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Websites are becoming the norm among progressive realtors around the country. In addition to displaying property listings for the various markets that you serve, it’s also important to talk about current happenings in your local housing market, and introduce visitors to your company. Your goal with a website is to acquire new leads, and having good content is one way to do just that. Unfortunately, not all realtors know how to create good quality content that their visitors will want to read. Read on to learn about some of the worst things you can do with your website content. Duplicate Copy If you prefer to produce the content for your site yourself rather than hire a professional writer to do it, the last thing you should ever do is perform a simple copy/paste job of another website. One writer in the industry discovered that her client "Bob," had copied all of his content from a competitor’s website—with the internal links intact! When visitors to Bob’s site clicked the links that were sprinkled throughout the on-page content, they were taken to Bob’s number one competitor’s website, thus exposing himself as a content thief. Plagiarizing content—whether it’s from a competitor’s website or from a local chamber of commerce site—is unethical at the very least, and in more extreme cases can lead to charges of copyright infringement. In addition, duplicate content damages your site’s rankings in top search engines like Google. Search engines have become much more sophisticated in the last few years in terms of detecting duplicate content, and will only rank sites with unique content at the top of their results page. If your site has copied text throughout, it will be virtually invisible to the search engines, thus making it nearly impossible for potential clients to find you. Going SEO Crazy! A little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing, and SEO is no exception. SEO, or ’search engine optimization,’ is all about getting your website to rank highly for certain keywords that users are known to search for. Organic placement of these keywords is the goal, but some agents add keywords to every second sentence, making the text clunky to read. Google penalizes site owners for having too many keywords, or "keyword stuffing," but even if your site isn’t flagged, it’s important to think about user experience when doing any SEO. Visitors to your site actually read what you put up, so be careful with how many keywords you squeeze into the text. Always keep readability foremost in your mind when producing content for your pages, or else you’ll end up with spammy looking text. Not Having Listings on your Site In the early days of the internet, people could get away with putting up a website that had nothing more than a company’s logo and contact information. Now however, real estate buyers are looking for more than just an advertisement—they’re looking for listings. If you don’t put property listings on your site, you’re simply not being competitive in today’s market. Visitors will leave and go straight to a competitor that does have an IDX feed on their site. One note regarding listings: there is a lot of debate between real estate agents who argue whether one should require visitors to register with their site before they can access a property’s full listing details. Some say that visitors will get annoyed with the registration requirement and go somewhere else, while others contend that registration is the best way to get viable internet leads. After all, by registering with your site, each person must provide you with their contact information and tell you what they’re in the market for. You can then utilize this information when you call them for the first time. The Excessive Use of CAPS In internet etiquette, writing in all caps implies that you’re shouting. It’s seen as unprofessional and spammy, so try to avoid it as much as possible. If you want to make a line of text stand out (like "Click here for your free home evaluation."), use bold or italics instead. If you’re comfortable with html, you could even make the line appear in block quote formation, or put it in a highlight class to really draw your visitors’ eyes. By writing the line as "CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HOME EVALUATION," you’re yelling at the visitor and making your content look tacky. When writing content for your website, remember that user experience is your number one priority. Provide real estate relevant information, have your listings prominently placed, and always write original material. You’ll demonstrate to users that you’re a realtor who’s keeping up with the times, and the search engines will love you too. For information about Minnesota lofts, go to MinnesotaLoftsAndCondos.com. There you’ll find Minnesota real estate listings including homes for sale in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and surrounding areas.

