Writing Book Reports & Book Reviews

Example Questions that can be answered by this FARQ:

• How do I write a book report?
• Where can I get guidelines for writing a book review?

Many students come to us, asking for advice on what they should include in their book report or book review. The first thing that we tell a student is to ask your teacher, since there is no universal format or guide for how to write a book report or book review, and your teacher may have specific ideas about what he or she wants you to include in your report or review.

Also, students should be aware that a book report is generally very different from a book review, so it’s important to know which one you were assigned to write.

For some general guidance on how to write book reports or book reviews, though, students may want to visit the following web sites:

• Book Reports and Book Reviews -- online handout from the University of Western Ontario’s Effective Writing Program.
• Writing A Book Report -- general outline from the About.com Guide to Homework/Study Tips.
• The Book Report -- a student guide from the Lakewood Public Library web site.
• How to Write a Book Review -- a helpful guide prepared by the Stauffer Library at Queen’s University.
• Writing Book Reviews -- a short article from Writing Tutorial Services, the writing center at Indiana University Bloomington.

For links to more sites like these, try the About.com Guide to Creative Writing for Teens - Book Reports/Reviews.

Students may also be interested in our FARQ on Cliffs Notes.