second part

Business and Professional Writing

Remley

Tips for developing a short form executive summary

1) Read intro and identify topic/purpose

2) Read conclusion/recommendation and identify specific conclusions/recommendations.

3) Read body to ascertain points that contribute directly to conclusions/recommendations and rephrase these.

4) Draft summary, not worrying about length; discuss conclusions/recommendations in not more than 3 sentences

5) Revise accordingly, down to not more than one page double-spaced.

Example short form executive summary:

This report discusses a new employee reward program for XYZ Corporation and how to implement it to improve employee job satisfaction and morale. Review of possible programs and a survey of employees found that XYZ Corp. should implement an Employee of the Month program that emphasizes productivity and collegiality and restricts a single employee to not more than 4 such awards in a single year. This will allow several employees to be rewarded over the course of a year. The reward will be a one-time bonus in the amount of $300 to be paid with the first payroll check of the following month. A committee comprised of 3 managers and 3 workers will establish more specific criteria, and the reward program will be implemented at the start of the next quarter (July 1).