Executive Summary Templates: How To Write & Examples

Need to write an executive summary? Here are 3 simple steps to get started:

1. Gather the information you need to know.

Before you write anything, you need to know who or what you're writing about. The more specific you are, the more personalized you can make your content.

Here's our suggestions for writing an executive summary:

Topic: [e.g. climate change, poverty, etc.]
Importance of topic: [e.g. affects millions of people, affects future generations, etc.]
Problem that needs to be solved: [e.g. lack of access to clean water, lack of access to education, etc.]
How problem will be solved: [e.g. by providing clean water filters, by providing scholarships for students in need, etc.]
Benefits of solving problem: [e.g. improved health outcomes for people in need, improved economic outcomes for people in need]
Conclusion about what will happen if problem is not solved: [e.g. more people will die from preventable diseases, more people will remain in poverty]

2. Determine the structure of your output.

The structure of your content is just as important as the content itself. The structure of your content is how you're going to arrange the information in the content to make it easier for the readers to read and understand.

Introduce the topic and explain why it's important
Describe the problem that needs to be solved
Explain how the problem will be solved
Describe the benefits of solving the problem
Provide a conclusion about what will happen if the problem is not solved

3. Write the content or use Copy.ai to help you get started. Once you have your structure down, you can start writing the content.

Example:

Introduce the topic:

Climate change is a serious problem that affects millions of people, and it will likely affect future generations as well.

Describe the problem that needs to be solved:

Climate change is a serious problem because it affects millions of people, as well as future generations.

Explain how the problem will be solved:

We will solve the problem of climate change by passing legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within five years.

Describe the benefits of solving the problem:

We will solve the problem of climate change by passing legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within five years. This will improve health outcomes for people in need and improve economic outcomes for people in need.

Provide a conclusion about what will happen if the problem is not solved:

If we do not pass legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within five years, more people will die from preventable diseases and more people will remain in poverty.


Example:

Climate change is a big problem, and it's important to solve it.

It affects millions of people around the world, and it affects future generations.

The problem is that climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which come from burning fossil fuels and other sources.

We can solve climate change by using clean energy sources and by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Solving climate change will improve health outcomes for people around the world, because it will reduce the number of people who die from preventable diseases.

Solving climate change will also improve economic outcomes for people around the world, because it will reduce poverty and allow more people to have access to clean water and education.

If we don't solve climate change, more people will die from preventable diseases, more people will remain in poverty, and natural disasters will continue to happen.


Example:

The problem: [e.g. lack of access to clean water, lack of access to education]

Why it's important: [e.g. affects millions of people, affects future generations]

How it will be solved: [e.g. by providing clean water filters, by providing scholarships for students in need]

How it will affect people: [e.g. improved health outcomes for people in need, improved economic outcomes for people in need]

What will happen if it's not solved: [e.g. more people will die from preventable diseases, more people will remain in poverty]

1. An executive summary allows the reader to quickly gain an understanding of the main points of the document without needing to read the entire document.

2. An executive summary can be used to provide an overview of a complex document, such as a business plan or report.

3. An executive summary can also be used to highlight key points from a longer document for the purpose of presentation or discussion.

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