How to Summarize a Story
When you're writing a summary of a story it needs to be short, sweet and to the point. Fortunately, that's not hard!
Read the story. It will be very difficult to summarize a story without actually reading it. So crack open your book, or plug in some headphones and listen to it on your iPod. Don't always trust the internet sites that claim to summarize books, because they aren't always accurate.
As you're reading you need to keep in mind what the central idea of the story is. For Lord of the Rings, for instance, the central idea might be something about how the power of greed (i.e. the Ring) is a strong force for evil, or even the actions of one insignificant person (like a hobbit) can change the world.
Take notes. You'll need to take notes as you read so that you have refer to them when you're ready to start the summary. Look for the "who? what? when? where? why?" These will give you the basis for what you want to cover in your summary.
Find the main characters. You'll need to know who the story is about, after all, and you need to figure out which characters aren't as important to the narrative. If you're reading a story with tons of characters, you won't want to note down every single character that appears.
For example: for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone you would write down Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, because they are the main characters. You might even note down Hagrid, Dumbledore, Snape, Quirrell, and Voldemort because they figure importantly in the story.
You wouldn't need to write down Peeves the poltergeist, or Norbert the dragon, because while they are important in their places in the story, they don't influence the main storyline enough to be part of the summary.
A shorter story like "Little Red Riding Hood" is easy because you only have to note down Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the wolf, and the woodcutter (depending on the version).
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Note down the setting. The setting is where the events take place. Now this can get complicated if the story you're reading takes place in a lot of different places. If that's the case, you'll need to be more broad.
Continuing the Harry Potter example: the main action takes place at Hogwarts, so you could write down something like 'the magical school Hogwarts in the United Kingdoms.'
Now for a story like Lord of the Rings, which takes place over a large amount of territory, you can mention that it's Middle-Earth, and note some places of important like the Shire, Mordor, and Gondor. You don't have to go too specific (like mentioning the forest Fangorn, or the tower Minas Morgul).
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Note the story's conflict. This means whatever is the main problem that the characters are having to overcome. It doesn't necessarily have to be a villain, like with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
For Harry Potter, the main conflict is Voldemort's attempt to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and return to menace the Wizard World (and kill Harry).
For example, if you're summarizing The Odyssey, the main conflict is Odysseus trying to get home to Ithaca. Everything about the story is driven by his desire to get home and all the obstacles standing in his way.
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Note the main events. These are the most important parts of the story. You don't need to note down every single thing that a character does. In fact, that is exactly what you're supposed to not do! Just look for the events that further the main conflict, or help resolve it.
For Harry Potter, some main events would be Harry finding out he's a wizard, or Harry meeting the three-headed dog and, of course, Harry, Ron, and Hermione defeating Voldemort.
It might seem easier for a shorter story like 'Little Red Riding Hood,' but you should only note down the most important moments like Riding Hood meeting the wolf, getting eaten after she mistakes the wolf for her grandmother, and the appearance of the woodcutter.
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Note the conclusion. This is the big event, usually, that wraps up the story's conflict and resolves the problems. Even in a book that is part of a series there is usually some sort of conclusion to the story. Spoilers below!
For Harry Potter the conclusion is defeating Voldemort. The story after that isn't important to the summary, even if it is important to the overall story. You won't need to go into the conversation between Dumbledore and Harry at the end, or even the Gryffindor House winning points, because it isn't really part of the main Voldemort storyline.
For Red Riding Hood, the conclusion is the appearance of the woodcutter to save her and her grandmother.
For something like Lord of the Rings, the conclusion is complicated for a summary, because you may want to stop off at the destruction of the Ring, but (especially if the central idea of the story is the importance of the the deeds of one insignificant person) you will want to mention the Scouring of the Shire, and Frodo's departure from the Grey Havens.