提示单
WRITING BOOK REPORTS

不管你的教育目标是什么，很可能你最终都会写一篇读书报告. 你的老师可能会把它称为评论，或者是总结/回应论文，或者是回顾. 这些作业的两个共同组成部分是总结和评估.

有关相关主题的其他提示表，可能有助于编写读书报告, depending on the type of book and the specifics of your assignment, include the following:

• How to Write a Summary
• Writing About Non-Fiction Books
• Writing About Literature

Summary AND evaluation
通常, 读书报告从一段到一页的简单信息开始, title, genre (例如, 科幻小说, historical fiction, 传记), summary of the central problem and solution, 以及对主要人物的描述，他们学到了什么，他们是如何改变的.

The following example summarizes in two sentences the 情节 of 《现金娱乐网注册》:

Michael Crichton's 《现金娱乐网注册》 描述了百万富翁大亨约翰·哈蒙德如何放纵自己的欲望，建造一个充满活恐龙的岛屿游乐园. In spite of elaborate precautions to make the park safe, his animals run wild, killing and maiming his employees, endangering the lives of his two visiting grandchildren, finally escaping to mainland Costa Rica.

On the other hand, a thesis statement for a book report reflects your evaluation of the work; "I really, really liked it" is inadequate. Students sometimes hesitate to make judgments about literature, because they are uncertain what standards apply. 用故事元素来评价一本书并不难:人物, 设置, 问题/解决方案, even 组织. (参见提示单 Writing About Literature关于如何处理这些标准故事元素的想法.不过), 一个好的论文陈述应该包括你对这些观点的反思, 目的, 的态度 作者的 as well.

To develop an informed judgment about the work, start by asking yourself lots of questions (for more 的想法, see "Evaluation" on the 提示单 Writing About Literature). Then choose your most promising area, 你有一些清楚的东西要说，并且可以很容易地从书中找到证据来说明. Develop this into a thesis statement.

例如, here is what one thesis statement might look like for 《现金娱乐网注册》 (请注意这篇论文陈述与上面的简单总结有何不同):

In 《现金娱乐网注册》, Crichton seems to warn us chillingly that, in bioengineering as in chaos theory, 当我们看起来最能控制事情的时候，恰恰是我们已经无可挽回地失去控制的时候.

对一本书进行有根据的判断和相应的主题陈述, brainstorm by answering questions such as the following:

• 作者写这篇文章的目的是什么，他实现了这个目的吗?
• What did the main character learn? Does this lesson reflect reality as you know it?
• Were the characters 复杂的 and believable? What do they reveal 作者的? 人性的皇冠新现金网
• How well did the 设置 contribute to the mood? How did 设置 affect character and 情节 development?

 

The invisible author
学生们常犯的一个错误是，没有从故事中退后一步，把它作为一个作品来评估 一个人. Evaluation–you may be surprised to learn it!–is as much about the author as about the story itself. It is about making informed guesses about the 作者的 目的,想法, 的态度 based on his use of language, 组织, 情节, character development.

通常，作者不会在故事中扮演重要角色，除非这本书是自传性的. More often he is the invisible persona–invisible, yet not absent. The author leaves traces of himself throughout. 矛盾的是，你对作者的理解取决于你的深思熟虑
超然 from the story itself to discover those traces.

Imagine standing very, very close to a large painting–inches away. 你的注意力集中在一团一团的颜色上，但你无法识别所代表的物体. 当你后退几步并改变你的焦点时，这些斑点就会呈现出一种可识别的形式. 同样地，你必须从故事中抽身去辨别 目的,想法, 的态度 作者的.

Author's 目的
No one goes to the trouble to write something without 目的. 当然，教科书有目的，但那些写小说叙事的人也有目的. Even fantasy writers have 目的. 一份读书报告应该包括你对作者是否达到目的的评价.

下面的作者对作者的写作目的做了陈述:

克莱顿与其说是在警告我们科学探究的害处，不如说是在乞求我们, in a very convincing way, to exercise collective moral restraint on scientific research.

This writer would then go on to use quotations, 例子, 以及书中的证据来说明她为什么认为这是克莱顿的目的.

为了识别和回应作者的目的，试着问这样的问题:

• Was the 作者的 目的 to inform or simply entertain me? Did I learn something? Was I entertained? Did I lose interest? 如果我失去了兴趣，也许是这位作者在给不同的读者写信?
• 作者是否试图说服我以一种特定的方式思考或行动? 关于什么皇冠新现金网 What point of view would he or she have me adopt? 我被说服了吗?

作者的想法
作者的 的想法 may be stated by the author himself in a foreword, 或者它们可能会出现在叙述者或主角的话语中. The character Ian Malcolm, 例如, 是克莱顿批判后现代科学的主要代言人. 以下是马尔科姆的话，表达了克莱顿希望我们考虑的一个观点:

"I'll tell you the problem with engineers and scientists.... They are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something."

另一方面，主角可能代表思想，而不是陈述思想. Hammond's visiting grandchildren, 例如, might represent the oblivious, 然而,威胁, human populations of the mainland and the planet itself. When 的想法 are implied rather than stated, they are called themes.

为了发现和评估书中的观点，试着问以下问题:

• What was the central problem in the book? Was it a personal, social, or moral problem? Does it relate to life as you know it?
• What 的想法(s) about life and society does the author seem to hold?
• What did the principal character(s) learn? How did they change? What does this seem to say about people? 关于社会? 关于道德?

Author's 的态度
Once you have identified what 的想法 an author is trying to examine, 你还必须确定作者对这些观点的态度. 作者的态度在某种程度上是通过作品的语气或整体情绪来揭示的. 在写作中，就像在谈话中一样，语气与其说是明示，不如说是暗示. 在阅读时，我们完全依靠文字的情感暗示来推断作者的态度.

例如, 假设你已经确定克莱顿希望探索私营企业如何利用科学研究的想法. 你还必须确定，克莱顿对这种情况的态度是什么. 他认为这是一个积极的发展，还是一个消极的发展，或者两者兼而有之? Does he think it is inevitable, or preventable? 要弄清楚克莱顿对此的态度，一种方法是辨别他讲故事时使用的语气. We describe the tone of a book with adjectives, more than one if necessary: straightforward, 复杂的, 具有讽刺意味的, 令人毛骨悚然的, 可怜的, 苦, 漫画, 悲剧.

例如, 下面是用三个不同的形容词来描述克莱顿对…的中心问题之一的态度的陈述 《现金娱乐网注册》:

Crichton strikes an ominous tone in 《现金娱乐网注册》. Even though this is a cautionary tale, 然而，作者对主流科学界持乐观态度, represented in this story by Alan Grant, can learn restraint and respect for nature.

(在识别一本书的语气时，要努力区分一个人
角色的 attitude from the 作者的 overall attitude-they may differ.)

To begin talking about tone, ask yourself questions such as these:

• Is there a particular 设置 or scene that stands out in my mind? What was the mood of that scene? Is this mood indicative of the entire book?
• Is the author an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist? How does he show it?
• 主角是否会经历一种持续的精神或情感状态? What would I call it? Is it indicative of the work overall?
• 作品的情绪是帮助还是阻碍了我对作者思想的理解?

“总之..."
显然，能够对作者做出明智的推断是很重要的, 因为书评评估的是作者的工作做得有多好, not just how much you liked the story. 在你提出并回答了这个问题之后，你可以加上一句:“我真的、真的很喜欢它."