1) The first step to writing a summary is to answer the 5 wh- questions, for example:
Who is the author?
Where is the story set? / Where does it take place?
When does it take place?
Who are the main protagonists / characters?
What happens in the story? (few details - how does the story begin, what happens in the middle and the ending)
Why do these events happen?
2) Try to use cohesive devices (linkers) to connect the sentences together, so that your summary is coherent. For example:
and, but, so, because, as a result, although, however, instead, etc.
3) Remember to use the correct verb tenses and check for any spelling errors.
Here is an example of a summary from "Little Dorrit" (written by Caterina H.):
"Little
Dorrit"
This is a
short story written by Charles Dickens The main character is Amy, called “Little
Dorrit” because she is very thin and small. The story takes place in the
Marshalsea Prison in London. Amy was born on a hot summer’s day in prison and
although her mother died, the little girl with her father, brother and sister
had continued to live there. As she became older, Amy still looked after her
father in prison and went out to look for work in an old lady’s house. One day
she met the old lady’s son, Arthur, who was much older than her. They fell in
love and her family became rich. After her father’s death, there was a terrible
financial scandal in London, as a result Arthur went to prison, too. Amy went back to
the prison every day to look after him. A few months later, on a beautiful
sunny morning, Amy and Arthur got married.
Here is another example from your May test "Edward Steadman" written by Benny Rega:
This short story about Edward Steadman takes place in Boston, when he was young. Edward fell in love with a Romanian girl called Selene Devoll, who one day invited him to dinner to meet her family in Beacon Hill. Some days later, Edward arrived at Selen's and met her father who called him "Deadman" instead of "Steadman". While Edward started thinking that the old man was really weird, a maid served them dinner in a gigantic living room. After dinner, Selen's father invited Edward to stay the night, however he had to decline because he had lectures the next morning. When Edward was about to go away, Selen's father started looking at his neck, walking really close to him, but Selene stopped him and reminding him what had happened the last time. He left them and went home. The following week, while Edward was taking his usual Sunday walk through Boston cemetery, he found Selen's father and Selene's grave which said "Ivan and Selene Devoll, devoted father and loving daughter, died 1902." This explained why Selen's father was really weird.
