Summaries save readers time. By capturing the essence of a longer document, a summary tells readers whether they need to read the original or if it is irrelevant for their purposes. Busy executives rely on summaries of meetings, conferences, and conventions to stay up to speed on events they could not or did not wish to attend. Because summaries include only the most pertinent information from a work or event, readers know they have the crucial information they need.

Contents of a Summary

A summary briefly tells readers the main points of the original: the purpose, scope, conclusions, and recommendations. A summary should answer these two questions for a reader: What findings does the report or meeting offer? How do these findings apply to my business, research, or job? Effective summaries are generally 5 to 15 percent of the length of the original. Omit opinions-yours or the original author's or speaker's-unless you are writing an evaluative summary. Also omit new data and comparisons with others' works or events. Do not include irrelevant details such as biographical information about the author. Leave out examples-illustrations, explanations, and descriptions. Readers must know outcomes, results, and recommendations, not the illustrative details supporting or elaborating on them. Also omit background material, anecdotes, and reference data. Finally, avoid technical definitions or jargon used in the original-these may confuse rather than clarify the essential message.

The Process of Preparing a Summary

To write an effective summary, follow these steps:

1. Read the material once in its entirety. Look at visual cues such as headings, subheadings, and words in boldface and italics to identify the main ideas.
   
   
2. Reread the material. Underline the main points. To spot them, look for transitional words: words that enumerate (first, second), words that express causation (accordingly, therefore), words that express contrasts and comparisons (furthermore, however), and words that signal essentials (basically, principal). Pay special attention to the first and last sentences of each paragraph. Also look for words that signal what you do not want to include: words announcing opinions or inconclusive findings (in my opinion, presumably) and words pointing out examples or explanations (for example, illustrated by).
   
   
3. Organize the information into a draft summary. Do not be concerned with how your sentences read. Use the language of the original, together with any necessary connective words or phrases of your own.
   
   
4. Revise your draft and delete whatever you can. See how many of your underlined points can be combined, condensed, or eliminated. Check your draft against the original for accuracy.
   
   
5. Put the revised version into your own words. Make sure your revised version eliminates unnecessary words, and compare it against the original for accuracy.
   
   
6. Do not call attention to the fact that you are writing a summary. Avoid such remarks as "The author of this article states that . . . " Just summarize it.
   
   
7. Edit your summary. Make sure it is clear and concise.
   
   
8. Identify the source you have just summarized. Include pertinent bibliographic information in the title or a footnote or endnote.

Executive Summaries
An executive summary is found at the beginning of a formal proposal or long report. It is usually one or two pages and condenses the most important points for a busy executive. It is self-contained and can stand on its own, like the report itself. An executive summary should begin with the purpose and scope of the report, relate the purpose to a key problem, identify in nontechnical language the criteria used to solve the problem, condense the findings, stress the conclusions, and provide recommendations.

Evaluative Summaries
To write an evaluative summary, or critique, follow the same guidelines, but include your opinion of the material you are summarizing. Blend your evaluation with the summary-don't summarize first and then provide a critique at the end. Comment on both the content and style of the original. Consider these questions: How carefully is the subject researched? Is the writer or speaker objective? Does the work achieve its goal? Is the material relevant to your audience? Is the material readable? What kind of vocabulary does the writer or speaker use? What visuals are included? Are they effective?

Abstracts
There are two types of abstracts: descriptive abstracts and informative abstracts. An informative abstract includes conclusions and indicates results or causes; a descriptive abstract does not. Informative abstracts are included in long reports. Descriptive abstracts give a very brief summary of a work, usually only a few sentences, so readers can decide if they want to consult the original. All abstracts share two characteristics: the writer never uses "I" and avoids footnotes.

One way to approach writing an informative abstract is to think of it as a table of contents in sentence form. The table of contents of a report is, in effect, the final outline; it is easily fleshed out into an abstract.

News Releases
A news or press release is a brief announcement (a page or two, or a simple screen on a Web site) about a company's products or services, personnel, policies, or events. It informs the news media, current and potential customers, and others about a company's accomplishments and important news (good or bad). The cardinal rule in writing a news release is to put the most important news first. The three parts of a news release are the slug, or headline; the lead, or the first (and most significant) sentence; and the body. The best leads answer the questions Who? What? When? Where? and Why?