Summarizing: Just the Big Parts

Tell the most important parts of a story in just a few sentences.

A summary is shorter than a retell. Instead of every event, you tell only the most important parts in two or three sentences.

One trick is 'Somebody, Wanted, But, So': who is the story about, what did they want, what was the problem, and how was it solved? Read a story where Finn the fox wants grapes on a high vine, but he can't reach them, so he stacks rocks and climbs up.

Summary: 'Finn wanted grapes, but they were too high, so he stacked rocks to reach them. ' One sentence holds the whole story!

• 1A summary tells only the most important parts.
• 2It is short: two or three sentences.
• 3Try Somebody, Wanted, But, So.