ENGLISH 212 INFORMATION ON THE BOOK REPORT

What is a book report? It is similar to the reviews of new books that you might have read in
many newspapers and elsewhere, except that reviews are written by experts in the same field
as the author of the book under review. Reviewers are able to compare, criticize, and evaluate
the book they are reviewing because they have read many other books on similar subjects.
Just like someone who writes a report on a book, a reviewer is expected to summarize the
content of the book as objectively and fairly as possible. Sometimes, though, when experts
review each others’ work, their personal views are very visible in their judgment of a book’s
merits. However, when you write a report for a course, you should try to keep your personal
biases in the background as much as possible.

The general purpose of a book report is to give enough information about a book to help its
intended readers decide whether it will be of use or interest to them. In a student situation,
your instructor already knows the book and has assigned the report to test your reading
accuracy, summary and paraphrase skills, and ability to understand the ideas and argument of
the book as a whole. Because the report is intended to assess and improve your skills in these
areas, you are not usually expected to conduct any research on the author or the subject of the
book to see what others have said. If you are required (or choose) to research the author or
the subject or previous reviews, you must acknowledge the sources of your information, ideas,
and facts.

While each book report assignment has its own specific requirements, you are usually required
to provide information in the following general areas:

1. Give a full bibliographic entry at the top of the first page: author’s name; full title and
subtitle, if any, of the book; place and date of publication; edition, if not the first; and the
number of pages.

2. Start by telling the reader the general subject of the book you are reporting on, something
about the author’s qualifications for writing on this subject, and any interesting circumstances
that might have led to the writing of the book or that might have influenced the author’s point
of view. Often, you will find this information on the back cover or on a separate page at the
beginning of the book.

3. Note the intended audience of the book. Is it meant for specialists or the general public?
You can determine this by checking to see if it has a scholarly apparatus (appendices,
endnotes, long bibliographies). The language of the book is often the best indicator of the
intended audience: Does the author use a great deal of specialized terminology, or is the
language understandable to a more general, educated audience?

4. Search the book’s preface and/or introduction carefully to find the author’s specific reasons
for writing the book, her main idea (thesis), and often her plan for the succeeding chapters.
This information will help the reader and you in judging whether the author has fulfilled her
stated intentions and whether or not her ideas and arguments are convincing.

5. The major part of your report will tell the reader about the book’s content as it relates to the
author’s thesis. Just as you and your instructor check to see that your essays have a purpose,
thesis, and plan, so should you check and report on the author’s. If the author doesn’t
specifically state her purpose and thesis, you will have to supply these yourself. The Table of
Contents and chapter headings will help you see the direction of the author’s ideas.

6. Summarize the content of the chapters or divisions of the book for the reader, always
remembering to point out how these subsidiary ideas and supporting materials are related to
the book’s overall purpose and thesis. You may want to focus more attention on some chapters
or sections than others because you consider them more important and interesting.

7. Although your book report is usually intended as a neutral presentation of the book’s
content, you should end your report with brief comments on whether you think the author has
fulfilled her purpose, has made her case logically and with useful supporting materials, and has
written clearly on the subject and for the audience intended. If you criticize the book adversely,
your criticisms must be founded on what you have read in it. In a general book report, you
should be concerned less with agreement or disagreement and more with the author’s success
in carrying out her purpose.