How to Write an Objective Summary: Steps and AI Help

What is one difference that sets an objective summary apart from a standard one? Text flavor. A summary usually carries a writer’s perception and feelings. The objective one? It speaks bare facts, making it handy for anyone dealing with large batches of information.

Today’s task is simple—to discover how to write an objective summary and optimize the process with AI. Let’s dive in!

What Is an Objective Summary?

An objective summary is a concise and neutral overview of a text or meeting debrief. Unlike personal reflections that often dig into “how”, this one answers the “what” questions: What are the key details? What was discussed?

Clarity, neutral language, and precision are three pillars that make up a well-written objective summary. The one that sharpens original content, preserves the central idea, and lets you reuse information without going through the entire text or call.

Key Elements of a Strong Objective Summary

Before writing, you need to understand the difference between shortening and summarizing. The goal is not just to extract essential details, but also to remove unnecessary content that disperses attention.

So, what are the key characteristics of a strong objective summary?

• Clear main idea: The central thesis of your objective summary is an introduction. Try to make it as accurate as possible. 
• Informative key points: Key ideas that support the main idea are as important as the rest of the details. Try to identify yours and keep them accurate and brief: up to 3 key points are enough.
• Precise text: Every word you use should earn its place. Try to fit short sources into 1-3 sentences and longer ones into up to 1-3 paragraphs. Overall, it should be 5-10% of the source.
• Logical flow: Stick to the original flow and only change it to improve content quality.
• Conclusion: If your source has a final idea or decision, add it to the conclusion. Close the summary with a wrapping-up thought that sums everything up.

Steps to Write an Objective Summary

Now that you are packed with key features of a summary, let’s discuss how to work with them to create a concise overview. 

Here is how you can write an objective summary.

1. Identify the Basic Idea

How would you describe the core content in one sentence? That is the main idea and the opening sentence to your summary. Stick to the key message and avoid describing it from your perspective. 

Here is something to compare:

• The article outlines five challenges sales professionals face with the rise of AI tools.
• The article talks about painful challenges that make the lives of sales professionals harder.

Which sentence do you think works best?

2. Select Key Details

What are the core facts? This question is the foundation for defining key details. Select 3-5 findings that support the idea and use them to create high-quality content. If the points need a lot of explanation, split each fact into subsections. 

Here are general recommendations for key facts:

• Be precise: Cut unnecessary details and describe only essential content.
• Add lists: You can add lists to make information more digestible and easy to read.
• Maintain order: Stick to the source. This will keep the connections between details.

3. Use Objective Language

Neutrality and bare facts are the driving force of a good overview. While sometimes the idea to add personal interpretation is tempting, it goes against the objective summary writing.

Here are some tips on what to think of when writing:

• Minimize adverbs and adjectives: They are often subjective interpretations, so it is best to avoid them.
• Remove emotions: Delete mentions of something being “amazing”, “incredible”, or “unfortunate”. 

4. Stick to the Logical Flow

Keep the thesis statements in the original flow to maintain order. If the source has a clear structure or step-by-step instructions, avoid removing pieces to make the text shorter. 

The objective summary definition calls for a precise overview, so rearranging points can damage the main idea.

5. Add a Conclusion

What is an objective summary without a strong conclusion? The wrapping up is a final and essential part of a good summary. Besides closing your overview, it shares final insights, ideas, and sums everything up. 

Here are some recommendations for different types of sources:

• AI meeting summary: Finish your meeting summary with the final decision or next steps.
• AI report summary: Mention the result or main findings, and their analysis.
• AI article summary: Add the idea or the author’s point of view.

Common Mistakes When Writing an Objective Summary

The question of how to write an objective summary is settled. It is time we move to the common pitfalls to avoid.

Prioritizing Details

Cutting information off is harder than it appears. When you get into writing, lots of minor details seem vital, and removing them feels like a betrayal. So, how do you identify what is needed or what is extra?

These three “does” questions can help you understand whether you are dealing with irrelevant details or not:

• Does this detail change the outcome?
• Does the context remain intact if I delete this point?
• Does it support the main idea, or is it some additional commentary?

Being Vague

Vague statements get your summary nowhere. While you dedicate time to writing these, they do not carry any relevant details. 

If you are unsure how to set vague sentences apart from the rest, here is an example:

• The guide provides many advantages of using AI tools in the industry.
• The guide focuses on four advantages of using AI tools in the sales industry.

Which one keeps the meaning intact?

Focusing on the emotion

Focus on what was said, rather than how it made you or the speaker feel. Using emotional language removes the neutrality from the objective summary and makes it personal.

Stick to the core details without analyzing their impact. Mirror each centralized thesis in a precise and informative way, and avoid adding subjective language.

Best AI Tools that Can Help You Write Objective Summaries in 2025

This section is for those who want to know how to write an objective summary efficiently and with minimal time. Let’s dive in!

Sembly

How about catching the context of business meetings quickly and securely? And even better—creating actionable tasks, objective summaries, and insights? These are just the tip of the iceberg of what Sembly can do.