You don’t send a letter to sit in someone’s inbox. You need it to be read and acted on. If it doesn’t sell, it’s not a sales letter. Write2Market sales letters achieve double-digit response rates. Our experienced sales letter writers are seasoned professionals who know how to analyze your goals, inspect your list (or provide you with one!), for more details visit to .10steps-to-killer-web-copy.com and phrase your offer so you enjoy maximum response to your sales letter or cover letter. Sales letter writing And yes, even you will turn off your critical faculties from time to time. If you have ever purchased a lottery ticket you have been in this ’space’…where your desire for a better future overcomes your more rational thinking process. Hey, someone has to win. The same is true if you have ever felt your brain go soft in the face of an enthusiastic car or electronics salesperson. One half of your brain knows you are being persuaded to buy extra features you don’t need and probably can’t afford. The other part of your brain is whispering in your ear, “Hey man, chill. This feels good. Go with the flow, listen to the man.” The next rule of good sales letters copywriting has to do with the arousal of the reader’s desire to get in on your offer. In a great many instances, for more details visit to .sale-trigger-generator.com this rule is by-passed, and it appears, this is the real reason that a sales letter doesn’t pull according to the expectations of the advertiser. Think about it - you’ve got your reader’s attention; you’ve told them it’s easy and simple; and you’re about to ask them to do something. Unless you take the time to further “want your offer,” your sales letter is going to only half turn them on. They’ll compare your sales letters with the others that have grabbed their attention and finally decide upon the one that interests them the most. Sales and marketing letter writing is a science. We understand that you’re not looking for someone who knows how to dot the it’s and cross the it’s. You need to compel your readers to action. That’s where we come in. With industry experience ranging from Fortune 50 to smaller businesses with local clientele, our approach to copywriting sales letters includes strategy, analysis, and creating several potential offers you can choose from. You’ll enjoy increased response from our professional sales letter–and you’ll be thrilled at superior return on your investment. How to write a sales letter that sells .sales-letter-secret.com .killer-sales-letters.com Our formula is simple–it’s the execution that counts. We analyze your sales goals and set a specific target. Then, we hone your list to make sure we can reach your target. Finally, we craft compelling offers that will get your target market excited about getting in touch with you.

Whether you are working for a small business, large corporation, or are a student, there are numerous sources that you can turn to for help with writing. Businesses need to be able to effectively communicate with their customers, their employees and their potential customers. Effective verbal communication is equally important, but nonverbal communication in the form of copy writing, article writing, press release writing, and more requires a certain level of expertise and experience. The typical small business wants to focus their efforts on their core business activities without spending too much time on projects that can easily be outsourced to consultants or freelance professionals. Many small businesses turn to freelancers to help them save time and money. For example, a certified public accountant opened his own accounting practice after working in another accounting firm for the last ten years. One of the ways he decided to search for new clients was to embark on an advertising and promotional campaign. Although some of his previous clients followed him to his new practice, he wanted to increase the number of accounts he currently handled. These accounts included various individuals and small businesses from around the town. Rather than hire new employees or handle the projects himself, he decided to hire a consultant through a freelance web site to work on copy writing for a local newspaper ad campaign as well as to help with press releases and company news distribution. By outsourcing these non-core business activities to an independent consultant, he is able to save himself time and money and also gets the expertise of an established professional who specializes in the types of writing that he needs assistance with. He decides to list his writing projects in a freelance marketplace and receives bids from independent consultants and freelance writers. He was able to choose a service provider based on factors related to cost, the service provider’s experience, references, and previous feedback from clients. All small businesses have a decision to make about whether to outsource certain projects or to complete the work in house. Using economics as a deciding factor, it makes sense economically for businesses to outsource writing projects when the projects are non-core business activities that do not contribute to the company’s bottom line. Small businesses also need to be able to effectively communicate with their current customers. Some of the more effective ways to get help writing effective