WRITING A BOOK REPORT/BOOK REVIEW

WRITING A BOOK REPORT/BOOK REVIEW

Use the following guidelines to organize and write your book report. The example sentences may help you as you write.

Paragraph 1 (Introduction): Give facts about the book (title, author, maybe the date of publication). Explain in one sentence the main idea of the book, including the genre. It might be a mystery, adventure, love story, comedy, family drama, etc. It could be a novel or a short story collection (fiction), or it could be a biography, a history, or another form of nonfiction.

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic American novel written by Mark Twain. It was first published in 1876 but is based on the author’s memories of his childhood. It is about the adventures of a boy growing up in a small town on the Mississippi River. The main adventure involves a crime drama.

Paragraph 2: Introduce the setting (the place and time of the action) and the characters (people).

• The story is set in (Tokyo/Los Angeles/the English countryside/outer space) …
• The story takes place (in the early 1800s/during the war in…/in the present) …
• The main character is …

Paragraph 3: Summarize the events in the story (the plot). Use two paragraphs if necessary, but don’t try to explain everything.( only from chapter 1 to chapter 8) Keep it brief. You can choose either present or past tense to explain the plot, but be consistent.

• It tells the story of (a character) … OR It is based on the real life story of (a person) …
• As the story develops, we learn that …
• Finally … OR In the end …

Paragraph 4: State your opinions/reactions and the reasons why you did or didn’t like it.

• The story was (convincing/not convincing) because …
• This book made me (laugh/cry/think) …
• I was (disappointed/surprised/touched) by the ending because …

Paragraph 5 (Conclusion): Write a conclusion, including your recommendations about who should read the book.

• In short, this is an exciting, fast-paced story which should appeal to anyone who wants some light reading at an intermediate level of English.
• The language and vocabulary in this book are difficult, but with a little effort you will enjoy a great story and learn a lot about American society and history.
• Although this book was written for children, it can be enjoyed by anyone who is young at heart.

Note that the above guidelines are best suited for a novel, or biography or history. If you read a collection of stories, you may need to focus on just one or two examples. If you read a book about psychology or science or other type of nonfiction, you will need to use Paragraphs 2 and 3 to describe the content, since the book may not have any setting, characters, or plot.