语言教学 | 普渡大学写作教学系列General Writing 48-Book Report & Definitions

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征稿：二语写作

1、Writing a Book Report

Book reports are informative reports that discuss a book from an objective stance. They are similar to book reviews but focus more on a summary of the work than an evaluation of it. Book reports commonly describe what happens in a work; their focus is primarily on giving an account of the major plot, characters, thesis, and/or main idea of the work. Most often, book reports are a K-12 assignment and range from 250 to 500 words.

Book reviews are most often a college assignment, but they also appear in many professional works: magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. If you are looking to write a book review instead of a book report, please see the OWL resource, Writing a Book Review.

Before You Read

Before you begin to read, consider what types of things you will need to write your book report. First, you will need to get some basic information from the book:

• Author

• Title

• Publisher location, name of publisher, year published

• Number of Pages

You can either begin your report with some sort of citation, or you can incorporate some of these items into the report itself.

Next, try to answer the following questions to get you started thinking about the book:

• Author: Who is the author? Have you read any other works by this author?

• Genre: What type of book is this: fiction, nonfiction, biography, etc.? What types of people would like to read this kind of book? Do you typically read these kinds of books? Do you like them?

• Title: What does the title do for you? Does it spark your interest? Does it fit well with the text of the book?

• Pictures/Book Jacket/Cover/Printing: What does the book jacket or book cover say? Is it accurate? Were you excited to read this book because of it? Are there pictures? What kinds are there? Are they interesting?

As You Read

While reading a work of fiction, keep track of the major characters. You can also do the same with biographies. When reading nonfiction works, however, look for the main ideas and be ready to talk about them.

• Characters: Who are the main characters? What happens to them? Did you like them? Were there good and bad characters?

• Main Ideas: What is the main idea of the book? What happens? What did you learn that you did not know before?

• Quotes: What parts did you like best? Are there parts that you could quote to make your report more enjoyable?

When You Are Ready to Write

Announce the book and author. Then, summarize what you have learned from the book. Explain what happens in the book, and discuss the elements you liked, did not like, would have changed, or if you would recommend this book to others and why. Consider the following items as well:

• Principles/characters: What elements did you like best? Which characters did you like best and why? How does the author unfold the story or the main idea of the book?

• Organize: Make sure that most of your paper summarizes the work. Then you may analyze the characters or themes of the work.

• Your Evaluation: Choose one or a few points to discuss about the book. What worked well for you? How does this work compare with others by the same author or other books in the same genre? What major themes, motifs, or terms does the book introduce, and how effective are they? Did the book appeal to you on an emotional or logical way?

• Recommend: Would you recommend this book to others? Why? What would you tell them before they read it? What would you talk about after you read it?

Revising/Final Copy

Do a quick double check of your paper:

• Double-check the spelling of the author name(s), character names, special terms, and publisher.

• Check the punctuation and grammar slowly.

• Make sure you provide enough summary so that your reader or instructor can tell you read the book.

• Consider adding some interesting quotes from the reading.

2、Writing Definitions

A formal definition is based upon a concise, logical pattern that includes as much information as it can within a minimum amount of space. The primary reason to include definitions in your writing is to avoid misunderstanding with your audience. A formal definition consists of three parts:

1. The term (word or phrase) to be defined

2. The class of object or concept to which the term belongs

3. The differentiating characteristics that distinguish it from all others of its class

For example:

• Water (term) is a liquid (class) made up of molecules of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2 to 1 (differentiating characteristics).

• Comic books (term) are sequential and narrative publications (class) consisting of illustrations, captions, dialogue balloons, and often focus on super-powered heroes (differentiating characteristics).

• Astronomy (term) is a branch of scientific study (class) primarily concerned with celestial objects inside and outside of the earth's atmosphere (differentiating characteristics).

Although these examples should illustrate the manner in which the three parts work together, they are not the most realistic cases. Most readers will already be quite familiar with the concepts of water, comic books, and astronomy. For this reason, it is important to know when and why you should include definitions in your writing.

When to Use Definitions

• When your writing contains a term that may be key to audience understanding and that term could likely be unfamiliar to them

  "Stellar Wobble is a measurable variation of speed wherein a star's velocity is shifted by the gravitational pull of a foreign body."

• When a commonly used word or phrase has layers of subjectivity or evaluation in the way you choose to define it

  "Throughout this essay, the term classic gaming will refer specifically to playing video games produced for the Atari, the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and any systems in-between."

  Note: not everyone may define "classic gaming" within this same time span; therefore, it is important to define your terms

• When the etymology (origin and history) of a common word might prove interesting or will help expand upon a point

  "Pagan can be traced back to Roman military slang for an incompetent soldier. In this sense, Christians who consider themselves soldiers of Christ are using the term not only to suggest a person's secular status but also their lack of bravery.'

Additional Tips for Writing Definitions

• Avoid defining with "X is when" and "X is where" statements. These introductory adverb phrases should be avoided. Define a noun with a noun, a verb with a verb, and so forth.

• Do not define a word by mere repetition or merely restating the word.

  "Rhyming poetry consists of lines that contain end rhymes."

  Better:

  "Rhyming poetry is an artform consisting of lines whose final words consistently contain identical, final stressed vowel sounds."

• Define a word in simple and familiar terms. Your definition of an unfamiliar word should not lead your audience towards looking up more words in order to understand your definition.

• Keep the class portion of your definition small but adequate. It should be large enough to include all members of the term you are defining but no larger. Avoid adding personal details to definitions. Although you may think the story about your Grandfather will perfectly encapsulate the concept of stinginess, your audience may fail to relate. Offering personal definitions may only increase the likeliness of misinterpretation that you are trying to avoid.

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