communication for current customers involve using tools such as newsletters, email lists, and articles written by outsourced consultants. Newsletters are very effective ways to keep customers informed of current events and happenings within the company. They also offer you the opportunity to gain new clients as the newsletter gets passed around and is often seen by more than one person during its life cycle. It makes sense and is a smart move to outsource corporate communications instead of keeping it in-house. Hiring a separate professional will save your business money and time. For less than the cost of hiring a full time employee, and because it will contribute to allowing more concentration on the activities that will earn your business money, contracting with a consultant or freelancer for your corporate communications (writing of press releases to distribute company news, getting publicity through pieces in newspapers and magazines, and getting help writing newsletters or articles) simply makes sense. An expert in the field who has amassed many years of experience with business writing, persuasive writing, and copy writing in addition to having experience writing press releases, articles, essays, and possibly academic or technical research and term papers will have a lot to offer you and your business. Large corporations use writing to effectively communicate on all levels of business. Business writing and corporate communications are essential elements that keep the public informed and give companies their corporate image. A company’s image, or its publicly perceived notion of credibility and reliability is extremely important to its bottom line. For example, upon its introduction many years ago an American car company introduced a car known as the “Nova”. After some time, it was discovered that the car was not selling well in many Spanish speaking countries. Because in Spanish, “No va” translates to “doesn’t go”, the car sales in these countries were dismal. Effective corporate communication can have far reaching effect. Ineffective corporate communication can result in lower sales as shown in the car sales example. Large corporations also need to be effective communicators with their current employees. Internal corporate communications are equally important and keep your employees abreast of company accomplishments, events and human resource issues. Finally, students also need to be able to write effectively as well. Writing assignments can include writing essays, writing term papers, report writing, and thesis writing not to mention having to demonstrate writing ability in other subjects outside of English class. For example, law students need to be able to write not only persuasive but argumentative writing as well. Foreign language students need to be able to translate into their native language and then back again. Science and technology students need to be able to demonstrate scientific writing ability. Taking writing tips from college professors that teach correct formatting and usage, including APA style, and improving your proofreading and editing skills will result in quality writing assignments. For the student that is looking for writing help and homework assistance for their assignments, freelance marketplaces that allow you to hire a consultant or tutor could be a productive and time saving solution. From a freelance or independent consultant’s standpoint, marketing writing skills to potential service buyers is important to keeping any consulting business thriving. Registering with freelance marketplaces will enable you to showcase your writing skills, talents and abilities. Previous experience with all kinds of writing ranging from grant writing, fiction writing and interactive writing to writing short stories, articles and ebooks or even technical pieces, in addition to all forms of business writing will enable you to prove your varied background and skills. All of which can be showcased in your freelance marketplace profile. Creating and managing a profile is important to make you stand out from the crowd of freelance writers competing for new writing projects. All in all, those looking for writing help can find a vast array of resources in the form of consultants who are more than willing to lend a helping hand.

What could be a better idea for a blog post than - How to write your first blog post. Come to think of it there could be many ideas yet this is what I chose. You may be at one of these places : Know exactly what you want to write… Raring to go. Have an idea, but don’t know how to go about it… Confused. Don’t have an idea of what to write… Clueless. Where ever you are, consider that it is the perfect place to be. Why do I say that? Because I’ve been there and I have finally written my first post. If some one can do it.. you can learn to do it too - Anthony Robbins And that is the intention of this post- to help YOU write your first blog post. Some things to think of before you start writing are - What are you passionate about? What are you interested in? What do you like? What can you spend your time discussing for hours at length? In short, What are your passions? Who is you target audience? What do they do? What are some of their concerns? What are they looking for, on the internet? If you were them, what would be of interest to