1. Writing a One-Paragraph Summary of a Novel A template and guide using Gary Paulsen's Hatchet as an example novel.

2. Writing a Summary When you are writing a response to literature essay or a book review, you should summarize the action of the book, but that should not be the entire report. One big mistake student's make on an essay or report is to just write a big, long, boring summary.

3. Writing a Summary To keep from ruining your essay with a too-long summary, follow this template to keep your plot events in order, show that you read the story, and lead the rest of your essay into what is important, the analysis of the story.

4. Summary Template In the (genre) novel (title) by (author), (protagonist name) learns/changes/grows through (theme) . Example: In the adventure novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen , Brian grows through perseverence .