A beat sheet is simply a list of all the events (beats) in a story, placed in the order in which they will appear. Events may unfold in a single scene or a sequence. Many writers create a beat sheet before writing a first draft to give them a specific sense of what goes where. Some writers find it helpful to put each beat on a separate index card. With the cards, it's easy enough to cut, add, or shuffle the order. Here is how a beat sheet might look for Act I of Thelma & Louise:
ACT I
Thelma and Louise talk on phone about trip.
Darryl acts like jerk to Thelma, and Thelma decides not to tell him about trip.
Louise packs carefully, Thelma packs recklessly.
Louise picks up Thelma. Thelma gives Louise a gun (brought in case they encounter psycho killers). They speed off.
They're having a good time on the road.
Thelma gets Louise to stop at a honky-tonk bar. Harlan flirts with them. Louise doesn't like it, but Thelma craves attention. Thelma drinks too much, dances with Harlan.
In the parking lot, Harlan tries to rape Thelma. Louise comes to her rescue with the gun. In a moment of fury, she shoots and kills Harlan. Thelma and Louise drive away.
Thelma wants to call the cops. Louise doesn't, fearing no one will believe Harlan was raping Thelma.
They stop at a diner. Thelma is a wreck; Louise is trying to keep it together. They blame each other.
Stepping-Stone: Beat Sheet
Create a beat sheet for the main plot of your movie. (You'll be learning about subplots a little later.) You can list the events very simply, or give a bit more detail. It's up to you. Don't worry about getting everything perfect; the choice and arrangement of scenes is bound to change in the writing process. But the beat sheet will help you get a sense of the flow of the entire movie.