you? What is the message you want to communicate What do you want to tell your readers? How can you add value? What are the key things that fulfill their needs? Once you have these 3 things listed on paper… you are half way there. You have your base ready. You are now ready to start your blog post. You can use these 4 simple tips to write your blog and make it interesting for your readers. These are some basic principals that would help you keep your reader engaged and coming back for more. Use a “catchy” headline In this noisy chaotic world of the blogs, your blog post will stand out only and only if it has headline that is irresistible. It has to be “catchy”, “smart”, “snazzy”, “hot” enough for people to just want to read the blog. It must be tempting and at the same time it must communicate the value for the reader without opening the entire blog Make your post “Valuable” Provide value to your reader. Give them what they need. Solve some problem that you think they might have. Give them tips. More value you provide, better it is. If you think you can provide more - don’t hesitate, go for it. More the better. “How to” is the key word People surf the net to know how they can — Your job is to tell them how they can get what they desire. They aren’t interested in what you can do, they simply want to know “how”. List them down Complex information is easily understandable, if you you list it down. Point by point, small chunks of information in neat looking lists. Your reader understands that better. Now you are ready to write. Actual writing a post is very simple. You can use the following easy to follow steps about writing a blog : Write 3 to 5 points you want to make to your audience. Write them down in a list. Now add 3 to 5 sentences to each of the points you want to present. You now have 3 to 5 paragraphs ready. Now add an introduction to your blog. Connect with your audience. Add a paragraph in the end to conclude and Voila! Your blog post is ready! Remember to write in simple English. Don’t use complicated prose or complex sentences. Write like you are talking to them and that should do the trick. There, now you are ready to write your first blog post! Now the only thing that is going to get you going is - >> Start Writing. Once you have written your first blog… there is no looking back. You are down the blog hole! Happy Adventure! Sanjay Wadhwa India Start your Online Busuness at LetsGetToTheTop.com

The cathedral stands tall in the day’s gloom, its soft interior dusted with age. The warrior trudges forth. The old campaigner is tired and his shoulders are slumped. His sword is dull and his armor battered. Sitting in a pew the dust rises up to greet him. Eyes like flecks of granite, filled with sorrow, raise with pleading to the heavens, they have seen too much. The warhorse is old and beaten. This clanking engine of warfare has seen his last skirmish, a worn husk now, no closer to his goal than when he first took up the sword. The world has moved on and he sits immovable in contemplation. He sits, the last off the field, the last of the fallen as the silent ballad fills his mind. Was his cause just? Did he do the right thing? These things no longer matter as the ballad continues on, leaving him behind to sit, dusty, rusting amid his tarnished days of glory. His life is coming to an end, yet he cannot think of one worthwhile achievement. No loved ones to speak of, his battle brothers are no longer beside him to fight the good fight. What was once a boy is now a giant of blood and iron. A commander of vast armies, defender of the weak, liberator of the oppressed, avenger of the wronged. Yet he is no closer to understanding his life, even so near its end. He sits in contemplation, his memory a haze of battle, bloodshed, and stalwart resistance. His foes faces are blurred; there is no one he has not fought at one time or another. For all those he saved in his life, all the bravery, courage, and valor that has come to be synonymous with his name, he is left a shattered husk. Beaten and worn to the nub by the rigours of life. In the silence he can still hear the moaning of the wounded on the field meshed with the cheers of the victors. His entire life he’s devoted to being strong and doing the right thing, no matter the consequence. But what has it left him with? Nothing. He is no more intelligent than when he was a child. He understands nothing more of the world or his place in it. Even as his heart flutters its last he knows there is still much work to do, as there always will be. The world is a giant meatgrinder, glutted upon the minds, souls, and bodies of untold billions. Still it hungers for more, for its thirst for blood shall never be quenched, nor its hunger sated. Slumping in death and defeat, his voice, which had rang out loud and clear over the insufferable din of battle was reduced to a shaking whisper, “There is no silence, no peace, no end. There is only war”. John Albers jragebellsouth.net

