For most people, hearing the term "essay" brings to mind the book reports they wrote or are still writing in school. There's a good reason that many people don't know the difference between the two, and that's because a book report is basically just a particular type of essay. The good news is that if you've ever written a book report, you already have some knowledge about writing an essay. There are some distinctions, however, that you should know.
A book report is, quite simply, an essay about a book. These types of essays summarize an entire book by analyzing its plot, characters, and themes. Although some book reports contain only that summary, a great book report will include the book report writer's thoughts and opinions on what they've read. Most often, a book report covers the main features of the book without any requirement to make an argument about it.
Most importantly, a book report can only be written about a book. There is no wiggle room on this point, and that's the main difference between the definition of a book report and the wider definition of an essay.
An essay is an informative piece of writing that can be written on virtually any topic imaginable. The topic may be a book and include a summary of it, but essays have been written on science, math, politics, personal experiences, criminal justice, health, or an historical event. The biggest difference is, quite simply, in the possibilities.
Essays can also be narrative, argumentative, persuasive, or expository. Traditionally, an essay requires the writer to examine a topic in a new way and include a critical analysis of their subject. A good essay will also include several outside sources to support the writer's argument instead of focusing on just one outside piece of writing.
Book reports are usually assigned to students in elementary, middle, and high school and their purpose is to prove that the writer has read the book they've been asked to write about. Since essays require critical thinking and analysis, they're usually assigned for students at higher grade levels and the level of analysis required increases depending on that level, as well.
Whether you've been assigned a book report or any other type of essay, structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation are all important, and so is organizing your points and showing off what you've learned.