For consultants putting a report on one page
Executive Summary Template and Examples
A one-page executive summary template for reports, proposals and business cases: the answer first, then three supporting points and the ask, plus three worked examples.
Executive summary format
What goes in an executive summary, part by part
Six parts, in this order. Each row shows what the part holds, a common weak version and a strong one from a worked proposal.
| Part | What it holds | Weak | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline | Your answer in one sentence of 15 words or fewer | "Review of clinic booking systems" | "Move all six clinics onto one booking system by September" |
| Situation | What the reader already knows and accepts, with a figure | "Patient expectations are changing fast." | "Each of the six clinics books appointments on its own system, and front desks handle about 4,000 calls a week (p. 2)." |
| Complication | What changed or is at stake, with the number that shows it | "The current setup presents some challenges." | "11% of appointments are missed, and when one clinic is full, staff can't offer a free slot at another (p. 3)." |
| Answer | What to do, by when, and what it costs or saves, in bold | "Our recommendation is set out in section 5." | "Replace the six booking systems with one shared system with text reminders, live in all clinics by September, for $210,000 over two years (p. 9)." |
| Three supporting points | Claims that don't overlap, strongest first, each with its evidence. Bullets work here. | "Background." "Options." "Costs." | "Reminders cut missed appointments." "One system frees front desk time." "Patients are seen sooner." |
| The ask | One decision, who makes it and by when | "We would welcome the board's views." | "Approve the $210,000 budget at the board meeting on May 14, so procurement can start in June (p. 11)." |
The weak versions were written for this page. The strong ones are adapted from the proposal example in the template's second document, and the health system and its figures are made up.
How it works
How do you write an executive summary?
To write an executive summary, wait until the report is final, then put its answer first, in one sentence. Follow it with the situation and complication behind the answer, three supporting points with their figures, and the decision you need, all on one page. Digital.gov's plain language guide gives US government writers the same advice: start by stating your purpose and the bottom line1, and put background toward the end.
The opening follows Barbara Minto's Situation, Complication, Question framework2, which she teaches for identifying the question in your reader's mind. Your answer replies to that question. If you can't write it in one sentence, the report isn't ready, so work it out in the pyramid principle template. Then choose three supporting points, strongest first, each written as a claim. Minto's course, based on one she taught at McKinsey, teaches you to test groupings like this. When you say there are three reasons, make sure there are in fact only three, and the right three3.
Under each point, copy the report's figures exactly, with their pages, and label estimates as estimates. For most consulting reports, proposals and business cases, the summary fits on one page of about 250 to 400 words. For a long study, USC Libraries' writing guide gives a general rule of no more than 10% of the original's pages, and 10 pages at most4. If yours runs over, cut method and background before evidence. Then, as USC advises, let it sit before you reread it, and check that it can stand alone as a separate document.
How it works
From key findings to a one-page summary
Download it or open it in River
Download both Word documents free, or click Edit with AI to open the template in River with the examples beside it.
Paste your findings first
Optional: paste your report's key findings before you click. River drafts the summary from them and leaves gaps in brackets instead of guessing.
Check every figure
Match each number to its page in the report. If River drafted it, settle each question on the To confirm list it adds.
Run the checklist, then send
Tick the nine checks under "Before you send," delete the italic guidance, then ask River for a one-slide version or covering email.
Retrofit all four warehouses with LED lighting this winter (example)
- Situation and complicationLighting costs $412,000 a year (p. 3), and rates rise 14% in July (p. 4).
- AnswerSpend $590,000 this winter. After the rebate, it pays back in under two years (p. 9).
- WhyIn a trial, LED lighting used 63% less electricity (p. 6). It saves an estimated $258,000 a year once rates rise (p. 8). A $96,000 rebate ends March 31 (p. 10).
- The askApprove the $590,000 by November 15, so installation can start in January (p. 12).
What you'll get
Answer first on one page, with three worked examples and a rewrite
- An answer-first page: situation, complication, answer, three points, the ask
- A length rule, a guidance line for every part and a send checklist
- Three worked examples and a before-and-after rewrite
Before and after
Your findings in. The answer on top.
Claims review findings: 18,000 home claims a year. Paid within 30 days fell from 80% to 61% since the new system went live in January. Ombudsman complaints doubled to 140 in six months. 64% of claims are under $5k but go through the same 9 steps. Old fast track paid small claims in a median 6 days. Recommend bringing it back with 8 handlers.
Headline: Bring back the fast track for claims under $5,000. Since the new claims system went live in January, the share of claims paid within 30 days has fallen from 80% to 61% (your notes). Complaints to the ombudsman have doubled to 140 in six months (your notes). Answer: Bring back a fast track for claims under $5,000, staffed by eight handlers. Why: 1. Small claims are most of the queue. 64% are under $5,000, but each goes through the same nine steps (your notes). 2. The fast track worked before. It paid small claims in a median of six days (your notes). The ask: [decision needed, from whom, by when]. To confirm before you send: Who decides, and by when? Where in the report is each figure?
Each figure is copied from your notes and marked (your notes) until you add its page, and estimates stay labeled as estimates. River never writes an answer your findings don't reach, and with no decision or date in your notes, the ask stays in brackets.
What lands in your doc
What's in the executive summary template
- Executive Summary Template
One page with a headline, situation, complication, answer, three supporting points and the ask, each with a guidance line. - The length rule
One page, about 250 to 400 words, or under 10% of a long report, and what to cut first. - Before you send
Nine checks, from a headline that states the answer to figures that match the report exactly. - The rules behind this template
Six short rules: answer first, stand alone, nothing new, claims not topics, one ask, write it last. - Executive Summary Examples
A consulting report, a project proposal and a business case, each summarized with a note on why it works. - Before and after: a rewrite
A method-first summary rewritten answer first, with a note on each of the four changes.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is an executive summary?
An executive summary is the short version of a report that a decision-maker reads instead of the whole thing. It states the answer the report reaches, the few reasons behind it and the decision needed, so the reader can act on that page alone. It sits at the front of the report, but you write it last.
How long should an executive summary be?
One page, about 250 to 400 words, suits most consulting reports, proposals and business cases. A long study can justify more. USC Libraries' guide4 sets a general rule of 10% of the original's pages, up to 10, so even a 300-page study gets 10 at most. See five more executive summary examples for other documents.
What's the difference between an executive summary and an introduction?
An introduction prepares the reader to read the report: background, scope and how it is organized. An executive summary replaces the report for a reader who won't read it, so it gives the conclusion and the evidence. If yours describes what the report will cover rather than what it found, it is an introduction.
Should an executive summary include recommendations?
Yes, whenever the report makes them, and that sets it apart from an abstract. USC Libraries' guide4 notes that research abstracts rarely include the author's recommendations, while an executive summary is meant to convince the reader to decide on them. Put the main one in the first few lines, then the reasons. Never add one the report doesn't reach.
How do I turn an executive summary into slides?
Make the headline the title of your first slide, and each supporting point the title of a section, so the titles alone tell the story. The storyline builder turns findings into a slide-by-slide outline with action titles, and the consulting deck review checks the finished deck.
Is this executive summary template free?
Yes. Download both Word documents, the template and the worked examples, with no account or signup. Edit with AI opens the same template in River, which is free to start. There you can edit it, share it or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
What does Edit with AI do?
It opens the template in a free River workspace, with the examples beside it. If you paste your report's key findings first, River drafts the summary from them, copying every figure exactly and listing open points to confirm. It never supplies an answer or an ask your findings don't give. With nothing pasted, it offers to fill the template in with you.
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