With the Internet being such a visual medium, it’s easy to understand why there is such a premium put on eye-catching, graphic design. Companies want their Web sites to be visually appealing. They want to make a great initial impression and draw visitors into the site. When you think about it, it’s not all that different than dressing up for a first date. You take a little time to think about what you’re going to wear, and a little extra time to get ready. You want everything to be just right. You want to make an impression right off the bat. But of course, sooner or later, maybe over dinner, perhaps, or a drink, you’re going to get beyond the appearances and have a real conversation. And this is where you really begin to find out about the other person, and they begin to find out about you. The problem with a lot of Web sites is that we’re left at the “appearances” stage. We try to navigate through the site, just like we might ask pertinent questions on a first date, but often come up empty. It’s a common problem. Companies become so focused on the design elements of their site that they neglect the actual content. Eventually, even the most mesmerized visitor is going to want to actually read about the company to learn more about it. For a Web site to be successful, a business should spend as much effort on making sure their content is effective as they spend on making sure their design is. Web sites, like any piece of visual marketing (e.g. brochures, postcards, etc.) have two components that are equal in value

It was a usual routine and hectic day with lots of work and writing. I had just finished downloading Overload Pichal Pairee and was listening to the first track. Suddenly my mother entered the study and asked me, “What kind of music is this?” before I could explain the music genre to her, she ejaculated, and “It is really a master-piece work, though I know little about music. From my childhood, I have been listening to 60’s and 70’s tracks. I can say that this is a dazzling piece of work.” I listened to all the tracks charily, after she left the room. “Mom is right, indeed”, I thought. The album title seemed appealing to me, though, I have modest knowledge of Punjabi vocabulary, but still it is beguiling. The title name usually creates a horror sensation, but it has nothing to do with it. Before listening to the songs, I had a misconception of songs portraying some horror like atmosphere like BSB’s “Everybody”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Hadiqa’s “Mahi”. I initially assumed Pichal Pairee to be a finicky fusion of horror and rock. After listening to the songs, my assumption altered, since the composition and lyrics have nothing to do with the ingredient of horror. The album is an apt permutation of swinging moods and melodies. The instrumental and psychedelic genre of music makes it a mesmerizing sensation. The album comprises tracks like “Dig”, “Saat Mein”,”Vichar Gai”, ‘Pichal Pairee”, “Amjad Khan”, “One Mile High”, “Kaykra”, “Mela Kariye”, and “Dhol Bajay Ga”. Apart from the alluring effort of Meesha, Farhad, Sheraz and Mahmood, some additional folks like Nasir Sain, Shahryar Jabbar, Ustad Allah Loke and Jaffer Hussian have also marvelously contributed. Meesha’s transition from a model to singer is fascinating; she has truly inherited the talent and intellect from her mother, Saba Hameed. After a long hiatus, Overload has sustained its unique genre of rock in Pichal Pairee. It is an experimental oeuvre attempt. “Dhol Baje Ga” is a predominant delightful and slightly clamorous track, with vibrant vocals. The drums and bass beat are highly invigorating in the track, though the vocals are a bit strident. “Amjad Khan” starts with a very soft and rhythmic tone, but loses its way afterwards, but still it is a vibrant track. “Pichal Pairee” sounds a bit mystifying and reverberated, and unfortunately the most meager composition. “A Thousand Miracles” starts with a soft melodious tone, and continues its mellow status, though the closure is not that malleable as it is in the beginning. “Vichar Gai” is indeed the most influential and most exotic song, with Punjabi lyrics. The ravishing beat is intriguingly portentous, with heavy drums and conventional base. “Mela Kariye” is a traditional track, with ordinary melody, and doesn’t evoke a commotion like other tracks. In fact it doesn’t prove to be a touching folk melody, though the traditional dhol and drumming makes it a bit customary. “Kaykra” is a bit speedy and riveting, whereas “Saat Mein” is very catchy in terms of beat and tune, miraculously depicts Ustad Allah Loke mode, with conventional bass held somewhat in the middle of the track. After seeing the video, a petite Meesha with a striking face and Amy Winehouse looks, rocks on vocals. The video reflected nothing about a Pichal Pairee, but it looked more like a rock star’s emblematic performance. Even Meesha’s makeover has been brilliantly done by Shehzad Raza, but one is unable to find any component of Pichal Pairee (one with twisted feet) in the video. I was expecting a typical ghost like makeover, costume and ambiance, before watching the video. However, the makeover, outfits and set could have been more dramatic. Even no horror- like milieu was justly rendered in the video. It could have been shot while keeping an archetypal Pichal Pairee in mind. Nevertheless, all the band people look absolutely stunning in the video. Pichal Pairee is and inimitable and experimental piece of work by Overload, brilliantly produced by Farhad. The album is titled in Punjabi, but it is contains some English lyrics as well. The album tracks are vividly mastered by legendary Shahzad “Shahi” Hasan. It is indeed one of the most prolific works of Shahi, who happens to be the one of the most ingenious music producers. His master mind and perfectionism adds evocative splendor to the album. The album is truly a flamboyant and glitzy piece of work……. Sadaf Fayyaz

