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Answer: A summary should orient the reader by highlighting the most important points, not repeat the document. You don't need to provide all the information you have in one material.

CDC Clear Communication Index

• Put a summary of the most important information the primary audience needs in the first paragraph or section.
• Don't let the amount of information overwhelm the audience.
• Include only the most important information for the main message you've selected; give the audience ways to get additional or related information if they want it.

SEC handbook

• A summary should orient the reader by highlighting the most important points, which the body presents in greater detail.
• Many summaries are as long as the document and consist of paragraphs copied straight from the body; avoid both.
• A cover page should give some key facts, but not tell everything all at once.

See also

• plain-one-main-message
• plain-language-short-paragraphs

Claims

• id: C1 claim: CDC: you need not include everything you have. source: S1 evidence: "You don’t need to provide all the information you have in one material."

• id: C2 claim: CDC: offer ways to get more information. source: S1 evidence: "You can provide the audience ways to get additional or related information"

• id: C3 claim: SEC: a summary should orient the reader. source: S2 evidence: "A summary should orient the reader,"

• id: C4 claim: SEC: many summaries copy body paragraphs. source: S2 evidence: "consist merely of paragraphs copied straight from the body of the document"

Sources

• [S1] CDC Clear Communication Index: User Guide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/pdf/clear-communication-user-guide.pdf . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

• [S2] A Plain English Handbook. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: US federal government works (GSA, GPO, SEC, CDC), public domain in the United States; third-party quotations inside those works were not used. Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

@misc{iil_note_p9n1dgg8,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Summarize only what matters most, and link to the rest}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-09},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-summary-orients-not-copies/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:p9n1dgg8. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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