For a business, a summary should be eight pages long. The cover page takes the form of an index, where the central point of the book is made clear, followed by the main idea for each chapter or section. Further pages should elaborate on each section.
Teachers almost always provide exact instructions for what they are looking for in a summary, and what works for one teacher may not work for another. However, certain formatting issues stay the same. Book summary assignments usually take the form of a short essay with a opening paragraph followed by body paragraphs.
Templates can be custom-made or downloaded. Microsoft provides a book summary template that lists information and uses two prose sections, one for an opinionated mini-review and the other for describing content. Teachers can access the ABC Teach website for a variety of formats.