Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang. - Learn to write a short synopsis before writing a long script.

Turns belajar (“to learn”) into an imperative (“learn!” / “do learn”).
Often makes the command sound softer / more polite or more like a piece of advice than a blunt order.

So:

Belajar. → “(You) learn.” (can be a neutral statement or a context-based command)
Belajarlah. → “Learn.” / “Do learn.” (clear imperative, but not very harsh)

You can leave it out:

Belajar menulis sinopsis singkat…
This is also acceptable as advice or instruction. It sounds a bit more neutral / less “textbook-like” than Belajarlah… in many contexts.

In written instructions (textbooks, exam questions, posters), Belajarlah… is very common and feels natural.

Why is there no subject pronoun like kamu (“you”) in this sentence? Is it still polite?

In Indonesian, commands and instructions usually omit the subject, because it’s understood to be “you” from context.

Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat…
→ The implied subject is “you”.

Adding kamu here is normally unnecessary and can even sound a bit odd:

Belajarlah kamu menulis… – grammatical but rarely used in modern Indonesian for this meaning.

Politeness is not determined by having a pronoun here. It comes more from:

The choice of pronoun (e.g. Anda is more polite/formal than kamu).
Softening particles like -lah, coba, silakan, dulu, etc.
Tone and context.

For example, to make it clearly polite/formal, you might see:

Silakan belajar menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.
(“Please learn to write a short synopsis before writing a long script.”)

So yes, the original sentence is perfectly fine and can be polite depending on context.

Why is menulis repeated? Can I say “Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum naskah panjang” instead?

The repetition of menulis is grammatically required in standard Indonesian.

Structure:

Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat
→ main clause: “Learn to write a short synopsis”
sebelum menulis naskah panjang
→ subordinate clause: “before writing a long script”

If you say:

Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum naskah panjang.

Then sebelum naskah panjang literally reads as “before the long script” (a noun phrase), which is unclear and feels unnatural in this context. The listener might wonder: “Before the long script… what? Before it is read? Before it is submitted?”

To express “before writing a long script”, Indonesian naturally repeats the verb:

sebelum menulis naskah panjang = before (you) write a long script.

In fast spoken Indonesian, people sometimes drop repeated verbs if the meaning is obvious, but it’s better for learners to keep the repetition; it’s clearer and standard.

What is the grammatical role of menulis sinopsis singkat after Belajarlah? Is it more like “to write” or “writing” in English?

Menulis sinopsis singkat functions as the object/complement of belajarlah.

You can ask:

Belajarlah apa? → Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat.
(“Learn what?” → “Learn (how) to write a short synopsis.”)

In English, this can be translated either as:

“Learn to write a short synopsis.” (infinitive)
“Learn writing a short synopsis.” (gerund-like)

Indonesian doesn’t have separate infinitive vs. gerund forms. It just uses the regular verb with me-:

belajar memasak – to learn (how) to cook / learning to cook
belajar menulis – to learn (how) to write / learning to write
belajar berenang – to learn (how) to swim / learning to swim

So menulis sinopsis singkat here is a verb phrase functioning as what is being learned.

Why is the adjective placed after the noun in sinopsis singkat and naskah panjang, not before like in English?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe:

sinopsis singkat – “short synopsis”
naskah panjang – “long script/manuscript”
buku baru – “new book”
rumah besar – “big house”

So the pattern is:

Noun + Adjective

This is the default order. Reversing it (singkat sinopsis, panjang naskah) is usually ungrammatical or would take on a very different, often poetic or unclear, meaning.

A few things can come before the noun, but they’re not simple adjectives, for example:

banyak buku – many books (quantity word + noun)
beberapa orang – several people
semua siswa – all students

But for basic descriptive adjectives like panjang, pendek, besar, kecil, singkat, they go after the noun.

What’s the difference between sinopsis and ringkasan? Could I say ringkasan singkat here?

Both relate to “summaries,” but they’re used a bit differently:

Sinopsis

Often used for stories, films, novels, scripts, dramas.
Typically gives the plot/storyline in a short form.
Common in contexts like publishing, film, theater.

