How to Write a Book Summary

Writing book summaries is a great way to absorb what you’re reading. It also gives you quick reference to help you remember key points from the book whenever you need it. To write a good book summary, you need to read it carefully while taking note of the important points, the knots, the main characters. You can make notes on the draft and then refine the final summary.

Table of Contents

Note

Annotate text while reading. Annotating when reading a book will make it easier to find important passages. Circle, highlight, or make notes anywhere you find questionable, important, surprising, or interesting. You can also highlight repetitions, inconsistencies, or connections between paragraphs. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If it is a book in your possession, feel free to highlight or write in it. But if it’s not your book, use sticky notes to make notes.

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Read and write notes at the same time. Have a notebook with you to read and write down your thoughts at the same time. Reading while taking notes helps you remember everything correctly. This will reduce your workload if you need to come back to check the details later. ^{[2] X Research Source}

It is also a good idea to have extra sheets of paper with the notebook. One sheet might be for a general impression of the book, another might be a list of characters and events, and another might be for recording the book’s main themes and ideas.
You can also take notes to highlight words you don’t understand. Use a dictionary to look up words and record definitions.
Underlining or highlighting on a book not only permanently damages it, but it also doesn’t help you keep track of special details.

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Make a list of the main characters. Write the names of the main characters with a short description of the main character or trait. Remember to include 1-2 lines about your character’s goals and desires. Use these notes to get an idea of how the characters represent the theme of the book.

You can also create a timeline of the main events that happen in the books, especially those with a complicated, confusing, non-linear timeline. Draw multiple timelines if the story goes back to the past and then back to the present.

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Divide the book into smaller sections. To avoid getting overwhelmed, divide the book into 3 parts. The story will have a beginning, middle and end. Prepare your notes based on these sections.

The opening part will focus on introducing the main characters and setting the story setting.
The middle part will explore the main “issues” of the story, which can be a battle between gods and demons or a mysterious case.
The end of the story will be the answer to the problem.

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Identify the main point of each section. Each part of the story will have a dominant theme and purpose. Think about what the author emphasizes in each section. Remember to include links between sections.

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Identify the dominant ideal throughout the book. When you read a book, try to think about what it is teaching you. Continually identify the topic to be aroused. It could be something the protagonist talks about frequently, or a fatal human flaw that causes one problem after another.

For example, the author may want to show readers that pride can lead to bad decisions. To prove this, the main character often falls and the situation does not resolve on its own because they are too proud and arrogant.
If you’re reading nonfiction, the main ideal might be about history or society. Maybe the author wants to show the viewer that fast food is not good for health and the book cites many examples to prove it.

Draft and edit abstracts

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Check the required length of the abstract. If you’re writing a summary for a school essay, there’s a limit to the length of your essay. So the summary is as close to that limit as possible. If it’s too short, it looks like you haven’t read the book, if it’s too long, it’s not a summary. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, if the word limit is 200, you should write about 190-200 words.
Even if you’re writing your summary for personal use, it’s a good idea to consider brevity. A summary of less than 500 words is also an easy and quick document to use.

Write the summary in chronological order. A summary should present events in chronological order, which came first and which came later. Avoid jumping between sections of the book. Start from the prologue and end at the end to ensure the integrity of the original story.

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Describe the main points of the story and characters. Start by introducing the title and author, then briefly mention what happens in the book. These should be summed up in just a few sentences. Think of it as your introduction.

You could write something like “JK Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Flint’ is about an orphan boy who one day discovers he’s a wizard. He discovered there was a magical world full of good and bad wizards and wizards during his first year at Hogwarts.”

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Explain the main points of the book’s sections. Take notes in a notebook to summarize what the book has to say. Take a few sentences to explain what’s going on in each section, how they underpin each other, and why this section is important to the book as a whole.

This part of the summary might look like this: “The first part of the book introduces the reader to what it’s like to be a witch. Readers can experience this wonderful thing with Harry as well as empathize with him, who is also new to the wizarding world. As the story progresses, something dark is happening at Hogwarts and Harry and his new friends – Ron and Hermione must find the source. The ending focuses on a series of tests and challenges that Harry would not have been able to pass without the support of her friends and motherly love.”

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Remember to include the main ideal of the book. End your summary by affirming the lesson you learned from the book. Refer to your notes to remind yourself of the topic raised in the story. This statement should be the last sentence of the summary.

For example: “Through Rowling’s story, we see that even the most talented people need friendship and love to defeat evil.”

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Do not include your own opinion in the summary. An abstract should be descriptive. Focus on the facts that take place in the book. Do not write in it how you feel or whether you agree with the author or not.

For example, you could say “Professor Quirrell and Lord Vpdemort both disappeared after failing to obtain the Sorcerer’s Stone”, rather than “Too bad that Vpdemort escaped because he was evil. At the very least, the author should get him arrested.”

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Read again to correct mistakes. Make sure you spell it correctly. Read the summary aloud to find grammatical errors or mistakes in punctuation. Check the word count as well. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Don’t rely on the spell checker as it doesn’t interpret the context and grammar errors are often confused.
If you’re writing book summaries for a reading club or for personal use, editing shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but you’ll probably want to make your abstract look better. Read it quickly again to make sure you’ve written down every step clearly.

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Share articles with friends. If the summary is for school work, you should share it with friends or family to read through your essay. They’ll be more likely to see mistakes you’ve overlooked. If you ask your classmates, you can share each other’s writing to learn together.

Read carefully

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Find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted. Choose a place away from the TV, turn off the ringing of your phone, and set it aside so it won’t be tempting. Focus on the book and enjoy the reading time.

Make sure to read by a lamp or window where there is enough light so as not to harm your eyes.

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Divide the book into small sections to read. In order not to be overwhelmed, you should divide the book into sections to read for 20 minutes. If you really like the book, you can increase it to 1 or 2 hours per reading. This helps you to digest the book slowly.

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Remember to plan your time if you have a deadline. You don’t want to have to stay up all night to finish a book summary. Plan at least 2 weeks for the short book and a month for the thicker one. Set aside a little time each day to read.

If this is a school or book club submission, start reading as soon as it is assigned. Your teacher or group leader can give you enough time to complete the book and summary without being forced.

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Reread important passages. Important passages are easy to spot. If you see the main character doing something big or taking an unexpected turn, read the passage one more time. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

These passages do not focus on description. Instead it is the turning point, a tragedy, or the resolution of disagreements.

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Carefully pay attention to the main characters. The main characters are the people who shoulder the actions, mistakes, and emotions that play an important role in the book. Read the passages where the main character appears. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Don’t get distracted by small details. When writing your book synopsis, you shouldn’t include minor details about the main characters, description, or subplot. You can still read and pay attention to them, but those details don’t play a central role in the summary.

Steps

Note

Draft and edit abstracts

Read carefully

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