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[Coop and Dino singing]

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When you write a summary, you shouldn’t just write every single detail of what happened [Pages turning]

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in a story, word-for-word.

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If you do that…you’re going to need a summary for your summary.

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While it’s true that summaries are supposed to be about relaying events from a story in [Coop discussing summaries]

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your own words… …there’s more to it than that.

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An effective summary only covers the main ideas of a story or event.

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Which means that when you summarize a story… …you have to choose which main points of [Woman wearing red cape walking]

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the story are important enough to be included in the summary. [Woman walks into a bedroom and a wolf is in the bed]

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You have to pick and choose.

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Keep the juicy bits, and run the rest of it down the garbage disposal.

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Otherwise, your summary will go on forever… …which would really defeat the purpose of

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giving a short and to-the-point overview of a story’s main events. [Students sitting in a classroom]

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“Forever” is definitely too long for a summary.

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When you’re picking the main events of a story to include in your summary…

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…make sure you pick elements that add to the overall plot, theme, or main idea of the [Coop discussing elements of a summary]

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story.

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Some random tangent about how a particular cloud looks something like two grizzly bears [A cloud depicting two grizzly bears]

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slow-dancing the waltz… …while an entertaining image, can probably

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be left on the cutting room floor.

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But if an event is totally necessary to the plot’s development, add it to the summary.

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Like…if you’re summarizing a love story…mentioning how and when the two lovebirds met is going [Boy holding ice cream walks into girl]

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to be prime summary material.

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If an event is necessary for you to understand the main theme of the story, then add that

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to the summary, too.

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If a story’s theme is “forgiveness,” and there’s a bit in the story about how [Door opens and man holding flowers appears]

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one character overlooks a past indiscretion and allows someone else back into their life…

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…definitely throw it in there.

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Especially if that past indiscretion involves eating the last slice of our character’s [Man's face changes shape]

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birthday cake.

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Because it doesn’t get more scandalous than that.

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Writing effective summaries is only partly about retelling events.

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It’s also about having a keen eye for the details that matter.

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And if you happen to have two keen eyes? [Girl and boy in class]

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Even better.

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