How to Write a Graduate Book Report

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Laura from YoungWritersWorkshops.com and I'm going to talk about how to write a graduate book report. Now, if you're in a graduate level course, there's probably a specific reasons that your instructor has assigned this book report to you. And so, think of the context of why you're writing this book report. You may have some specific instructions from the instructor about how to take this assignment. But, think about how it applies to what you're studying, what the book is saying about your area of study that's important and write the report in a way that reflects your understanding of that. You'll want to use a lot of quotations from the book and in a book report at this level. So you'll quote from the author and then, again, use that quote to illustrate one of your points about the book or a larger point about the area of your study. You'll also want to include some commentary about the book and maybe in the context of other critical response to the book. So, in your book report, you'll do more than summarize the book, you'll also include what it says about the subject as a whole subject or the study area as a whole. Proofread really carefully for any assignment in graduate school, but specifically one where you're going to be quoting other people's words, you want to make sure that you've used the quotation accurately and that you are using the proper format for citation. You'll also want to have someone else read this book report because it will help you to make sure you're being clear, make sure that you haven't left any important information out and possibly provide some proofreading for you. Then once you've completed the...once you have a final draft, type it up in the format that the instructor has asked for and turn it in on time. And that's a little bit about how to write a graduate book report."