Q&A for How to Write a Synopsis

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How do you summarize a story?

Richard Perkins
Writing Coach
Richard Perkins is a Writing Coach, Academic English Coordinator, and the Founder of PLC Learning Center. With over 24 years of education experience, he gives teachers tools to teach writing to students and works with elementary to university level students to become proficient, confident writers. Richard is a fellow at the National Writing Project. As a teacher leader and consultant at California State University Long Beach's Global Education Project, Mr. Perkins creates and presents teacher workshops that integrate the U.N.'s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the K-12 curriculum. He holds a BA in Communications and TV from The University of Southern California and an MEd from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Richard Perkins

Writing Coach

Expert Answer

I always focus on the five "Ws". Who is this about? Where is the story taking place? What's the setting? What's important to the characters? Why are they doing these things? Then I give myself a couple bullet points or a couple quick sentences, and I should be able to take that and expand on it for summary.

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Question

How do you write 200 WORD Synopsis for an essay before it's being written? I'm writing one for my degree at uni.

Alexander Peterman, MA
Test Prep Tutor
Alexander Peterman is a Private Tutor in Florida. He received his MA in Education from the University of Florida in 2017.

Alexander Peterman, MA

Test Prep Tutor

Expert Answer

Start by creating a detailed outline or a rough draft of your essay. This will help you create a more accurate synopsis of your essay, including your main arguments and evidence that will support them.

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Question

How do you write a synopsis before you finish the work?

Community Answer

Start with an outline of the general plot that you are planning, and flesh it out by adding full sentences and more details. At the end, tell the reader that this work is not finished yet, but try to predict how long it will be and when you will finish it.

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Question

Is it okay if your synopsis is rather dry, as the query letter covered the excitement?

Community Answer

If the synopsis includes what the character does, feels, and confronts, as it says to do here, the thing will not be dry. Limit your query letter and use some of those detail, but no quotes, in the synopsis.

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