I for one don’t really agree with this. This man is offering his body to any Tom, Dick or Harry that wants to become a tattoo artist. This could really turn into some thing bad if this guy isn’t careful. Tattooing is a serious business and should not be taken lightly. There is a lot more to tattooing that just turning on the tattoo gun and start “drawing” on someones skin. For instance they may not know how deep your are suppose to go before you get to your second layer of skin, which is wear tattoos are suppose to be. Also there is a high chance of cross-contamination or blood-borne pathogens or sterilization. Just in case you are wondering this man has placed an ad on Craiglist offering his body to a hopeful tattoo artist to basically practice on him. The main reason I believe this man is doing this is to get free tattoos. He currently has 2 tattoos and said he would love to have his whole torso covered in them and this way would be perfect because he could get inked for free. But has he even thought for a second that these “free tattoos” he will be getting may not be all that great. After all the person is “practicing” and we all know that practice makes perfect. I for one would not want to have someone practicing their tattoo skills on my body, mainly because you will have to live that that not so great tattoo for the rest of your life. Also you may get some sort of infection or something worse because they “artist” may or may not know what they are doing. Your Tattoo Friend Ashley

Author Rosaine Thomas Bio: Rosaine has established her writing credentials with her debut novel The Pastor’s Baby Mama in July 2008, and will continue writing many more books while exploring different genres. The publishing of this book sparks the beginning of a rewarding future writing career for her and also a dream come true. Born Rosaine Thomas on January 26th 1982 in Montego Bay on the beautiful and exotic Island of Jamaica, she always possessed a special love for reading since childhood, and then later developed a passion for writing as a teenager. She has written scripts for church plays in the past and a series of short stories which were enjoyed by her high school friends. She is currently a substitute teacher with an Associates Degree in Elementary Education and is still pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in order to become a full time schoolteacher. Rosaine possesses a written craft to enrapture the mind much like how an artist wields a brush. She has a god given talent that matches an imagination that rises to the task. She hopes to become a world-renowned best selling author such as Daniel Steel in the near future. Description: The Pastor’s Baby Mama by Rosaine Thomas When a ride-or-die hood chick falls deeply in love with a pastor, that can only spell D-R-A-M-A. Meet Sapphire; the sassy, sophisticated and beautiful baby mama of the head pastor of a luxuriously built 200 member mega-church. Sapphire is feisty, quick tempered and unafraid to speak her mind. She has a tremendous sexual appetite and have even experienced sex with both sexes. After becoming the Pastor’s baby mama there was only one thing left on her agenda–she wanted him to divorce his estranged wife and be with her and their son so they could get married and live together as man and wife. The only problem is he doesn’t want his church community to find out that he had a child out of wedlock. In the Christian church it was considered a sin and he could possibly lose his career as a pastor over it. In an attempt to save his sanity, he kept Sapphire and their son Malique a secret and away from the spotlight for years. When she got tired of waiting on her baby’s father she allowed herself to be impressed and lured away by a man whom she later found out was just an impressionist and didn’t have her best interest at heart. She did it to get her baby’s father jealous in hopes of drawing him closer to her. Will Sapphire realize her dream of marrying the man she loves or will the love grow cold? Follow Sapphire on her quest to find true love and happiness in the midst of obstacles. This is a story of sex, lies, persistence and love. In the end she ended up having not one, not two-but three guys in competition for her love. Who will she choose? Will she follow her heart and make the right decision? The Pastor’s Baby Mama Book Review: Everyone has this misconception about pastors. They are perfect, without sin, and some even think they are saints. But a pastor is still a human, and Pastor Bromwell had his share of drama and has to uphold his reputation despite being the head of his mega church. Pastor Alrick Bromwell, who is recently separated, runs into Sapphire, a feisty young woman who is very in tune with her sexual side. They begin a long affair together, but Sapphire has been through a lot and has a few skeletons in her closet regarding her past. When Sapphire becomes pregnant, it must be kept a secret. Tired of being in a dead end relationship, she wants to settle down and be a family, but Pastor Bromwell can’t have his congregation find out that he is a