How to Write a Summary
1 . Pick out key details from the text you read. You can do this by
taking notes in the chart below.
Questions to Consider
Who...
was important in the story? was involved?
Think about the key players or characters
in the text.
What...
happened in the text? was important to
the text?
Think about the key events in the text.
When...
did the story take place? did the key
events happen?
Think about parts of the setting including
the time of day, the historical
time period, and the season.
Where...
did the key events take place?
Think about parts of the setting including
the country, town, specific location, etc.
Why...
did the events take place?
Think about the motivation of the key
characters in the text.
How...
did the events take place?
Think about how certain events took
place. Think about what might have
happened to cause the events to take
place.
Details in Your OWN Words