2.13 Evaluating Summaries
Annotated Sample Summary
This sample summary is in email format. Its intended audience is a professor teaching a business communications course. Click on the underlined text to see the relevent annotations.
Examples
To: gzele@centennial.ca
From: Anilsempath@solutions4u.ca, 300272777, BUSN 732-101
Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Write out the date. Avoid numerical dates such as 5.28.2013 because they could cause confusion.
Re: Summary of Wasting Days, Wasting Nights
Capitalize the first letter of each major word.
Hello Professor Zele,
This is an upward communication so using the person’s title is appropriate.
As you requested,
An effective opening that is audience centred, creates a context and begins with the main point of your memo.
I have summarized the article entitled “Wasting Days, Wasting Nights: Facebook at Work” by Mark Anderson, published in the Ottawa Citizen on August 8, 2007.
Main Point
Effective use of headings.
Anderson
Use the author’s last name, not first name.
explains
Use the simple present.
that as younger people enter the workplace and as social media sites become more popular, many people internet surf while at work and the numbers are expected to increase. According to a National Post study that Anderson quotes, currently about 60% of employees spend about 19 work days a year surfing on the Net. Therefore, productivity may be compromised.
Possible Solutions
Effective use of headings.
Anderson offers three possible solutions to the problem of workplace internet surfing and comments on each solution.
This sentence creates a context for the solutions offered.
Solution One
Effective use of sub-headings.
Employers could use web technology to prevent employees from surfing during work hours. This solution would decrease employee morale.
Solution Two
Employers could establish strict non-surfing policies and discipline employees who do not adhere to them. This solution would also decrease employee morale.
Solution Three
Employers could allow employees to surf the Net as long as they complete their work. Additionally, employers could allow employees to set up their own work schedules. This solution is not workable for businesses that require set hours. It is also problematic for employees who are unable to manage their own time effectively.
For your convenience, here is a link to the article I viewed https://search-proquest-com.ezcentennial.ocls.ca/docview/241099692?pq-origsite=summon. I look forward to your feedback.
This sentence promotes goodwill and asks for a response.
Anil Sempath
All necessary information about the sender is included in the email signature.
300272777
Anilsempath@solutions4u.ca
BUSN732-101
Exercises
Evaluating Sample Summaries
This sample depicts a summary written by an employee. Its intended audience is a supervisor or manager.
If a summary is effective, the reader should be able to capture the gist of it without reading the original source text.
Activity
- Carefully read the summary. Were you able to capture the gist of the article?
- Next, compare the two summaries. Was the same structure used?
To: insmith@solutions4u.ca
From: Stgabor@solutions4u.ca
Date: March 1, 20xx
Subject: Summary of The New York Times’ article on McDonald’s market situation
To prepare for next week’s meeting, I’ve summarized Mark Bittman’s article “McDonald’s Turns ‘Progressive’ “published in The New York Times on April 8, 2015. In his article, Bittman presents his views on the reasons for the struggles McDonald’s has been experiencing and suggests that McDonald’s needs to commit to a complete transformation to remain successful.
One problem after another
Bittman contrasts how one of the world’s most well-known and successful brands, McDonald’s, has made some bad business decisions:
- It sold most of its share in Chipotle, a company that has become a strong competitor.
- It introduced new menu products that have failed.
- It has been unable to shift perception of its food from unhealthy fast food to fresh, sustainable food.
Not enough progress
Although McDonald’s tried to introduce innovative concepts, such as using antibiotic-free chickens and raising the minimum wage of its workers, Bittman considered McDonald’s efforts to be “too little, too late”. McDonald’s appeared to be reacting to the marketplace rather than driving it since its competitors have already implemented these initiatives to a greater extent.
What now?
Bittman suggests that McDonald’s needs to make-over itself and innovate fully rather than in half measures.
If you’d like to view the original article, you can access it through this link: https://go-gale-com.ezcentennial.ocls.ca/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=ko_acd_cec&id=GALE|A408751592&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon
References
- Anderson, M. (2007, Aug. 08). Wasting days, wasting nights: Facebook at work: [Final Edition]. The Ottawa Citizen.
- Bittman, M. (2015, Apr. 8). McDonald’s turns ‘progressive’. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/opinion/mcdonalds-turns-progressive.html