• By Daniel Millions
• Published 06/17/2008
• Writing

Many students discover that they must write a book report while in school. While some inwardly groan at the task of writing a book report on Johnny Seagull, writing a book report is an opportunity to express your opinions and also to become a more effective writer. The smart student knows that book reports are very much a part of their education. Writing a great book report doesn’t have to be difficult. The first step to writing a book report is to follow any instructions given by the teacher or instructor. Some teachers give a specific page length or word count. They may also give a list of questions that they would like addressed within the book report itself. The teacher always gives a “due date” for the book report and to ignore this would be to also not follow the instructions. Reading the book for the book report is also important. While this may seem like a very simple statement: it isn’t. Some students have been known to skim a book and to thus miss important parts of the book. Take the time to read and absorb the book fully. An excellent idea is to first read the directions given by your teacher and then to read the book. Keep a piece of notebook paper next to you while you are reading, so you can take down notes as they come to you during reading. Be sure to mention the page numbers that correspond to what you feel is important. This simple tip will help you write a much more effective book report. Owning your own copy of the book is extremely helpful also. When you are reading a library or borrowed copy, you know that you cannot take notes in it. If you are reading your own copy of the book, you can highlight or take small notes within the margins of the book as your read. Being able to personalize your copy of this book is quite helpful for this book report project. While reading the book it is also useful to notice the role of each character in the story. What does each character represent? What do your feel the writer is trying to say about life or society with these characters? As you read, look for quotes that best represent this story and these characters. Mentioning these quotes in your book report can often make your book report stronger. A book report is also not complete without your opinion. What have you thought of the book? While answering the question, pay attention to the related questions that your teacher has asked you, as they may want you to focus on a certain aspect of the book. Everyone that reads a book has a different opinion. Your sharing of your opinion is what makes a book report unique and all its own work. Otherwise, your report would simply be a research project.

Writing a book report is often a great learning experience for a student. Books can teach you about how society viewed people at that particular time. It can also teach you how people thought or do think today. Every book has a unique voice, just as you have your own voice to share your opinion. There is much you can learn by writing a book report.