Tips on Writing a College Level Book Report

Most likely, you’ve already written many book reports in school. In college, you’ll also have to write book reports as a part of your English classes. However, these will be different book reports that are more difficult than what your school teachers assigned. A college book report may be also called a critical review or book review. Writers from Writers-House hope that these tips will help you write a substantial college level book report.

Most high school book reports summarize the book, and their main purpose is to prove the fact that you’ve read it. College reports are more complex. You will need to not only describe and explain events that happen in the book but also analyze it. Even if such a task doesn’t sound difficult, you should understand that it has little to do with other types of papers you’ve written in English class.

The Summary

Although the summary won’t be the main point of your paper as it used to be in school, you still need it. The first thing you should do is read the book. Of course, you may think about reading some shortened version or summary, but we recommend that you don’t do it. You need to read the book carefully in order to write a good critique.

Once you’ve read the book, write a brief summary. The word “brief” is especially important. Your summary must take less than a third of your paper, and the shorter you make it, the better. There’s no need to summarize every chapter in detail, just provide your readers with a general understanding of what happens in this book.

Before writing the book report, you should also determine the main points of your analysis. It will help you write a summary while keeping in mind the general idea of your book report. For example, if you will mostly talk about a particular issue described by the author, you may also want to focus your summary on the corresponding parts of the book.

There is also a chance that you won’t need a summary in your book report at all. Sometimes, a professor may ask you to assume that your readers have already read the book. Thus, we recommend that you read your assignment and talk to your teacher to make sure that you’ll write exactly what you should.

The Analysis

The analysis of the book must be the biggest and the main part of your paper. Your main goal is not to repeat what you’ve read but to analyze it, going deeper than obvious details and providing a high-quality critique. Of course, you cannot analyze everything. Therefore, make sure to check the requirements of your assignment: your teacher may tell you what you should focus on.

If there are no specific requirements regarding the main focus of your report, it means that you should narrow down your task. You may focus on a particular character, plot point, theme, etc. Narrowing your task will help you organize your paper properly. If it’s hard for you to choose something concrete, we suggest that you focus on a certain theme, as this approach will help you demonstrate that you’ve thought about the meaning of the book. Explain the role of this theme for the whole novel and consider it in relation to different characters. Don’t forget to provide quotes and examples but use them moderately. We recommend that you go with one or two examples per paragraph.

A critique requires you to provide your personal opinion and to share your reactions to the events described in the book. However, if your assignment is a “book review,” it means that you should also evaluate the book. Therefore, you’ll need to add your opinion on the book and the way it is written to your analysis. If you don’t know how to do it, check out some book reviews on the internet or in newspapers.

Beyond the Book

Although going beyond the book is optional, some teachers may ask you to do so. You might also make your analysis better if you go outside the novel and consider the described events in the context of the real world. If you choose this approach, you might benefit from reading more about the writer, the time the book was written, and various cultural factors. Think about the author’s background and intentions. How does this information help you understand the book and the writer’s methods? Some professors like when their students consider books in a more general context.

Final Thoughts

• We’ve already said this before, but you really need to make sure that you understand the assignment properly. There are many approaches to writing a book report so you should clearly understand your task.
• You may read the book a few times. Of course, it takes a lot of time, but if you read the book more than once, you’ll notice new details that you may have ignored at first. In addition, you’ll be able to focus on deeper themes because you already know all the important events and characters. The second read might also help you find new quotes.
• Write about things that look interesting to you. Book reports are somewhat personal. Even if the book is really boring, it likely has a character or idea you can relate to. Focus on it, and you’ll write a good paper.

These are some basic tips on how to write a college level book report. You can also check sample book reports on the internet to better understand what this task is about and how to approach it in the right way. In addition, don’t be afraid to ask for help: many professors enjoy talking about their students’ papers in progress, and they will be happy to help you.