Exercises — Chapter 7: The Executive Summary

Part C drafts your real executive summary. Selected answers in the appendix.

Part A — Recall and Understand

7.1. State the threshold concept in one sentence. Why is "summary" a misleading name for this section?

7.2. List the five moves of an executive summary in order, and the reviewer question each answers.

7.3. What is the two-page test? List the questions a passing summary lets a stranger answer.

7.4. How does the executive summary differ in register for foundation vs. government readers?

7.5. Distinguish an executive summary, a letter of inquiry, and a cover letter.

7.6. Why does the chapter say leading with your organization is an inversion of the order that persuades?

Part B — Apply

7.7. Fix the opening. Rewrite this to lead with need, not organization: "For 25 years, our acclaimed nonprofit has been a trusted community leader, and we're excited to request your support."

7.8. Spot the missing move. A summary states the need, the project, the organization, and the outcomes — but a reader cannot tell how much money is requested. Which move is missing, and why is its absence costly?

7.9. Tune the register. Take this foundation-style need sentence and rewrite it for a government rubric reviewer: "In our neighborhood, kids are being shut out of the tech economy before they even reach high school." (Invent a plausible program priority and required measure.)

7.10. Diagnose the weak summary. Read the weak RYCC summary in Section 7.3. List every flaw and its fix.

7.11. Two-page test. Take the strong RYCC summary (Section 7.3) and verify it passes the checklist — answer all six questions from the summary alone.

Part C — Analyze and Create (your real project)

7.12. Draft your executive summary. Using the Section 7.2 skeleton, write a complete one-to-two-page executive summary for your project: need, project, organization, outcomes (measurable, with targets), and request (amount + what it buys).

7.13. Number every paragraph. Check that each paragraph that can carry a number does (the need quantified, the outcomes with targets, the ask named). Add numbers where they're missing.

7.14. Two-page test on a stranger. Give your summary to someone outside your organization and field; have them answer the six checklist questions back. Revise where they cannot.

7.15. Tune the register. Identify your funder type and adjust the register (warmer/narrative for a foundation; tighter/rubric-keyed for government). If both types are plausible targets, draft both versions.

7.16. (If applicable) LOI version. If your funder requires a letter of inquiry, adapt your summary into LOI form with a warmer opening and a soft request to be invited.

Part M — Mixed Review

7.17. (From Ch 6) Map three moves of the specific aims page onto the executive summary's structure.

7.18. (From Ch 5) The summary is the load-bearing component. What must each later component (significance, narrative, evaluation, budget, capacity) do relative to it?

7.19. (From Ch 2) Why does register-tailoring draw on the "rooms" idea from Chapter 2?

Reflection

7.20. Learning check-in. Which anxious instinct pulled at you while drafting — leading with your organization, softening the ask, or vague outcomes? Name it and how you resisted it.