A book report is a paper that tells readers what a book is about. The first step in writing any book report is to read the book. As you read, be sure to note important elements like characters, events, quotations, or symbols. These will come in handy when you are writing your report. Once you read the book, ask yourself if anything happened that you did not understand. It is important that you clear up any confusion before you start writing. If you did not understand something important, you should consider asking a teacher for help or researching the book on the internet.

Next, you should start writing. Before you start describing the plot, you should make sure you introduce the book. You should always state the title and the author, and you might want to state the year it was written and the genre, too. Then, consider introducing key elements like the main characters, the narrator, and the setting. For instance, if I were writing a book report about Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I might begin by writing something like this:

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was written by Judy Blume in 1972. It is the story of a nine-year-old boy named Peter Hatcher who lives in New York City and is frustrated with his badly behaved little brother, Fudge.

Once you have introduced key details like the characters and the setting, you should summarize the main events of the book. For example, in my book report on Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I might write:

At the end of the book, Peter’s dad brings him a dog because he has been a good brother to Fudge.

Book reports are more about facts than reviews of the book, but they do often end with a personal reflection. If you include a personal reflection, consider if you would recommend this book to a friend or not and what your reason is for this opinion. For instance, I could end my report by saying:

“I would recommend Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to others because Fudge is an entertaining character and it made me think about how I treat my own family.