What makes a good summary
A good summary lets someone who will never read the original act on it. It states the main point first, includes only the details that change understanding or decisions, and leaves out examples, repetition and side notes. Above all it is accurate: a short summary that gets one number wrong is worse than no summary.
Pick the format for the reader
- Short summary: two or three sentences for a quick update, a link preview or a reply to "what is this about?".
- One paragraph: a fuller overview for newsletters, research notes or the top of a report.
- Bullet points: five key points that busy readers can scan in seconds.
- Action items: tasks, owners and deadlines pulled from meeting notes or long email threads.
How to summarize by hand
- Read the whole text once without taking notes.
- Write the main point in one sentence, in your own words.
- List the points that support it. Drop anything the main point does not need.
- Check every number, name and date against the source.
Useful ways to use a summarizer
- Turn a long report into an executive summary for a manager or client.
- Pull decisions and next steps from meeting transcripts.
- Get the gist of an article before deciding to read it in full.
- Write a short description for a newsletter link or a social post.
Know the limits
Summaries lose nuance by design. Caveats, conditions and exceptions are often the first things to go, and they can matter a great deal in contracts, medical information and financial documents. For those, use the summary to find your way around, then read the relevant sections in full. Text longer than 5,000 characters can be summarized section by section, then combined.