Common Errors in Writing a Custom Book Report

Imagine writing a book report on a book that the student has never read. This is one of the most common mistakes in writing a book report. The second common mistake is a teacher assigning a book report and the student writes a book review. A book report gives facts about the book, while a book review gives the reader's opinions about the book. Both have similar information. Many different mistakes are often made in writing a book review or a book report. This article focuses on the most common errors in book reports.

A common error of students is the failure to organize their thoughts before writing the book report. The best way to organize one's thoughts about a book review is to consider the different parts of a book such as setting, characters, plot, or time period. A common mistake is forgetting to list the title of the book and author.

Another common mistake in writing book reports is failing to write a rough draft. A written draft is the best step before starting to write a draft on the computer. Let your thoughts flow about the characters, the setting, the plot and the topic. Before writing the book report it is suggested to read the book at least twice.

A common problem in writing book reports is time. Students sometime rush through writing a book report thinking they know all the factual information. Nothing done in a hurry produces the desired product. Here are ten common mistakes made in writing a book report:

- Failure to read the entire book (preferable twice)

- Too many or too few commas

- Faulty parallelism

- Unclear pronoun reference

- Comma splices

- Misspelled words

- Incorrect pronoun use

- Failure to proofread

- Failure to review similar books by the same author

- Failure to review the book before writing the report.

While most of these are simple mistakes that can be avoided with a little time and effort from the student. Proofreading is essential to a quality book report. The best way to proofread is to set aside the book report after writing the rough draft for at least a couple of hours but twenty-four hours is better. Check for the common mistakes of unnecessary words or misspelled words. Often common mistakes can be found when reading the book report out loud. Always use the spell check on the computer but many mistakes are made from thinking the computer will catch all the mistakes. The spell check cannot catch homonyms or certain types of mistakes that are often found by reading the report out loud.

Another common problem is a book report that has no transitions. Transitions are important to keep the paper flowing smoothly. Transitions help the reader to understand the logic of the paper.

A common mistake that many students make in writing a book report is the failure to use any quotes from the book. Quotes put an emphasis on the book report that explains the various points of the book report. The writer can use an opening quote from a different text to put more of a focus about the topic of the book.

Another common mistake is failure to name the book report. It is important to give a title to the book report. If the report is fairly long then subheadings may help the reader to stay focused. Proofreading is the key to writing "great" book reports. Before turning in the book report ask a neutral person to read it for grammar or other types of errors. Putting forth the added effort will guarantee the book report is free of common mistakes.