The Outline of Your Report
You have read your book. Your next step will be to organize what you are going to say about it in your report. Writing the basic elements down in an outline format will help you to organize your thoughts.What will you include in the outline? Follow whatever instructions your teacher has given you. If you are on your own, however, the following guidelines should help.
Let's assume for the moment that you've chosen a work of fiction. We'll start with a description of the book. The description should include such elements as:
1. The setting—where does the story take place? Is it a real place or an imaginary one? If the author does not tell you exactly where the story is set, what can you tell about it from the way it is described?
2. The time period—is the story set in the present day or in an earlier time period? Perhaps it is even set in the future! Let your reader know.
3. The main character(s)—who is the story mostly about? Give a brief description. Often, one character can be singled out as the main character, but some books will have more than one.
4. The plot—what happens to the main character? WARNING! Be careful here. Do not fall into the boring trap of reporting every single thing that happens in the story. Pick only the most important events. Here are some hints on how to do that. First, explain the situation of the main character as the story opens. Next, identify the basic plot element of the story--is the main character trying to achieve something or overcome a particular problem? Thirdly, describe a few of the more important things that happen to the main character as he/she works toward that goal or solution. Finally, you might hint at the story's conclusion without completely giving away the ending.
The four points above deal with the report aspect of your work. For the final section of your outline, give your reader a sense of the impression the book made upon you. Pick something which caught your attention, and let your reader know your personal response to whatever it was.
The Draft and the Final Report
The Draft
Your draft will be a test run of ideas from your outline. Don't worry about being too neat you can even write additional notes in the margins.
The Final Report
If you have followed the advice on these pages you should be ready to write your final report. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with your draft before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. All of your revisions should have been made on your draft so your job now is to make sure that your presentation is correct. Check your grammar and your spelling.
Remember to use YOUR own words unless you are using a “quote”.
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