How to Summarize a Story

Summarizing a Story

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to summarize a story by providing summarizing strategies:

Step 1: Read the story thoroughly

• The first step to summary writing a story is to read it carefully and thoroughly as reading strategies.
• Take your time and make sure you understand the plot, characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.
• If necessary, make re-reading.

Step 2: Identify the main points

After reading the story,

• Identify the main points or events that drive the plot forward.
• These should be the key elements that you want to include in your summary.

Step 3: Determine the purpose of the summary

Before summarizing the story,

• Determine the purpose of the summary.
• Is it to provide a brief overview of the story, highlight the main plot points, or condense an analysis of the theme?
• Knowing the purpose will help you focus on the relevant information to include in your summary.

Step 4: Write a brief introduction

• Start your summary with a brief introduction that includes the title of the story, the author, and the main characters.
• This will give readers context and help them understand the summary.

Step 5: Summarize the plot

In the body of the summary,

• Summarize the plot of the story in a clear and concise manner.
• Focus on the main events and avoid unnecessary details without inserting a personal opinion.
• Use transition words to connect the different plot points and ensure a smooth flow.

Step 6: Highlight the key themes

• If the purpose of your summary is to highlight the key points and important details of the story, include a section that summarizes these themes.
• This should be a brief analysis that explores the deeper meaning of the central idea and how it relates to the real world.

Step 7: Conclude the summary

When it comes to the conclusion part,

• End the summary with a brief conclusion that ties together the main plot points and themes.
• You can also include your own thoughts or opinions on the story, but make sure they are relevant and add value to the summary.

Step 8: Edit and revise

Once you have written the summary,

• Reread it and make sure it is clear, concise, and accurate.
• Edit and revise as necessary, and ensure the summary is free of spelling and grammar errors.

P.S.: Do not forget that summarizing is like retelling based on your writing skills.

How to improve the quality of your Summary?

If you want to write a good summary of a story, it’s important to keep it concise, use your own words, focus on the main characters and relevant information, be objective, use transition words, and revise and edit. Here are some tips:

1. Keep it concise: A good summary should be brief and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details and focus on the main plot points and themes.
2. Use your own words: While summarizing a story, use your own words to convey the plot and key events. Avoid copying and pasting text from the original story, as this can lead to plagiarism .
3. Focus on the main characters: The main characters are usually the driving force behind the plot, so make sure to highlight their actions and motivations in your summary.
4. Include only relevant information: When summarizing fiction, include only information that is relevant to the plot and themes. Avoid including minor details that do not add value to the summary.
5. Be objective: When writing a summary, it’s important to be objective and avoid inserting your own opinions or biases. Stick to the facts and let the reader draw their own conclusions.
6. Use transition words: Use transition words like “first”, “next”, “then”, and “finally” to help connect the different plot points and ensure a smooth flow.
7. Revise and edit: Once you’ve written your summary, read it over and make sure it’s clear, concise, and accurate.

The elements of a story are the essential components that make up a narrative. These include:

1. Characters

• The people, animals, or beings that inhabit the story drive the plot forward.
• They have specific traits, personalities, motivations, and relationships with other characters.

2. Setting

• The time, place, and atmosphere in which the story takes place.
• This can include physical locations, historical periods, cultural contexts, and other details that create a sense of time and place.

3. Plot

• The sequence of events that make up the story and create the main idea.
• This includes the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
• The plot usually involves some form of conflict or problem that the characters must overcome.

4. Conflict

• The main problem or obstacle that the characters face in the story.
• This can be an internal or external conflict, such as a personal struggle, societal issue, or antagonist.

5. Theme

• The underlying message or meaning of the story.
• This is often a universal or abstract idea that the story explores, such as love, loss, identity, or power.

6. Point of View

• The perspective from which the story is told.
• This can be the first-person, second-person, or third-person point of view, and it can affect the reader’s understanding of the characters, plot, and theme.