fornicator. Sapphire goes on a long journey to find herself. Will she continue with lies, deceit and cheating? When she finds herself pregnant again, will she learn to live for herself? Or keep chasing a pipe dream? Sometimes what you are looking for in life is right there in your face the whole time. The Pastor’s Baby Mama by Rosaine Thomas touched on some controversial topics. It showed how the wrong choices and lies can jeopardize your career, family and values. I think the author really painted a realistic picture and presented a good storyline. The Pastor’s Baby Mama is a solid read. Reviewed by Kristin for Urban-Reviews.com Details: 5.5 x 8.5 Paperback ISBN: 9781432726881 Purchase Price: $14.95 5.5 x 8.5 Hardback w/ jacket ISBN: 9781432726898 Purchase Price: $26.95 Instant e-Book Download-$5.00 Purchase Link: outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432726881 Rosaine Thomas

Book report writing is not an easy task. You have to give your full concentration and time in order to get some good piece of work. You have to do a lot of reading and usually reading a book, that you already have read, is not an exciting thing at all. Here is a complete step by step guide in writing your book report with ease. Introductory Paragraph The first sentence should state for which instructor and class the book-report is being written. The second sentence should state the title of the book and the author’s name. The third sentence should tell how many pages the book has and the name of the publisher. The fourth sentence can state basic bibliographic information about the book. Bibliographic information means not only the author and title but also what company published the book, what year it was published in and any other relevant information such as the edition and if the book has been translated, simplified or abridged. The next sentence should state the reason(s) you decided to read this book. Why did you choose this particular book for writing a book report? Typical reasons might be: • You like the author. • You like this type of book (i.e. mystery, western, adventure or romance, etc.). • Someone recommended the book to you. • It was on a required reading list. • You liked the cover. These reasons do not have to be complex. Most people choose the books they read because they like the author or somebody recommended it to them. If you chose the book because you like the author, then state why you like that author. An optional sentence can be used if the cover (back cover) of the book gives you any additional information then adds a sentence with that information. • Was the book a best seller? • Are there X million copies in print? • Did it win any major awards? • Main Character(s) Paragraph The first sentence of this paragraph should state who the main character or characters of the book are, and why they are important. Refer to this person or these persons as the Main Character or Main Characters. You will need at least a complex sentence for this, and probably more than one sentence. • Other Characters Paragraph You should compose at least one sentence for each of the other prominent or important characters in the book. State the name of each of the other important characters, and the key role that each one plays in the book Most books have five or six prominent characters besides the main character, so simply listing each one and stating their role in the book will give you a good sized paragraph. • Plot Summary Paragraph This is perhaps the hardest paragraph to write in book report writing five sentences or so. If you have to write a bit more don’t worry. Here are the main points to cover: • State the type of book (Mystery, Western, etc.). • What place or country was the book set in? • What time period was the book set in? (19th century, the present, ancient Rome, the 23rd century). • Other physical locations which are important, like: ships, airplanes, houses, or buildings. • Other notable attributes of the book. (Was it violent, scary, fast paced, etc.). • What is the main character trying to do? • What is the outcome of the book? • etc. Make sure you cover all of the major parts of the plot. You might have to go back through the book, chapter by chapter, and make a few notes. • Personal Impressions and Conclusion Paragraph Simply talk about what you liked or did not like when you write a book report. Use this paragraph as your conclusion. It should summarize your overall impressions of the book and bring the report to a close. • Start with a sentence that states that you are now writing a conclusion. (For example: “My final thoughts on ‘A Fine Balance’ are that it is a fascinating book but I am not entirely sure if I completely understood the thematic message of the book.” • Restate your reasons why you liked and/or disliked the book using different words. • Write two sentences that talk about the books good points and weak points. • Write a sentence or two about what you learned from the book. • Close with a sentence that states whether you would recommend the book to others. Don’t be afraid to give your own honest impressions of the book. After all, if you’ve read the book thoroughly, you are entitled to your own interpretation of it. Typically, your book report should not exceed two double-spaced pages, and it should be somewhere between 600 and 800 words in length.