The Easiest Way to Write a Synopsis

A synopsis is the shortest and most general form of summary. Its aim is to give a bird’s eye view of a person, an event, a text, or an idea so that readers can get caught up and on the same page before diving into other ideas. In this video, Rebekah will suggest two different patterns writers can use to craft a basic synopsis: overview + brief list and overview + tucked-in details.

MENTOR TEXTS
“College hoops in 2021-22 generally felt less like a basketball season than a lengthy televised tribute to retiring Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. We were treated to video essays and pregame ceremonies; his wife, Mickie, got about as much airtime as the eventual no. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Paolo Banchero. If Coach K did something for the final time, people talked endlessly about it: his final game coaching at Madison Square Garden, his final ACC tournament, his final time using a public airport bathroom because he forgot to poop before leaving his house. (OK, maybe not that last one.)” - The Ringer

Examples across Content Areas

History:
“Protesting wordlessly was a technique employed by Black Americans in July 1917, when an estimated 10,000 citizens, organized by religious groups and the NAACP, marched down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to protest racial violence and discrimination.” - Smithsonian

English:
“Zora Neale Hurston’s documentation of these practices in “Hoodoo in America” include long lists of prescriptions for nearly every human dilemma—from court scrapes and landlord issues to romantic break-ups and betrayals. - LitHub


Science:
The telescope, named for James Webb, the NASA administrator during the buildup to the Apollo moon landings, is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It was launched on Christmas one year ago — after two trouble-plagued decades and $10 billion — on a mission to observe the universe in wavelengths no human eye can see. - New York Times