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In this quick guide, we explain how to write a summary like an

expert. We share some summary examples and list out the
steps. But first, let’s look at the big question:

What is a summary?

Really, a summary is a general term used to describe any

writing that briefly explains, or “summarizes,” a larger work
like a novel, academic paper, movie, or TV show. Summaries
are usually short, from one or two sentences to a paragraph,
but if you’re summarizing an enormous work, like all seven
Harry Potter books, they can stretch out over pages.

Summary writing is like a highlight reel, showing only the

best parts and ignoring what’s not strictly necessary. A
summary example of Hamlet would mention the main plot
points like the murder of Polonius, but wouldn’t mention
details irrelevant to the plot, like Polonius’s “to thine own self
be true” monologue.

The key to summary writing is to stick to the facts; do not

include opinions, analysis, or bias. If it’s written for
commercial purposes, such as the summaries on Netflix, it
might be intentionally alluring and withhold spoilers.
However, for academic papers and more formal writing,
summary writing leans towards factual and clinical.

Summaries appear in many different shapes and forms,

including book reports and other school papers. Academics
use summaries all the time for research papers when they
write an abstract, which is essentially a summary of an entire
research paper.

Really, everyone needs to know how to write a summary at

one point or another. Even finding a job requires you to
summarize your own professional background and work
experience. Learning how to write a good LinkedIn summary
can help you land your dream job!

Summary examples: What makes a good

summary

Let’s look at some summary examples of famous works to

see what constitutes a strong summary.

On IMDb, the summary for the 2008 movie The Dark Knight is
just a sentence long:

When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and

chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of
the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to
fight injustice.

Right away, you’ll notice that the specific events of the movie
are omitted and replaced by a general explanation of what
happens. The main characters are mentioned—at least the
protagonist and antagonist—and there is some description
given about the types of events, such as “psychological and
physical tests.”

However, the details are absent. To summarize a two-hour

movie in a single sentence requires broad strokes; there’s
only room for the bare essentials.

Most summaries, though, are longer than a sentence, like this

multi-paragraph summary example for the novel To Kill a
Mockingbird from SparkNotes.

As you can see, this summary is about the length of a page.

It’s far more detailed, too, mentioning secondary characters
and adding more context to the plot events. Still, to condense
281 pages into one requires a lot of cutting, so each key event
is given just a sentence or two, consisting of only the need-
to-know information.

How to write a summary in 4 steps

Summary writing uses the same best tips for all good writing.
If you want to know how to write a summary yourself, we
break the process down into 4 basic steps.

1 Read or watch the source material

The first step is fairly obvious: Read or watch whatever it is
you’re writing a summary about.

If you’re doing a book report or similar paper, there’s always a

temptation to skip this step and just rely on other people’s
summaries. We don’t recommend it, though. For starters, how
can you trust the writer of that summary? What if they just
wrote their summary based on another person’s summary,
too? Moreover, you may miss some key points or events that
the other summary overlooked.

The only risk-free way to write a summary is to read or watch

the source material yourself. Otherwise you’re liable to miss
something essential.

2 Make a list of the key points

Next comes the outlining phase, where you list out what
points to include in your summary. How many items go on
your list depends on the length of both the summary and the
source material. If you’re running long, start cutting items
that are less of a priority.

It always helps to use your memory at first. The most

significant events will have left an impact on you, so using
what you remember is a good filter for what’s vital. However,
learn to separate what’s truly necessary and what’s just
personal preference. Just because you fell in love with a
secondary character doesn’t mean they’re worth mentioning
in the summary.
To fill in the gaps of what you’ve missed, you may need to
reread or rewatch your source material. Feel free to skim it to
save time; you just need to map out the significant points, not
reread every word.

Here’s a tip: For longer pieces, break the source into

sections and make a separate list for each section. For
example, if you’re summarizing a research paper, you might
write different lists for the Methods, Results, and
Conclusion sections respectively. This is optional but helps
you organize everything for larger works.

3 Write the summary in your own words

Next, write the first draft of your summary following the lists
you made in the previous outlining stage. If you’re
summarizing a book, film, or other media, it’s best to use
chronological order (even if the story is told out of order).

The key here is using your own words. While you’re free to
copy the occasional direct quote in your summary writing, it’s
best to use original language to make it your own. Also, keep
in mind the perspective of someone who’s never read or seen
the source material. Do you have all the relevant points they
need to understand what’s going on?

Here’s a tip: Pay close attention to transitions. Summaries

are naturally fast-paced, where sentences often jump from
 one event or point to another in rapid succession. For a
reader, this can be very jarring.

To make your summary writing easier to comprehend, use

plenty of transitional words and phrases, such as however, as
a result, and meanwhile. You’ll find a more complete list in
our guide to transition words and phrases.

4 Edit and cut what’s unnecessary

Last comes the proofreading phase, where you reread your
summary and correct any mistakes or awkward wording. For
summary writing, watch out for unnecessary information, too;
every word is crucial, so removing unnecessary information
gives you more room to elaborate on the main points.

Grammarly can save you a lot of time in this step. Grammarly

marks any grammar and spelling mistakes you make while
you write and provides quick recommendations on how to fix
them. This frees you up to focus on more important aspects
of summary writing, like the points you’re trying to make.

Grammarly even helps with conciseness, which is integral to

summary writing. If you’re using five words to say what can
be said in two, Grammarly points it out so you can fix it. That
way, your summaries can be as short and compact as
possible—the way summary writing is supposed to be!
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