Talk:Executive summary

I'm not sure I understand this sentence in the current article, "Abstracts are extensively used in academic research where the concept of the executive summary would be meaningless." What exactly is the point here? The term 'executive summary' is not commonly used in academics, but I don't think that indicates the concept is meaningless in academic circles. Does this sentence really say anything that the preceding sentences haven't covered? ike9898 (talk) 15:14, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

My understanding of it is that, in academia, there is no point in summarizing the content as the value is in the details. The sentence could be adjusted, in its current form, it is somewhat misleading. I believe that he/she meant that the executive summary as no value in academia, not the abstract. Franciyv (talk) 19:24, 29 March 2011 (UTC)franciyv

In my experience executive summaries are widely used in academia but not for conveying research findings. Instead they accompany applications for research funding, general administrative reports, etc. I don't have a good reference to hand so I won't put this in the article but I think the (unreferenced) claim might best be deleted or severely rewritten. Thincat (talk) 22:04, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

Merge with Summary
There is no difference between an Executive Summary and a Summary, one is merely a buzz-word for the other when used in business. FOARP (talk) 08:20, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
 * That's not correct, as the article explains. andy (talk) 08:23, 8 August 2011 (UTC)


 * The article explains the difference between an "Executive Summary" and an abstract, not summaries per se. This page covers nothing more than a detailed explanation of the summary in nonfiction, as described on the summary page. FOARP (talk) 08:28, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Must be overstatement
None of the sources say that an executive summary "Must be" short. Wikipedia is not a source of original resource. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bryce Carmony (talk • contribs) 08:52, 16 January 2015 (UTC)
 * A simple search would have found plenty of references for this obvious statement. andy (talk) 09:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

The thing I disagree with is simply the "must" word. the entire article is using non absolute language. "typically" "generally" and "Usually" all appear in the article. contrasting "Typically" and "Must" don't mean the same thing at all. and I can't find a source that says "it must be short" I found " I advise making it short" "Being short is good" but no where in my google search do I find a credible source saying " an executive summary MUST be short" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bryce Carmony (talk • contribs) 10:24, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Executive summary. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100614153932/http://www.fsb.muohio.edu/fsb/content/programs/howe-writing-initiative/student-resources/Writing%20an%20Executive%20Summary.doc to http://www.fsb.muohio.edu/fsb/content/programs/howe-writing-initiative/student-resources/Writing%20an%20Executive%20Summary.doc

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