Executive Summary- Susan Ward, Small Business Canada
“The purpose of an executive summary is to summarize the key points of a document for its readers, saving them time and preparing them for the upcoming content. Think of the executive summary as an advance organizer for the reader. Above all else, an executive summary has to be clear and concise.” a
An executive summary differs from an abstract in that an abstract will usually be shorter and is intended to provide a neutral overview or orientation, rather than being a condensed version of the full document.
Cited from Susan Ward, Small Business Canada, “Executive Summary,” retrieved 8/13/13 from http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessplans/g/execsummary.htm.
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Writing Tips Overview
The last task should be writing the executive summary to be used as a summary of each important section of the report.
Use bullets to improve the presentation of the executive summary.
The content of should includes information such as a fast overview, basic information about each section, important facts, and main conclusions.
Only use this format as a short summary of information.
Ensure the reader can use the page to provide the summary of the report in a nutshell.
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Writing Tips (Continued)
Typically, an executive summary will1:
be 5-10% or so of the length of the main report
be written in language appropriate for the target audience
consist of short and concise paragraphs
be written in the same order as the main report
only include material present in the main report
make recommendations and provide justification
be able to be read separately from the main report
1 Cited from Howe Writing Initiative. Miami School of Business. Farmer School of Business and Foster, Lorne. “Writing the Executive Summary”. York University, Toronto. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
