Page 169 - Jacksonville Theological Seminary Catalog 2016-2017

PREPARING A TYPED BOOK REPORT

The typed book report has three parts:
the introduction,
the body,
and the conclusion.

(The total length of a typed report should be between five (5) to eight (8) pages for students in the
Master’s program, and eight (8) to twelve (12) pages for students in the Doctorate program and twelve
(12) to sixteen (16) pages for the PH.D. program)

YOUR PAPER SHOULD BE TYPED (DOUBLE-SPACED) ON ONE SIDE ONLY.

YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE INCH MARGINS ON THE SIDES AND TOP OF YOUR PAPER.

I. The Introduction:

Introduce the title, the author, and the subject or theme of the book in the first sentence.

Example: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott recounts the girlhood experiences
of Jo March and her three sisters.

Get your readers interested in what you are going to say—perhaps with a striking statement, a
quotation, or some background information. If the book has a setting (time and place),
you might include it.

Example: Set in New England around the time of the Civil War, this classic
novel provides a glimpse of daily life in a nineteenth-century
American household. Though fictional, it reads like a true story,
because the main characters are fashioned after the author’s own
family. The character Jo March resembles Louisa herself.

Close your introductory paragraph with a statement of opinion. Choose one aspect of the book—
a moral, a concept, or a principle—that made an impression on you.

Ask yourself, “What did I learn from this book? Would others benefit from it? And if
so, how?” You will discuss this statement in the body of your report.

Example: Though the experiences of the March sisters, one can learn to
appreciate the family that God has given him or her.

JTS Catalog Appendix A A-9