Book Marketing

Writing A Book ReportProducts Relating to 'Writing A Book Report'

Writing a book report can be a rewarding experience if you know how to go about it. It is basically like writing any other report but with its own peculiarities. In writing a book report, you need to understand certain register that is associated with it. For instance, you should understand such words like theme, setting, character and plot. Also, understand terms like climax and anti-climax. Nevertheless, you should also understand that writing a book report for a work of fiction is different from that of a work of non-fiction.

Understanding the Register

To begin with, let us discuss some words in the register of writing a book report:

Setting. The setting of a book is basically the time, period and place where the events in the book take place. For instance, the book, "The DaVinci Code", by Dan Brown is set basically in modern day Europe, France and Britain in particular. In writing a book report, an understanding of the setting is important in understanding certain aspects of the book.

Theme. The theme of a book centres on the main idea of the book. Why was the book written? So, for instance, the theme of Dan Brown's book is the perennial quest for the Holy Grail. Therefore, understanding the theme is essential in writing a book report. Knowing a book's purpose helps you in having an insight into the author's motive.

Character. The characters in a book are those individuals that are portrayed in the book. Characters in a book may not necessarily be human. They could be animals and even inanimate objects. For instance, in George Orwell's "Animal Farm", the main characters are actually animals. Understanding a character involves several issues. A character is known through what it does, what it says and what it thinks. Also, it is known by what other characters say and think about it. Finally, a character can be known by what the author writes about it.

Plot. A plot is the story told in a book. It involves the series of events that make up the whole story. A plot normally includes a build up to the defining moment in the story and the defining moment itself, which is known as the climax. After the climax, comes the anti-climax when the story retracts from its crescendo. When writing a book report, a thorough understanding of the plot is imperative. If not, you cannot write a good report.

Writing the Report

The first thing to do in writing a book report is to read the book. In fact, it would be better if you read the book more than once. Remember writing a book report for fiction is different from writing one for non-fiction and various formats apply. Therefore, you should first of all make sure you understand the requirement. Writing a book report could be a school assignment or a project. There is no standard format, but you could be lucky that the requirement could include the format for writing the report. Nevertheless, in writing a book report, you should include an introductory part, a main body and a conclusion.

The Introduction. When writing a book report, your introductory part should include the name of the book and the author. It should also describe the setting and a general overview of the book. The length of your report will determine how long your introduction would be but a rule of thumb is to limit your introduction to about ten percent of your report.

The Main Body. This is the part when you really bring out the report. The main body in writing a book report will deal with different issues depending on the type of book. When writing a book report for a fiction work, you would describe the main characters, the theme and the plot. In writing a book report for a non-fiction work, your area of concentration would be on the theme and how the author brings out the main ideas in the book.

The Conclusion. When writing a book report, you articulate your opinions about the book in the concluding part of your report. Remember that you would need to site examples from the book to support your arguments. When writing a book report, you summarise the issues in the book and test its strengths and weaknesses in the conclusion.

Conclusion

Writing a book report is a skill that can only be perfected through practice and effort. And always remember that you must read the book before you can write a book report. Do not try to cut corners. Anyone reading your report would easily know if you've read the book or not. Regardless of what type of book report you are writing, make sure that your writing is clear and concise. Writing a book report could be a tedious affair but it helps you learn skills that would be useful for you in other aspects of your life.

Article Published: Saturday 6th January 2007