Assignment Executive Summary 1 \ University of Texas BA 324

Assignment: Executive Summary
BA 324 Business Communication/Barrett
October 1, 2014
Assignment Objectives
After completing this assignment, you should better be able to
 use the memo format to convey an article summary
 recognize the components of a summary
 recognize reader expectations for length, tone, expression, and format
 incorporate the “you” view in choosing content
 monitor effective use of language
 integrate APA and SWE protocols for grammar, mechanics, and bias-free language.
Assignment Context
While you have no doubt completed many book report assignments for school, you probably have
not produced a summary, whose purpose is different.
Realistically, you probably produced a book report for two purposes: to develop writing and
thinking skills and to verify you completed required reading. That is, the report was focused on
you.
The purpose of a summary is to package and share information someone needs to know. The
focus is truly on the audience—typically staff, colleagues, superiors, or clients. Guffey says that a
summary presents the gist of a document to people who don’t have time—or perhaps inclination
—to process it themselves:
A summary compresses the main points from a book, report, article, website, meeting, or
convention. A summary saves time by reducing a report or article by 85 to 95 percent.
Employees are sometimes asked to write summaries that condense technical reports,
periodical articles, or books so that their staff or superiors may grasp the main ideas
quickly. (p. 434)
For the business proposal document your team produces, you’ll include an executive summary,
which capsulizes for easy consumption a long report, proposal, or business plan.