Guidelines
for Writing Summaries of Stories
a.
Read the story at least twice before writing your summary. Then put the story away. Do not refer to the story while you
are writing your summary because you will have the tendency to include too many
details or copy phrases.
b.
Write the summary in your own words.
Do not copy sentences or phrases from the book.
c. Include the following information in your summary:
---who
the main characters are
---where
and when the events of the
story take place
d.
Describe the main events of the story in the order in which they
occurred.
e.
Do not
include your opinion or interpretation of the story in your summary.
f.
When
summarizing dialog, avoid using direct quotations. (e.g. She said, “
.” Instead, describe
in general what the conversation was about (e.g. She discussed . . . or They
talked about . . .)