document-summarization

name	document-summarization
category	kumite-task
description	Faithfully summarize a long document at the right altitude for the audience. Use for board pre-reads, exec briefs, policy reviews, RFP responses. Triggers: "summarize this", "give me the highlights", "TL;DR of this PDF", "exec summary of the report".

Document Summarization

Summarization is the easiest thing for Copilot to do badly. The fix is altitude.

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Quick Reference (pick the altitude first)

Altitude	Length	Use case
30,000 ft	1 paragraph	Exec who has 60 seconds
10,000 ft	1 page	Board pre-read; briefing memo
Ground	Section-by-section	Policy review; RFP response

When to Use

• Before any read where the source > 10 pages and the audience won't read all of it.
• Board pre-reads, exec briefs, customer responses, regulatory submissions.
• When you need to compare two long documents — summarize each, then compare.

How to Use

State the altitude explicitly:

• 30,000 ft — one paragraph: what it is, why it matters, what to do.
• 10,000 ft — one page: structure mirrors the source, key points only.
• Ground — section-by-section, no compression.

Then prompt:

"Summarize [doc] at the 10,000 ft altitude for [audience]. Preserve [these specific items]. Drop anything not directly relevant to [decision]."

Verify by spot-checking three claims against the source. If any drift, re-prompt with corrections.

Examples

Don't: Altitude-less	Do: Altitude-set
"Summarize this 80-page report."	"Summarize at 30k ft for the CFO. Preserve the cash-bridge numbers. ≤120 words."
Summary invents emphasis the source didn't have	Spot-check 3 claims; re-prompt if drift
Skip verification because "sounds right"	Open the source; verify three random claims
Summary same length as source's exec summary	Pick a different altitude or stop

Critical Rules

• Altitude is the first parameter. Without it, Copilot picks one — usually wrong.
• Spot-check three claims. Drift is the dominant defect.
• Preserve specifics the audience needs. "Preserve" is as important as "drop."
• Don't compress beyond what the audience needs. Over-compression loses signal.
• Cite the source, not the summary.

Common Pitfalls

• "Summarize this" — altitude-less ask.
• Summaries that invent emphasis the source didn't have.
• Skipping verification because the summary "sounds right."
• Summarizing a document the audience could read in less time than the summary.
• Re-summarizing a summary — drift compounds.

Anti-Patterns

• "Summarize this." That's an altitude-less ask.
• Summaries that invent emphasis the source didn't have.
• Skipping verification because the summary "sounds right."
• Treating Copilot's summary as the source.

Verify Before Sending

• Altitude matches audience need.
• Three random claims verified against source.
• Specifics named in the prompt are preserved.
• Source linked alongside the summary.
• No invented emphasis or framing.

Related

• pdf-extraction — for PDF-source summaries
• research-synthesis — when summarizing multiple sources
• cite-your-sources, verify-before-send