Topic outline

  • BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer

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    Intellectual Output

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    BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer
    Project 2019-1-FR01-KA203-063010 (167 512 512)

  • Objectives


    • After studying this lesson on writing summaries, you will be able to

      • identify different types;
      • use a clear structure;
      • write an effective summary.

  • Warm-up questions


      1. For what reasons might you write a summary?

      2. Who reads summaries?

      3. How long should a summary be?


  • Did you know…

    • A great deal of the information we hear or read in everyday life is in summary form: the news, weather forecasts, entertainment reviews and film trailers, as well as spoken accounts of events, for instance, all summarise much larger bodies of information. Therefore, the ability to summarise is a valuable skill, and this is especially true in any jobs which deal with a lot of written information. Summaries help to condense this information into a more readable form, presenting the most important points while giving an accurate picture of a study, situation, or recommendation. This means, of course, that it saves the reader time and effort, and ultimately enables the reader to determine whether they need to read the longer document for more details.

  • Reading

    • Summary-writing is common in both scientific and business contexts. Summaries are written to give the reader an overview of, for example, some scientific research or company performance, and they are known either as abstracts or executive summaries. The two are often confused, but in fact they have their differences. For the most part, the type of summary required is dependent on the reader / audience.

      An abstract is a technical text written to summarise a thesis, an academic paper, a conference presentation, or a technical report, and they are typically read by engineers and other scientists. In contrast, an executive summary covers the key business aspects of a variety of reports, and this may be read by decision-makers such as directors, managers, investors, etc.

      Summaries of any type have some features in common:

      • they are mostly written in formal, impersonal language, for instance using passive verbs (although the audience and subject matter may dictate a less formal tone);
      • they are brief and to the point;
      • they summarise a longer piece of writing, but they do not contain any information that is not in the longer text;
      • they tend to follow the same structure / layout as the longer text;
      • they can act as stand-alone texts in that they can be read instead of the longer piece of writing.


      Nevertheless, abstracts and executive summaries do have their differences, namely their focus, the language used, length and structure. An abstract will focus on the research carried out in a specific field or for specific projects and, therefore, the language used will be technical. The length of an abstract is typically one paragraph (from 200-400 words). In terms of structure, an abstract tends to follow the pattern below:


      Abstract structure

      1. Introduction: background and context of research (where the problem lies)

      2. Research objective

      3. Main methods used

      4. Main Results

      5. Conclusions (including recommendations)


      An executive summary, in contrast, usually focuses on business matters, for instance company performance, the success of a design or a recommended course of action. Business / financial terms are used, and its length is typically 5-10% of the document it summarises. Compare the structure of an executive summary below with that of the abstract above. Notice that an executive summary focuses mostly on the analysis of a current situation or problem and then recommends action towards the end.


      Executive summary structure

      1. Subject of the report

      2. Source of data / methods of analysis

      3. Findings

      4. Conclusions

      5. Recommendations

      6. Report limitations


      In some cases, a report will have both an abstract and an executive summary in order to provide an overview of the full report for two separate audiences – an audience interested in technical data and another interested in business / financial information.


      Finally, here are two summaries – one is an abstract, the other is an executive summary of a report. The structural parts of each summary are shown after each section.


      Abstract

      Small tree size represents the main challenge when designing a cost-effective harvesting system for European short-rotation plantations. This challenge is further complicated by the need to obtain 4-m logs for high-end products, which rules out the possibility of deploying whole-tree chipping. Both challenges can be met through mass or multi-tree handling (MTH), which must begin at the time of felling and continue uninterrupted along the whole supply chain. (Introduction) The objective was to: (1) gauge the productivity and the cost of CTL harvesting applied to these plantations; (2) assess log yield and capacity to match dimensional specifications; (3) determine if MTH applied to CTL technology offers a real benefit compared with conventional single-tree handling. (Research objective) The authors conducted a time study using a block design with a two-machine cut-to-length harvesting system (i.e. harvester and forwarder) in single- and multi-tree handling operations on the clear cutting of a hybrid poplar plantation in Poland, and manually measured the produced volumes of the study. (Method) Higher productivity (+ 4.6%) was achieved under the multi-stem handling mode. The MTH system proved capable of containing harvesting costs below € 15 per green ton, while fulfilling set timber quality requirements in terms of value recovery and log quality specifications. (Results) A new, software-based, MTH system is recommended for use in short-rotation poplar plantations for logs and biomass harvesting. When the coppicing season is over, the system can be deployed for conventional thinning operations. (Conclusions)

      Adapted from:
      Magagnotti, N., Spinelli, R., Kärhä, K., Mederski, P. S., 2021: Multi-tree cut-to-length harvesting of short-rotation poplar plantations. European Journal of Forest Research 140(2): 345-354.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-020-01335-y

      Executive summary

      Seven AMR 450 autonomous mobile robots were introduced at the ROWLEY plant on January 18th to transport equipment and material to the production line and finished goods from the production line to the warehouse. The ultimate aim was the optimisation of processes and an increase in productivity. This report outlines the installation process at the ROWLEY plant and the outcomes in terms of performance and productivity. (Subject of the report) For the 8-week period following installation of the robots, overall productivity was analysed. In addition, feedback on the introduction of the robots was obtained from the staff in the form of a questionnaire. (Source of data) According to this data, productivity increased by 22% in this period while accidents within the plant fell by 36%. Overall, staff expressed satisfaction with the robots and reported them to be easy, fast and safe to work alongside, particularly in comparison with using forklifts. (Findings) The seven AMR 450 robots have been successfully implemented in the ROWLEY plant and have increased productivity within a short period of time. (Conclusions) It is therefore recommended that autonomous mobile robots are introduced at the MANVILLE plant in the near future. (Recommendation)


      • condense – reduce in volume or length, express the same in fewer words;
      • nevertheless – however, even so;
      • namely – to be specific;
      • deploying – using in an effective way;
      • optimisation – making something as good or as effective as possible.

  • Activities

  • Further practice

  • Bibliography and references