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 | This page in a nutshell: One can streamline a plot summary with minimal loss of information by rephrasing verbose passages. |
To maintain readability, plot summaries should have just enough detail to give readers an understanding of the work. Occasionally, you'll find excessively detailed plot summaries that overwhelm readers with a summary of every scene. In this case, it's frequently best to rewrite the plot summary from scratch. If you come upon a plot summary of around 800 to 900 words, it's frequently possible to streamline it such that you lose no significant information. The context may change slightly, but it is usually not terribly important. If you're unfamiliar with the work in question, then it's probably best to stick as closely to the original wording as possible.