Read the book completely. Read it twice, if possible. Take notes as you read about themes or motifs in the book as well as significants moments. Mark off the designated pages with sticky notes. Watch the film version, if possible.
Make a timeline of the major moments of the plot in chronological order. Add in any significant moments to your timeline.
Think of your thesis. Your thesis should be an original opinion focused upon a significant trend or moment of the book that is debatable. For example, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" a good thesis could be: "Fitzgerald uses the extravagance of Gatsby's parties as a metaphor for his anxiety."
Introduce the book in your opening paragraph and summarize it in five to seven sentences. Your last few sentences should lead fluidly to your thesis.
Write another paragraph that supports your thesis but use other material from the book as evidence. Quote specific moments of the book using MLA or Chicago Style in-text citing methods. Do this for your third paragraph as well. In this manner you are summarizing the book, but in a way that shapes the summation of the book around your thesis.
Write another paragraph that uses evidence from the film adaptation of the book, if there is one, to support your thesis. While this may not be possible, as the book may not have a film equivalent or the film may be entirely different from the book, use another genre of art as a point of comparison and as a means to support your thesis. For example, for the thesis about "the Great Gatsby" one could say that using the party as a bold and untamed means of expressing anxiety in the novel is synonymous with the wild and untamed brushstrokes of South African artist William Kentridge in expressing that same emotion.
Restate your thesis in a new way for the beginning of your concluding paragraph. For example, for the thesis on Gatsby you could write: "Fitzgerald strategically bestows Gatsby with such lavish gatherings as a means of symbolizing disquiet within the character." From that point on, recap the main points of your second, third and fourth paragraphs.