It is a common thing for Literature teacher to give various types of assignments for the students; book reports are one of them. More and more often, they instruct students to write a review of the book. And if earlier such an assignment was given only after the summer holidays, now it can be given at any time of the school year. And the task is given out, but to explain exactly how it should be performed, they usually either forget or cannot say clearly. The reports are supposed to be written in a competent way having high quality. Unfortunately, few people know how to create a really amazing paper to make the reader interested in it. This article is going to provide you with rules and pieces of advice on how to write a good paper and prepare a book report outline of high standards.
Essential Aspects of a Book Report
First of all, remember that a report differs from a review. In the case of the latter, it is necessary to share a personal opinion and make an assessment of it. It is supposed to be mentioned whether the book makes you happy or upset and provide the reasons. A hook is a must too. Tell some special things that the author uses and some artistic means which are unique and differs he book from others.
Remember that there are three main constituents of writing. The first one is the title. It should be catchy and smart. It is the basis of all writing. The text of the report is the body of the paper. The end or conclusion goes at last. Pay attention to the end. Sometimes happens that students do their best to prepare a cool beginning and the main part, but they are lack of energy to write a cool conclusion. Don’t make such mistakes. Make sure all the parts are worth reading.
Rules to Follow for Creating a Good Report of the Book
There are basic principles and rules that each time helps students to highlight the important, to emphasize the main things, and not to miss important details while preparing a book report.
Highlight Important
In the process of reading, it is important to highlight all the thoughts that are interesting to you that are found in the text. Take notes by hand, bookmark, or write out right away. Little tabs are preferably used by many people. These marks mean the parts of writing to be important. In the case of e-books, everything is much simpler – as it is possible to select just the desired fragment.
Capture Your Impressions
Thoughts and ideas have a definite tendency to disappear as quickly as they appear. Especially while reading. So record the essentials—the more important aspect you put, the better. Any available materials are available to be used: notes on the phone, a diary, a notebook, or write at the end of a book (sometimes pages are allocated “for notes” there).
Analysis of the Book Matters
It is obvious that every paper is a source of new data. Transform everything into the knowledge. Before writing a review, you are advised to review all the necessary things. Quotes will help refresh the plot, and the thoughts will help build a complete picture of the impression of the work. The notebook with writing helps a lot with this. Create it with a new page for each book. Write out the title, author, dates of publication, and reading, and most importantly, you could rewrite the most beloved and wise quotes from the book, supplementing it with the thoughts a little. This serves as a kind of summary. Besides, after any period of time, it is possible to turn to the notes and refresh memories of the book.
Timeliness Is a Must
Don’t postpone writing a report. The fresher and brighter the impressions of the work, the sincerer and deeply the message can be conveyed to the reader. Otherwise, over time, thoughts may fade a little, lose their former vitality. Take your time to think about, analyze, and write a review. Everything depends on the book and the mood.
Check Everything
In case the review has a big volume, it is recommended that you reread it sometimes before handing in. A fresh perspective will help to identify small mistakes, omissions, add some thoughts, or include something new. This will make the report completed.
The Criteria for a Good Book Report
Make sure there is complete information about the author of the book. Include the title, topic, year of publication. Don’t forget about the key points of the story. Use an analytical approach for cool results: examine and substantiate all the good and bad that is at work. Make sure there is enough data. The report has a size of some pages. Mention of previous works and regalia of the author, without subservience or bias. Avoid personality transitions; insults call for various types of discord. The absence of any errors is a must in the report.
Book Report Outline
A great paper means an amazing preparation. So plan an outline. Nobody bothers if the outline is made, but it is better to write one.
The first thing to write is a bibliographic description. Indicate not only the year of the publication but also an author and the publisher. Put a little part with retelling here. As a rule, it is up to three sentences, not to spoil the plot. Personal impressions go next.
The analytical part is the biggest one having data concerning a structure and the content of the book. Guess all the pluses and the minuses of writing. End with the final assessment and personal conclusions of the reviewer about the relevance and “professional suitability” of the book, recommendations to readers. Don’t be too emotional while writing this type of paper.
Evaluation of the Text
Start everything with the evaluation of the book. First impression matters. Mention if it is powerful, weak, pleasant, etc. Continue with the plot. Think it to be logical. Are all parts coherent and predictable?
As most people find similar characters to them and might become fans. The task of the writer is to make them as real as possible. Details of the costumes, the psychology of nature, and their reactions to the events should be considered. Find somebody who awakes your emotions.
Language, together with style and tone of voice, should be discussed too. Reliability is supposed to be everywhere. The characters need to wear appropriate clothes and look in the right way so that the reader feels the whole atmosphere. Fantasizing is the thing to talk about. It should be used correctly.
Pay attention to the relationships, reactions of the characters to various events, and their motives. Evaluate the whole text and tell if it is smart and logical and whether it makes the reader interested.
Start the Report
Begin everything as logically as possible. The structure is one of the things for the right start. Have a short introduction. This ensures the reader gets acquainted with the necessary about the author and book. A quote is a good choice. Books, like films, have some bright slogans that could be used. It is the choice of the report’s author to choose it. Offer your interpretation of the quotes. Catchy, interesting phrases attract.
Convey a message throughout the report. Prepare the theses and develop the thoughts. Include crucial facts that will ease the perception of the text. Follow the same style and language. Work on stylistic means. Don’t copy text, and don’t repeat yourself. Avoid dialects and idioms. Remove all unnecessary phrases. Short sentences are a must for such type of paper. Don’t overload the text with long structures and phrases. If there are some crucial thoughts in one sentence, try to divide them and make visible. Avoid professional vocabulary as the report aims to be easily understood by every reader. If there are some unclear aspects, it is obligatory to explain them. Divide your writing into chapters and prepare nice subheadings. Read everything loud and ensure writing sounds great and it is written done in the appropriate way. Come up with some ideas on how to improve it.
Book reports are not difficult to write but pay attention to all the details. Only following the rules and efficient pieces of advice will allow creating a smart paper to impress the teacher. Take enough time, have some practice, and see what great progress you make in just some days of work. The more you write, the better the skills. It is always possible to boost academic performance with a report of good quality and become one of the best students.
