Front Matter Comparison

Phil Druker/Department of English/ University of Idaho

Front Matter Comparison:

Phil Druker, Department of English, UI

Each of the pieces of front matter for the final report has a different purpose, audience, and level of technicality.

Table 1. Comparison of the letter of transmittal, abstract, and executive summary

	Purpose	Audience	Level of technicality
Letter of Transmittal	+Introduce the report to the funding agency +Connect the final report with the proposal +Make personal comments on the project/findings/conclusions /recommendations	Managers Various people requesting the report	Relatively low (depending on the managers that receive the report)
Abstract	+Summarize the whole report for other researchers	Other researchers	High
Executive Summary	+Summarize the whole report for managers or people not directly involved with the project	Managers People not involved with the project	Relatively low

NOTES:

1. All of these summaries summarize the same document; therefore, they will necessarily repeat ideas but with a different focus.

2. In the abstract, focus on technical issues.

3. In the executive summary, focus on cost/business issues.

Purpose