Professional Practices

Course Material for

Executive Summary
Prepared by
Prof. (Dr.) Sibichan K. Mathe
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Executive Summary
The objectives of this session is to
provide a clear understanding of the concept of executive summary to
the students
bring out the differences between related terms
make them clear about the target audience for an executive summary
communicate the purpose of an executive summary
provide the guidelines for writing an executive summary and
to inform them about the rules to be kept in mind while preparing a
executive summary
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While an executive summary is an essential component of various types of
marketing research, project or policy reports or proposals, its a term less
clearly understood ! "uick scan of the executive summaries of various
reports available in the libraries would give you the impression that it may be
synonymous with #an introduction or #an abstract !n executive summary is
not the same as an introduction
An executive summary is a summary to familiarise your audience with the
contents of the report without needing them to read the entire document. It is
a business tool for the summation of long reports to a concisely worded
document containing the major highlights of the report. Brief, yet packed with
relevant information, it provides a birds eyeview or an ariel view of a
document by consolidating its primary points on few pages. In an easy to
read, nontechnical language and format, it must briefly cover statements
pertaining to the aim of the report, methods used, major findings and
conclusions!recommendations. An executive summary is usually no longer
than "# per cent of the original document. $hey are a selfcontained, stand
alone document. $herefore, it can be either attached to the front of a long
report or taken out as a separate document. $his can even be a cover sheet
to a document.
The table below highlights the differences between an abstract and an
executive summary
$bstract Executive Summary
!n abstract is a shortened
form of a work that retains
the general sense and unity
of the original
!n abstract is basically a
miniature version of the
original
!n executive summary may be called an
abstract when it accompanies a scholarly
document, although there are differences
!n executive summary goes beyond this$
it seeks to let the reader in on what the
real significance of the report is%%what is
the reader expected to respond to&
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Class room assi.nment/ %ifferentiate between the above two and a pr&cis
based on the inputs received in the earlier sessions.
!n Executive Summary consists mainly of six elements The elements that
you include in your Executive Summary and the amount of space that you
give to each element will depend on the purpose and nature of your
document These elements are$
' (urpose and scope of document
) *ethods
+ ,esults
- .onclusion
/ ,ecommendations
0 1ther supportive information
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The summary should convey the main points of the report and your
evidence that supports those points, without re"uiring the reader to digest
the full document The goal is to provide the important information that
allows the reader to reach an informed decision, without having to wade
through the minutae
The main aims in writing an executive summary are$
!n Executive Summary is expected to$
- communicate the punch of your piece, minus all the details2
- give readers the essential contents of the document, say, in a single
page2
- enable readers to build a mental framework for organi3ing and
understanding the detailed information in the document2
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- help readers determine the key results and recommendations reported
in the document2
- draw attention to the key information located within the pages of the
bulk of the report2
- condense the information into a form that the reader can "uickly
understand2
- maintain the reader4s confidence that the information has been
captured accurately2 and to
- persuade the reader that the document is worth reading
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The reader of the Executive Summary is a key decision maker who will
have the responsibility of deciding on some issue5s6 related to the report
Therefore he7she needs the information in a streamlined manner as
he7she may not have the time to read the entire report in detail The
executive summary must be written with this need in mind !ccuracy is
essential because decisions will be made based on the summary by
people who have not read the original
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Executive summaries are typically written for longer reports They should not
be written until after your research is finished 8efore writing your summary,
try to$
Scan your research to determine what the content, structure and length
of the report would be
9ighlight key points2 determine purpose7central theme of the report
,eview your research and determine what the key ideas or concepts
are
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:roup ideas in a logical fashion and prepare a point form outline of the
summary
Edit the outline to eliminate secondary or minor points2 use your
judgement to keeping the summary concise
;etermine whether subtitles, bullets, selective bolding or some other
type of organi3ational structure will add to the clarity of your summary
Write the summary in your own words, using a professional style
,ead it aloud or even tape record yourself reading your summary
<uestions to !sk =ourself as =ou Write
' What is your research about&
) Why is it important&
3. What is included in the research&
- What is included in each section&
!fter beginning with a summary statement of the findings, the executive
summary should go on to provide a specific recommendation for action
geared toward the audience !n executive summary provides an analysis
and7or justification for the proposed action in terms the audience will consider
important >n many cases, this might involve an economic or ethical, but
actions can be justified many ways, depending on the concerns of the
audience and the topic of the research
>nclude justification for the recommendation by referring to information
summari3ed ! recommendations justification is usually based on a reference
to material already provided in the summary >n other cases, the justification
for the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of
causes for the justification >n this case, the recommendation paragraph
usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the conclusion that
leads to the justification

