1. Summary A short retelling of the main details of a longer piece of writing. For a short story, a summary should include: A topic sentence that gives the title of the story, the author’s name, and the subject of the story. A description of the characters, the setting, and the main conflict of the short story. A chronological retelling of the major events in the story.

2. Theme The theme of a story is the message or moral of a story. The theme of a story is the message or moral of a story. The theme is a broad, universal idea that the author is showing in their story. The theme is a broad, universal idea that the author is showing in their story. Examples: If you are kind to people, you will be rewarded. Experiencing failure can be difficult. Experiencing failure can be difficult.

3. Figuring Out the Theme One way to figure out the theme of the story is to think about the main character and answer these questions: One way to figure out the theme of the story is to think about the main character and answer these questions: Did the main character do something good? Was the main character successful? What could readers learn from the main character? Does the main character have a behavior or attitude that it would be good for readers to imitate? Did the main character do something good? Was the main character successful? What could readers learn from the main character? Does the main character have a behavior or attitude that it would be good for readers to imitate? Did the main character do something bad? Did the main character fail? Why did he fail? Can we learn from the main character’s mistakes? Is there a behavior or attitude that readers should avoid? Did the main character do something bad? Did the main character fail? Why did he fail? Can we learn from the main character’s mistakes? Is there a behavior or attitude that readers should avoid?

4. Theme A description of the message, moral, or lesson that the writer is conveying in a piece of writing. A description of the message, moral, or lesson that the writer is conveying in a piece of writing. A good theme paragraph includes: A good theme paragraph includes: A topic sentence that states the author, the title, and the theme of the story. A topic sentence that states the author, the title, and the theme of the story. Details and direct quotes from the story that relate to this theme. Details and direct quotes from the story that relate to this theme. Explanation of how the details from the story show the theme. Explanation of how the details from the story show the theme.