How to write a book report or a book review

Writing a book report is a common assignment in school. It gives you the chance to read a new book and share the experience with your teacher and classmates.

What is the difference between a book report and a book review? A book report is more descriptive, the idea is for you to demonstrate that you have read and understood the book. You have to describe the plot (the story of the book), the characters (the persons appearing in the book) and the genre (the theme of the book).

 A book review is more about your thoughts about the book. It is important to argue why or why not you would recommend someone else to read the book or specific segments or writing styles that you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy in the book.

How to write a book report step by step

There are many ways to write a book review and your teacher has probably provided you with some guidelines. Make sure you read through them and follow them.

Here is an example of how to write your book report if you haven’t got any guidelines:

1.       First of all, you have to write the title of the book underlined at the top of the page together with the name of the author. Ex. Tangerine by Edward Bloor.

2.       Second you have to describe the book details. Start off with the author and the name of the book again and mention briefly what the book is about. You can also mention why you picked this book and something you liked about it. Ex. Tangerine is a book of Edward Bloor about a boy who wants to become a soccer player. I chose this book because I love to play soccer. I liked to read it as it was very exciting with many mysteries.

3.       Now it is time to describe the setting. This means that you should explain where the story took place. Was it in space? In a school? Or maybe on a pirate ship? Make sure you describe the setting well with many details. Ex. Paul Fisher moves to Tangerine County in Florida with his family. It is a very mysterious place where weird things happen. There is a fire burning under the city every day and another strange thing is that lightning strikes every day at the exact same time. Paul’s new school…

4.       You also have to describe the characters of the book. This basically means that you have to make a description about the main persons in the book. Who was the story about? Was there one main character or more? Describe the persons as well as you can. What was their name, age, what did they look like? Was it an evil or nice person? Ex. The main character of Tangerine is called Paul Fisher. He is in middle-school and he loves soccer. He has a problem with his eyes so he has to wear big thick glasses which makes him look like a bug-eye alien. But he is not really blind, he can see things that other people can’t see.

5.       The story, it’s time for you to describe the story of the book. What happens? Is there a mystery or a problem? You should describe three different parts of the book. First what happens in the beginning of the book, then what happens in the middle of the book and finally what happens in the end of the book. Ex. Paul moves to Tangerine County with his family where strange things are happening. He has a very hard time to fit into school especially since his older brother is harassing him all the time. Paul notices that there are a lot of strange things going on in Tangerine like the sinkhole that swallows the hole school. But when Paul joins the soccer team he realizes that in Tangerine anything is possible…

6.       In the last part of the book review it is now time for you to explain your thoughts about the book. Did you like the book? If yes, why? And if no, why not? Would you recommend your friends to read this book? Also mention how the book made you feel, maybe sad, happy or excited.

7.       When you have finished your book report read it through so you haven’t missed out on any important details or spelling. It is always a good idea to ask an adult to read it through before you hand it in to your teacher.

Good luck!!