Fillable Form Book Report Template

What is a Book Report?

A Book Report is a summary of the main details of a book. It is usually used in primary education where teachers assign books to their students to do a written report of its specific elements.

A book report includes information about the book, such as the title and author, characters and descriptions, the setting, plot, climax, resolution, and the reader's reflection about it.

It is a simple process of giving future readers a background of what the book offers. However, there are cases that students get confused with Book Report and Book Review.

What is a Book Review?

A Book Review is an in-depth analysis of a book. It requires critical information such as the author’s intent, thematic elements, and the symbols within the text. It also focuses on the strengths and limitations of the book and the analysis of its elements.

What is the difference between a Book Report and a Book Review?

The difference between a Book Report and a Book Review is their structure.

A Book Report is simple and only requires a summary of the most relevant details of a story. It includes the author’s background and a summary of the elements of the story.

On the other hand, A Book Review is a critical analysis of the book. It is more in-depth in structure and requires critical details such as the author’s intent, thematic elements, and the symbols within the text — not just a summary of the elements.

A Book Review requires details about the author’s intent and how the readers interpret it, while a Book Report may only require readers to retell or summarize the content.

What is the content of a Book Report?

1. Book Profile

A Book Report begins with the book profile, indicating its title and author.

2. Setting

Setting refers to two bedrock elements of a story, the time and place.

Time pertains to when the story happened. It is classified into four kinds — the clock, calendar, seasonal, and historical time.

• Clock Time. It refers to the time reading pointed by a clock. It creates certain moods and feelings and brings suspense to the story.

• Calendar Time. Any time determined by a calendar is called a Calendar Time. It involves the day, week, month, and year. It provides a societal understanding of what is taking place in a story. It implies meanings or represents events like Friday the 13th, Manic Monday, and the dates that infer significance.

• Seasonal Time. The Seasonal Time refers to the four seasons — the spring, summer, fall, and winter. The seasons implicate certain lifestyles of a story’s character. For example, the character in a story is a farmer who met his conflict in winter.

• Historical Time. A Historical Time establishes a psychological or sociological understanding of behaviors and attitudes in a story. It contributes to its emotional, mental, moral, religious, and social setting.

Place refers to the location of a story, whether physical or non-physical.

• Physical Location. Physical Location pertains to the geographic setting such as a planet, country, or even a room. It must be represented with physical details of the environment to indicate how the place looks.
• Non-physical Location. A Non-physical Location is deeper. It pertains to the location that carries cultural influences such as education, social standing, economic class, and religious beliefs.

3. Characters

Characters are the persons or other being in a narrative. A story revolves around the main characters — the protagonist and antagonist.

• Protagonist. A protagonist is usually the main character of the story. Also referred to as the leading character, the protagonist pursues the main goal of the story.
• Antagonist. An antagonist acts as the opponent of the protagonist in a story to create conflict.

Types of Characters According to Character Development

The characters in a story are grouped depending on the change they undergo in their character.

• Dynamic. A Dynamic character changes over the course. Usually, a protagonist makes a dynamic character.
• Static. A Static character or Flat character does not change over the course. It is usually portrayed by tertiary roles in the narrative.
• Round. A Round character is almost similar to Dynamic, only that it shows fluidity and capacity to change from the start. The difference is, the Dynamic character usually changes after a turning point in the narrative.
• Stock. A Stock character is an archetypal character with a fixed set of personality traits. An Archetypal character embodies universal symbols and human experiences.
• Symbolic. A Symbolic character incorporates a theme larger than themselves. It appears in a narrative to drive the reader’s mind towards a broader concept. A protagonist and a supporting character may portray this role.

4. Character Description

The Character Description contains the brief background of the main characters in a story.

5. Plot

Plot is the sequence of events in a story. It is consists of five parts — the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

• Exposition. Exposition is the beginning of the story where characters are introduced. It is a preparatory stage for conflicts to arise.
• Rising Action. The Rising Action is a point where the conflict is revealed.
• Climax. It is the turning point where the most exciting part of a story happens. The main character faces a breaking moment wherein the conflict would initiate a turning point.
• Falling Action. The Falling Action is the event after the climax. It also sets the resolution.
• Resolution. It is the part where the fate of the character is revealed, and the conflict is resolved.

6. Climax and Resolution

The Climax and Resolution contain the turning point of the story and the settlement of the main conflict.

7. Reflection

The Reflection contains the reader’s understanding of the story.

How to fill out a Book Report?

Title

Enter the title of the book.

Author

Enter the name of the book’s author.

Setting

Enter the setting. Some books may include more than one location and time; enter the most important one or two.

Characters

Enter the main characters.

Character Description

Enter a description of the character.

Plot

Enter the plot of the story.

Climax and Resolution

Enter the climax and resolution of the story.

Reflection

Enter your reflection about the book.

How long is a book report?

A typical Book Report contains about 600 to 800 words and must not exceed two double-spaced pages.