Summary writing skills are your means of expressing that you have read and understood a text. What Should a Summary Paragraph Include? First, a summary includes the identification of the source; second, the controlling idea; and third, a description of the development of the controlling idea.. How Should It be Said? The summary should be in your own words except for those parts of the source you choose to quote directly. How Should It be Organized and Presented? The organization of the main points of the summary should be the same as the organization of the main points of the source. Composing a One Paragraph Summary What follows is a model of a summary prepared from a short essay. You will see how one writer develops a summary as you develop your own. Remember that there is no such thing as the one perfect summary. Each member of the class will produce a different but adequate summary. Don't worry about discovering the correct summary. Try to develop a complete, accurate, and adequate summary that meets your standards of performance. Read the following essay by your instructor, and try to pick out the controlling idea, the main point of the essay. Start with the title for the topic or subject matter of the essay, and then try to state in a simple sentence the essay's main idea. Ask yourself, “What is the essay about?” Next, look for some pattern of organization in the first paragraph. Authors often help their readers by providing structural clues near the beginning—”I am going to give you nine good reasons why . . . .” As a reader you would naturally expect the essay to have a nine-point structure. Once you have the sense of structure in mind, identify the major points which make up the development of the essay. Invariably an author will provide transitional words or phrases to keep the reader on track. Look for such expressions as “first, . . . second, . . . next, . . . on the other hand, . . . most importantly, . . . and finally.” These are clue words to the major points. Try not to confuse illustrations and examples with the major points they are intended to amplify, develop, or clarify. As you read the essay, you may wish to underline key words or jot them down in the margin for future reference. Remember, you will be writing your own summary of the essay and comparing it to the one prepared by the author.