Write a Book Overview
Book overviews provide a concise summation of the story and themes contained within a given book, rendered in a quick and easy-to-digest format. They can serve as the basis of a longer book report, as a recounting of the book for publishers, or as the basis for a promotional campaign surrounding the book. The process of writing an overview is surprisingly delicate; you need to keep it concise, yet comprehensive. A few easy steps can help you stay on track.
Instructions
1. Read the book thoroughly, paying particular attention to the plot, the characters, the overall tone and the subtext or message of the book. Write down your observations on notebook paper as you go; it keeps you from forgetting anything. You may also wish to use Post-it notes or similar scraps of paper to bookmark particularly pertinent pages.
2. Write up a brief summation of the plot, using your notes as a guide. Depending on the nature of the overview, you may wish to cover the entire book from beginning to end, or just describe the first few chapters as a way of "setting up" the larger drama. In some cases, it pays to break the action down by chapter, while in others you can simply let the events flow one into the other. Stay as brief as possible during this process: there is a tendency to overwrite when summarizing the plot. Stick to the broadest strokes and try to contain your summary to two or three paragraphs.
3. Describe the overall tone of the book. Ask yourself what mood the text tries to convey and how well it succeeds (or fails) at its task. Write down your thoughts in a paragraph or two, consulting your notes as appropriate.
4. Research and jot down the book's historical and cultural context, if appropriate. Examine it through the filter of the period when it was written and any particular biases or points of view that the author may have evinced in his writing. Also consider it from the viewpoint of the audience. Ask yourself how a modern audience might differ in its view of the book as opposed to the audience who read it at the time it was first published.
5. Write down the perceived subtext of the book--the message it presumed to convey or the lessons about human nature it presumed to teach. Not every book contains a deep or complex subtext, but most have at least a rudimentary observation about the human condition. Including them in your overview is vital to conveying the essence of the book.
6. Organize the writing you did in Steps 2 through 5, and compile them into a single whole. Each section should flow smoothly into the next, allowing the reader to absorb it quickly and easily. Your overview should ideally run from four to six paragraphs, though it may need to be shorter or longer depending on the particular format.
7. Let your overview sit for a few days if possible, then come back to it and revise it. Before you turn it in to whoever you're writing it for, tighten up any lengthy sections, smooth out any rough spots and edit the text for grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics.
