Checking what the summary may have missed
Unit ID: AIT-M05-U04 Estimated active time: 15-20 minutes
The main idea
Good summary review asks what got compressed away.
Reviewing a summary for accuracy is easy and insufficient. Every sentence can be true while the summary as a whole leaves a false impression.
Why this matters
Omission is the characteristic failure of summaries, and it is invisible from the summary alone. You can only find it by going back.
Safe example
A summary misses a condition that changes the decision.
Nothing in the summary is wrong. The reader simply does not know that the approval expires in thirty days.
Better working habit
Compare the summary against the original notes or source.
Work from the source, not from the summary. Reading the summary first tells you what to look for and you will find only that.
What to watch for
Do not treat a short summary as the whole truth.
Where the summary will be forwarded, say what it is not: "this covers the decisions, not the discussion".
Mini practice
List three things a summary could miss.
Then check the actual summary for those three, working from the source.
Check yourself
Before moving on, answer:
- What conditions or exceptions did the source contain?
- Did I check from the source, or only from the summary?
- Does the summary say what it does not cover?