9ere are ? tips that can help you write an effective Executive Summary$
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!. "rite the summary last$ This is one of the most important points to
understand when writing an executive summary Since this summary is
going to be a short rundown of the rest of the report, you want to make
sure this piece is completed last to ensure a higher degree of accuracy
in the final product @eep it organi3ed, and follow the exact order of the
report as you document the reasons for your conclusions >f the reader
wants more information from the report, such as detailed data support,
they will find it presented in the same order as this overview
0. The Executive Summary is usually no longer than 'AB of the main
document, which can be anywhere from '%'A pages, depending on the
length of the entire report
1. Choose your 5ey points/ The intent of an executive summary is to be
concise, but at the same time every word counts Since your piece is a
summation, you want to make sure you get your point across in the
most succinct way possible and still be able to include all of the key
information without omitting any important points Cor each of the main
points you want to write a sentence or two fully stating the intent of
each statement !s you choose your points, go through the full report
and extract the highlights, then systematically list them in your
executive summary so the points correlate with the order the report is
written
4. 2ollo the se6uence$ 8egin by stating the reason for writing the
report, then state the conclusions or recommendations >nclude only
the most significant information that supports those conclusions
7. %he %ip$ To outline the contents of the Executive Summary, take a look
at the first and last sentences of each paragraph and use these as a
guide
8. %he %ric5$ 1rgani3e your draft by identifying and using key words from
the report that define essentials, such as Dmajor, central, principal,
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basicD2 words that show contrast, such as Dmore than, less likely,
similar to, howeverD2 words that enumerate, such as Dfinally, first, nextD2
and words that show causation, like Dtherefore, as a result,
conse"uentlyD
9. $lays remember to include information found in the report ;o not
introduce anything new
:. Stand alone %est$ Ealidate that your Executive Summary stands
independent of the report itself >t must make sense on its own !sk
someone unfamiliar with the contents to verify this
;. Proof<read and spell<chec5 everything, but don4t rely on your word
processor to do so ,ead the overview aloud to catch mistakes
8e brief, provide the facts, state your conclusions and check your work
The following steps will help you in preparing an executive summary
' State the purpose of the summary 8egin with words such as 4>t
is the purpose of this document to F 4 or 4The main objectives of
this report are F 4 *ake sure you present the main message of
the document
) ;escribe the procedure you used 1utline the methods you used
to analyse the situation
+ (resent the results of the study
- 1utline any recommendations that appear in your report
ST!G;!,; (,!.T>.ES&
;1S
=ou should choose the elements of an executive summary that
make sense for your document and omit the ones that don4t
*ention only concise statements of the conclusion5s6 you reached
after conducting your analysis
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.hange the selection of words depending on your audience and
what they care most about
*ake sure the report is error%free
;1GTS
!n executive summary need not go into !G= mention of how you
conducted your analysis and7or what you4re basing your
conclusion5s6 on
Gever submit an executive summary laden with typos, inaccurate or
wrong information
! lengthy executive summary defeats the purpose
,ECE,EG.ES$
8ooks$
' Smit, Edward H and Stephen ! 8ernhardt 5'IIJ6 'riting at 'ork (
)rofessional 'riting *kills on the +ob >llinois$ GT. (ublishing :roup
'IIJ
) ,oebuck, ;eborah 8ritt 5'II?6 Improving Business *kill. Gew Kersey
(rentice 9all
+ Hahiff, Kames * and Kohn * (enrose 5'IIJ6 Business
,ommunication - *trategies and *kills. /
th
Edition Gew Kersey$ (rentice
9all
- >verson, *argaret , 5'IJA6 $he .esearch )aper *implified. Gew ;elhi
(rentice L 9all of >ndia
Kournals
1. *H Singla )reparing )roject .eports - *ome /uidelines. The
8usiness ,eview, Eolume 0, Go 'M), )AAA
Websites$
wwwdtlsc"ueduacu7clc7)N'N-html
!rticles$
' 9ow to write an executive summary by Heigh :oessl
) 9ow to write an executive summary by Gancy H 8aumann
+ Writing the Executive Summary from .olumbia Oniversity
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$ssi.nments
(repare an executive summary of the report written as part of the
writing a report module
The writer of this material can be contacted at dr.mathew@nift.ac.in or
sibi.km@gmail.com
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