The executive summary is the most important part of any business document. At times it is the first and mostly, the only thing people read in the entire document. However, it should be the last thing you write. In simpler words, executive summary is simply a brief review of the complete document. By reading the executive summary, reader should get the idea of the context present in the document and what kind of actions will be required for what purposes.
Keep it short and simple
The executive summary should be short and précised. It is not an abstract, however; it is somewhat close. In the executive summary, the writer is supposed to write a summary of the entire business document. Do not get into the details and keep it short and to the point. The length of the executive summary should be not more than 10% of the original document, nor should it be shorter than 5% of the document.
Make sure the structure is followed
There is a certain style and format which need to be followed while writing the executive summary. Following the style is extremely important to keep it professional and according to the requirements. There are three main requirements in an executive summary which are as follow
- The paragraphs written in the summary should be short and to the point.
- The language of the document should be according to the targeted audience.
- The summary should make sense and sync with the original document.
Clearly defined problem
The problem should be defined clearly in the executive summary. It is important to clearly mention and explain the core problem in the summary for the readers to understand it right away. The business reports are written by technical people who have no grasp on conceptual writing and hence fail to explain the problem clearly.
Solution to the problem
A solution to the problem should be mentioned as well. Mentioning the solution will give the reason to fund the venture. The solution should be capable of tackling the problem professionally and even producing beneficial results for the business. Again, if the problem would not be mentioned clearly, the solution would not make sense either.
Creativity to present
The executive summary does not necessarily have to be an essay or in the form of paragraphs only. If it is ore explainable in the form of visuals, then make sure to do it that way. Use graphics, bullets and relevant headings to make it easily skimmable. You can use graphs to represent analytics or reports, headings to properly categorize sections and bullets to summarize paragraphs into a single point consisting on one or two sentences.
Keep it modified and free of jargons
The usage of jargons is not acceptable in the business world. It should be avoided at all costs. The use of jargon terms like burning platform, core competency and leverage must be avoided. These terms portray the summary to be vague and generalized which leaves a negative impression.
The executive summary is the most essential part of any business document. It should be up to the mark in order to impress the targeted audience. There are several templates available on the internet, however; using those could cause plagiarism problem. If you are not confident about writing it on your own you can take assignment writing help from professional writers or higher officials who have done this in the past. It will help you to keep your work according to the requirements and worth a response from the clients.