Executive summaries provide a condensed version of a report.

Executive summaries — and covering letters — are brief and highlight just the ‘must know’ information. They are often written for non-technical readers who don't have time to read the whole report. They may not even understand your technical language or be on top of the details.

Executive summaries:

• are short — often not more than one or two pages
• can stand alone
• often contain key recommendations, actions, conclusions and risks.

Writing an effective executive summary is a synthesising skill. Many people compile the skeleton of an executive summary as they are writing the body of the report, then write it properly at the end. A few people write it at the beginning as a type of plan.

If you write your executive summary first, you need to revise it after you've finished your report.

Preparation tips

• Write one sentence stating the main message you wish to convey.
• Read through your report and highlight all the key words and phrases.
• Group your main points into clusters.
• Read other executive summaries to get a feel for what makes a good executive summary.

Writing tips

• Put yourself in your readers’ shoes when deciding whether or not to include information, and ask yourself the ‘so what?’ question.
• Do not copy and paste material — summarise it.
• Make reference, with page numbers, to supporting information in the body of the report.
• Use bullet points, subheadings, tables and graphs, if appropriate.
• Write in plain English — even for technical reports.
• Group your ideas in logical order.
• Review your summary by asking 'so what?' about every sentence.

Further reading
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