Executive Summary Guide

PST 315: Methods of Policy Analysis and Presentation

Author

Prof. Jack Reilly

Published

Fall 2026

NoteAbout these examples

The examples below use sample data. Skills Win Coaching Organization is a real Syracuse University program, but the project, author, numbers, and responses shown here are invented for teaching purposes and are not actual SWCO results.

Step 1: Open a Word document. Create a header following the guidelines below.

An executive summary header with callout labels: the project title, agency name, your name, and the month and year the project is due, each bold and centered, followed by one blank line and then EXECUTIVE SUMMARY in all caps and bold.

Note: The name of your project should describe in a few words the purpose of your project.

Step 2: Create the introduction by using information from your Organizational Assessment. The first sentences must be: “This study reports __________. The study will be presented to _________.”

The first sentence of the introduction in your executive summary should be identical to the first sentence in the introduction section of your report.

Example executive summary introduction: a bold underlined Introduction label followed by a short paragraph stating what the study reports and who it will be presented to.

Step 3: Create the methods portion of your executive summary. Methods should overview how data were collected and define the target population, sample, and sampling frame, if applicable. Also in this section, note any MAJOR data collection and accuracy issues.

Questions to answer in Methods:

Example executive summary methods paragraph giving the collection method, target population, sampling frame, sample size, response rate, and a note on accuracy.

Step 4: Create the findings portion of your executive summary. Each of your findings in this section should EXACTLY match the findings at the top of each of your Findings pages throughout your report – this means word for word. Be sure every research question corresponds with a finding.

Reminders about findings:

Example executive summary findings: a bold underlined Findings label followed by a numbered list of finding statements, each giving a percentage and a sample size in parentheses.

Example executive summary

A complete example executive summary page showing the centered bold header block, the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY title, and the Introduction, Methods, and numbered Findings sections.