given format, it may be wise to stick with those instructions first. Here is a helpful guide on how to format a book report.
Introductory Paragraph
The introduction should be a simple paragraph that lists the name and author of the book. It should also provide a brief summary of what the book is about and describe the setting as well. Finally, it should include a thesis statement stating the main point of the book in a clear and concise manner.
Body Paragraph
The body is where the main points of your essay are discussed. Your teacher can quickly determine if you really understood the book just by going through this part of the book report. For fiction and other creative writing, you will need to describe in detail the main characters of the story and the common conflicts the book presents. You can then summarize the plot and show how it relates to the conflict then finally describe how the conflict is resolved. For non-fiction writing, students need to explain the author’s purpose and main ideas of the book. This is done by providing a general overview of the author’s main points followed by additional text to support the idea. It’s significant to think about the order in which your ideas are going to be presented. Students are advised to start with the most relevant and interesting ideas down to the least relevant for a logical flow of ideas.
Conclusion
The conclusion sums up the entire paper as a whole and gives you the opportunity to give your personal opinions. While analyzing the book, ensure you explain and support your views with examples from the text. You can give your general reaction to the book, if you found the book to be intriguing, moving, dull etc or if you would recommend it to other readers. Of importance is to gather your thoughts together by tying together issues raised in the report and briefly restating your main points and thesis statement.
When you are done writing the book report, revise the final copy by proofreading to make sure everything is spelled correctly with the use of proper grammar and punctuation.
Book Report Outline
Depending on the grade level, type of assigned work and the teacher’s instructions, a book report can be anywhere between one and five or more paragraphs provided all the essential elements are included. Your book report should be between 500 to 800 words in length and shouldn’t exceed two double-spaced pages. Students can follow this book report template to summarize, interpret and evaluate the main ideas of a text.
- Name:
- Date:
- Book Title:
- Date of Publication:
- Number of Pages:
- Main Characters: ( who is the story about)
- Setting: (Describe the book setting – where did the story take place)
- Synopsis: (Summary of the book)
- Key Points: ( what motivates the characters)
- Analysis/Evaluation: (Give a personal review here)
- Conclusion: (Sum it up)
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