Definition of Executive Summary

Introduction

Definition of Executive Summaries

Types of Summaries

Process for Writing Executive Summaries

Questions to Ask Yourself

Concise Statement of your Findings

Writing Recommendations

Simple Formula

More Complex Recommendations

Justification

Example Executive Summaries

Additional Resources

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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