Purposive Communication Week

15-17
Lesson VIII: Communication for
Academic Purposes
RESEARCH PAPER
Discourse
The Writing Process
 ACTIVITIES
• Create a Book Report (Fiction) –

- 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

- A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Book Report Format (Introduction)
• Introduction
- "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told
them." As a rule, it's older than dirt and more relevant than ever. The introduction to
your book report is where you lay out the basic premise of your essay and provide
your all-important thesis statement. Here's the skeleton of a good intro paragraph.

Universal Statement: Something true and obvious about the book. "The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a product of its time." No kidding, right? But, it lays
the groundwork for how to proceed.

Body Sentences: Provide context. Write no more than five sentences about the book's
author, genre, and setting. Make sure they support your thesis statement.
"Samuel Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a riverboat pilot and
unsuccessful businessman as well as an author. In his many careers, he encountered
people and experiences beyond the usual…"
Book Report Format (Introduction)
Thesis Statement: This is the most important
part of your paper. Make a claim, something you
think is true and you can support with examples
from the book.
- "Despite the language and limitations of its
time, Huckleberry Finn is a powerfully anti-racist
book, rooted in the idea that each person's
experiences are, in their own way, universal."
Book Report Format ( Body Paragraphs)
Body Paragraphs
In the main body of the book report describe the characters of the book, the purpose of the book,
and the plot. You could trace a character's experience throughout the book, analyze a motif or
theme of the book, or juxtapose one character's experience with another's.

-At the middle and high-school level, most teachers typically expect three body paragraphs. With
the intro and conclusion, that's the classic five-paragraph essay. If you're lucky, your teacher may
only want one body paragraph for a book report. If you're unlucky, they may want more than
three. In any case, follow this format:

Mission Statement: Describe one specific way the book's text supports your thesis.

Support: Offer about five to seven sentences, providing examples from the book that support your
thesis.

Closing: "Look at how well I supported my thesis!" Don't actually write that, you'll get in trouble.
But that's the gist of what a closing sentence should accomplish.
 Book Report Format (Conclusion)
The conclusion effectively functions as a mirror image of the introduction, summarizing
important points, or what you have learned. Would you recommend this book?

Reflection: Not quite as general as the universal statement, but the reflection is close.
• "We have seen that despite racist language and the limitations of the time, the
message of Huckleberry Finn…"

Body Sentences: Summarize the main argument in each of your body paragraphs. Keep
it to one sentence each. Think of your conclusion as the last few minutes of class: wrap
this thing up so everybody can get to lunch.

Thesis Statement Plus: Restate your thesis, but with an added sentence about what
makes it important.
: "By writing an anti-racist book in a deeply racist time, Mark Twain has both chronicled
his own experiences and linked it with our own…"
 Other Details to Include
• Discuss why you chose the book. This works best in the introduction, after
the universal statement. Have you read books by this person before? Is it a
genre that you like? Was it a recommendation? If so, by whom?
• Offer a personal reflection on the book. Getting personal is usually 
verboten in the classic five-paragraph form. Not so with book reports. Slip
some personal details into the conclusion. Draw comparisons between
your own life and a character's, or plot events and your own experiences.
• Add some quotes. You may not be required to include direct quotes from
the text to back up your claims. Do so anyway (unless your teacher says
otherwise). Be sure to ask your teacher if you need to use a certain format.
Quotes are a power move in a book report, proof that you really and truly
read the thing and took it to heart. It helps to collect these quotes as you
read, so you don't have to go back and find them afterward.