Definition of Executive Summary
The executive summary is usually no longer
than 10% of the original document. It can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long,
depending on the report's length. Executive summaries are written literally for
an executive who most likely DOES NOT have the time to read the original.
Executive summaries make a recommendation
Accuracy is essential because decisions will
be made based on your summary by people who have not read the original
Executive summaries frequently summarize more
than one document
Types of Summaries
Summaries written in order to recommend a
specific course of action are executive summaries.
Summaries that highlight the major points of
a long piece are called abstracts. The purpose of an abstract is to allow
readers to decide whether or not they want to read the longer text.
Processes for Writing an Executive Summary
Executive summaries are typically written for
longer reports. They should not be written until after your report is finished.
Before writing your summary, try:
Summarizing the major sections of your
report. You might even copy text from your report into the summary and then
edit it down.
Talking aloud or even tape recording yourself
summarizing sections of your report.
Concise Statement
As a cover sheet to your document, an
executive summary need not go into ANY mention of how you conducted your
analysis and/or what you're basing your conclusion on. Instead, begin with a
concise statement of the conclusion you reached after conducting your analysis
and/or research is the paper that will be attached. For example, after a
comparison of what other schools like CSU do about personal calls for faculty,
you conclude that the CSU is charging for calls most other institutions do not.
How you word the conclusion will differ
depending on your audience and what they care most about. The following
examples illustrate how the wording must change given an audience's needs.
Justification
Finally, an executive summary provides an
analysis and/or justification for the proposed action in terms the audience
will consider important. In many cases, this might involve a monetary analysis
as in the example to the right, but actions can be justified many ways,
depending on the concerns of the audience and the topic of the report (e.g. for
CSU these might include increase in student learning, better relationship with
the community, etc.).
justification for the recommendation by
referring to information summarized. A recommendation’s justification is
usually based on a reference to material already provided in the summary.
In other cases, the justification for the
recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for
the justification. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with
a summary of how the writer reached the conclusion that leads to the
justification.
Example Executive Summary
The Mountain Resort charges below average
rental rates. (concise statement of findings) The attached report
recommends a 20% increase in price for the following equipment: 1. downhill
skis, 2. telemark skis, 3. boots/shoes for downhill, telemark, and
cross-country skis. (specific recommendation for action)
Based on average rental business for
1992-1995, these increases would generate an annual rental profit for
Mountainview of $750,000. This figure represents an overall gain of $150,000
over current rental profits. (justification for proposed action)