Examples:

Sinopsis film ini sangat menarik. – The synopsis of this film is very interesting.
Tulis sinopsis novelmu. – Write a synopsis of your novel.

Ringkasan

More general: a summary of any text (article, chapter, speech, etc.).
Focuses on main points, not necessarily a plot.

Examples:

Buat ringkasan dari bab ini. – Make a summary of this chapter.
Ringkasan rapat – minutes/summary of a meeting.

In your sentence, sinopsis singkat suggests a brief storyline summary of a long script or manuscript. That fits very well.

Could you say ringkasan singkat?

Grammatically yes: ringkasan singkat = a short summary.
But it slightly changes nuance: it sounds more like a general summary of content, not specifically a story synopsis.
It would also sound a bit redundant (ringkasan is already short by nature), though redundancy like this is common for emphasis.

So you could say it, but sinopsis singkat is more natural if you’re talking about a story/script.

What exactly does naskah mean here? Is it like “essay”, “script”, or “manuscript”?

Naskah is a fairly broad word. It can mean:

Script (for a film, play, drama, TV show)
Manuscript (a written text, often before publication)
Written piece / written work in a more general sense

Examples:

naskah drama – a drama script
naskah film – a screenplay
naskah buku – a book manuscript
mengirim naskah ke penerbit – send a manuscript to a publisher

In the sentence:

naskah panjang suggests a long written work, likely something like a long script, a long story, or a long manuscript.

If you specifically meant an essay, Indonesians more commonly say:

esai or karangan (for school-type compositions).

So naskah is a good, somewhat neutral word for a substantial written text, often with the sense of a draft or script.

How is sebelum functioning here? Is it a preposition or conjunction? And how is it different from sebelumnya?

In this sentence, sebelum is used like a subordinating conjunction meaning “before (doing something)”.

sebelum menulis naskah panjang
→ “before writing a long script”

It introduces a clause with a verb (menulis).

Sebelumnya, on the other hand, usually functions as an adverb or pronoun-like word, meaning “before / previously / earlier (than that)”.

Examples:

Saya sudah membaca sinopsisnya sebelumnya.
– I already read the synopsis before / previously.
Sebelumnya, kita harus membuat sinopsis singkat.
– Before that, we must make a short synopsis.

You can’t replace sebelum with sebelumnya in the original sentence:

✗ Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelumnya menulis naskah panjang. (incorrect)

So:

Use sebelum + verb / clause → before doing X
Use sebelumnya more like “earlier / previously / before that”, often by itself or at the beginning of a sentence.

Could I say “Belajarlah untuk menulis sinopsis singkat…” instead? Is that more or less natural?

You can say:

Belajarlah untuk menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.

It’s grammatically correct, but there are some nuances:

Belajarlah menulis… is simpler and more natural in most contexts.
Belajarlah untuk menulis… can sound more formal or slightly heavier, and sometimes a bit redundant because belajar already implies a purpose.

Untuk often introduces a purpose, like “in order to”:

Saya belajar keras untuk lulus ujian.
– I study hard in order to pass the exam.

In your sentence, the belajar + verb construction is already standard:

belajar menulis, belajar memasak, belajar berenang, etc.

So the most idiomatic version is the original:

Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.

Is “Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat…” formal, informal, or neutral? How would you say this to a close friend vs. in a textbook?

Belajarlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.

Feels neutral to formal, and quite instructional / textbook-like, mostly because of -lah and the structure.
Sounds like something a teacher, textbook, or workshop handout would say.

To a close friend in casual speech, you might say:

Belajar nulis sinopsis singkat dulu sebelum nulis naskah panjang.
(dropping -lah, using nulis instead of menulis, adding dulu to soften)

More casual variants:

Coba belajar nulis sinopsis singkat dulu sebelum nulis naskah panjang.
Mending belajar nulis sinopsis singkat dulu sebelum nulis naskah panjang.

For a textbook / formal instruction, the original is very appropriate, or you might see:

Silakan belajar menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.
Biasakanlah menulis sinopsis singkat sebelum menulis naskah panjang.

So:

Original sentence → neutral–formal, instructional.
With slang / contractions → informal, friendly.
With “silakan”, “biasakanlah”, etc. → more formal or politely directive.