Provide a Summary
Summary
Section titled “Summary”In this information age, it often feels like there is too much to read. A good summary gives a reader enough information to quickly determine whether a web page or document meets their needs.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”If you have ever used the acronyms BLUF (bottom line up front) or TL;DR (too long; didn’t read), you already understand why a summary is important. A good summary helps readers quickly determine whether a web page or document has the content they want.
- The longer a document, the more critical the summary.
- The more complex a document, the greater the need for a simple overview.
A summary can save everyone time but especially benefits people with cognitive and learning disabilities.
Who is Helped
Section titled “Who is Helped”People with disabilities affecting language, processing, or memory benefit from clear, easy-to-understand summaries. The summary highlights the purpose and content of the web page or document and helps these individuals decide if the content contains the information they need.
Guidelines
Section titled “Guidelines”Ensure summaries are easy to understand.
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Provide a summary written at an 8th-grade (lower secondary education) reading level or lower.
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See Check Reading Level for more information.
Provide a summary at the beginning of a:
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Document longer than a single page.
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Long web page.
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Link to long documents, long web pages, or a series of web pages about a single topic, such as a tutorial.
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Headings can act as a summary for content with less than 300 words.
The goal of a summary is to provide enough information for the reader to decide whether the content meets their needs.
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Describe key points using a few sentences or bullet points.
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Use keywords to help convey the purpose of the document.
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Use common words, short sentences, and plain language to make the summary easy to understand.
Follow the general guidance for writing a summary in articles like How to Write a Summary (Grammarly).