Retelling Versus Summarizing

A retelling includes lots of details; a summary is short and only covers what matters most.

Retelling and summarizing are related, but they aren't the same. A retelling goes through the story in order with many details, characters, and events, almost like telling it again. A summary is much shorter. It includes only the most important events and leaves out small details, describing the main character, the problem, the key events, and the resolution.

Here's a story retold: 'Nico woke up late, couldn't find his left shoe, ran to the bus stop, saw the bus pulling away, chased it, tripped, and then his neighbor offered him a ride. On the way, they talked about baseball. ' A summary of the same story: 'When Nico missed the bus, his neighbor gave him a ride to school, and they found they both love baseball.

' The summary keeps what matters and drops the rest.

• 1A retelling is long and detailed, in order.
• 2A summary is short and covers only key events.
• 3A summary leaves out small details.