Summary vs. Conclusion

Main Difference

The main difference between Summary and Conclusion is that Summary tends to sums up the most basic and main points, whereas a Conclusion concludes the whole essay or text briefly.

Summary vs. Conclusion — Is There a Difference?
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Difference Between Summary and Conclusion

Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary is a concise statement of the main points of a text, whereas the conclusion is the end of a research report, chapter, or any other text.

Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary is mostly at the beginning of the text; on the other hand, a conclusion is always placed at the end of an article.

Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary tends to sum up the essential points on the flip side; a conclusion concludes the whole essay or text in a concise way.

Summary vs. Conclusion

Any new idea, theme, or topic can be introduced into a summary; conversely, a conclusion does not have any new topic other than the whole document.

Summary vs. Conclusion

In a research report, term paper, or thesis, the summary is an overview of the prominent points; on the other hand, the conclusion is the evaluation of the critical points.

Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary aims to save time by giving a gist of the document and telling that whether the whole document is worth reading or not; on the other side, the conclusion aims to summarize the highlights and the findings of a report.

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Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary can contain long paragraphs; on the contrary, a conclusion contains short paragraphs.

Summary vs. Conclusion

The average length of a summary is 10% of the entire length of the whole document, while the overall length of the conclusion does not typically exceed one page.

Summaryadjective

Concise, brief or presented in a condensed form

A summary review is in the appendix.

Conclusionnoun

The end, finish, close or last part of something.

Summaryadjective

Performed speedily and without formal ceremony.

They used summary executions to break the resistance of the people.

Conclusionnoun

The outcome or result of a process or act.

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Summaryadjective

(legal) Performed by cutting the procedures of a standard and fair trial.

Summary justice is bad justice.

Conclusionnoun

A decision reached after careful thought.

The board has come to the conclusion that the proposed takeover would not be in the interest of our shareholders.

Summarynoun

An abstract or a condensed presentation of the substance of a body of material.

Conclusionnoun

(logic) In an argument or syllogism, the proposition that follows as a necessary consequence of the premises.

Summarynoun

a briefstatement that presents the main points in a concise form;

he gave a summary of the conclusions

Conclusionnoun

(obsolete) An experiment, or something from which a conclusion may be drawn.

Summaryadjective

performed speedily and without formality;

a summary executionsummary justice

Conclusionnoun

(legal) The end or close of a pleading, e.g. the formal ending of an indictment, "against the peace", etc.

Summaryadjective

briefly giving the gist of something;

a short and compendious booka compact style is brief and pithysuccinct comparisonsa summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject

Conclusionnoun

(legal) An estoppel or bar by which a person is held to a particular position.

Conclusionnoun

a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration;

a decision unfavorable to the oppositionhis conclusion took the evidence into accountsatisfied with the panel's determination

Conclusionnoun

an intuitive assumption;

jump to a conclusion

Conclusionnoun

the temporal end; the concluding time;

the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bellthe market was up at the finishthey were playing better at the close of the season

Conclusionnoun

event whose occurrence ends something;

his death marked the ending of an erawhen these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show

Conclusionnoun

the proposition arrived at by logical reasoning (such as the proposition that must follow from the major and minor premises of a syllogism)

Conclusionnoun

the act of ending something;

the termination of the agreement

Conclusionnoun

a final settlement;

the conclusion of a business dealthe conclusion of the peace treaty

Conclusionnoun

the last section of a communication;

in conclusion I want to say...

Conclusionnoun

the act of making up your mind about something;

the burden of decision was hishe drew his conclusions quickly

Comparison Chart

Summary Conclusion
A summary is a concise statement of the main points of a text. A conclusion is the end of a research report, chapter, or any other text.
Placement
At the beginning of the text At the end of the text
Average Length
9-10 pages One page
Paragraphs
Long Short
Aim
To save time by giving a short introduction to the document. To summarize the highlights and the findings of a report.

Summary vs. Conclusion

A summary is a concise statement of the main points of a text. A conclusion is the end of a research report, chapter, or any other text. A summary tends to sum up the most basic and main points. A conclusion concludes the whole essay or text briefly. A summary is mostly at the beginning of the text containing the main points of the whole text. The conclusion is always placed at the end of an article, essay, or any other document giving the final lines about it.

A summary includes a conclusion, hence the last paragraph of a summary is the conclusion; it includes the summary in a way that summarizes the main points of the article.

Any new idea, theme, or topic can be introduced into a summary. A conclusion does not have any new topic other than the whole document. In a research report, term paper, or thesis, the summary is an overview of the prominent points; on the other hand, the conclusion is the evaluation of the critical points.

A summary aims to save time by giving a gist of the document; people read the summary and decide by reading it that whether the whole document is worth reading or not. However, the conclusion in a research report aims to summarize its highlights and findings, and a person gets an idea of what the article is about by reading it. A summary can contain long paragraphs while a conclusion is concise, and it contains short paragraphs.

What is Summary?

A summary is a brief text containing an idea or gist of the whole document. It is usually found in the research reports, thesis, etc. The summary is also known as the executive summary. All the literary works, i.e., plays, novels, stories, have a summary that gives the reader a privilege to get the idea of the whole story by not reading the whole text. The primary purpose of a summary is to save the time of the reader. A summary must be written in a way that it covers all the main points, central ideas, and concepts of the whole text.

A summary can also be the synopsis of a play, novel, or movie. In a novel, story, or play, an outline of the plot is also known as a summary. A summary of a report, proposal, or business plan, highlights the prominent points. The information included in a summary must be a subject matter, method of analysis, finding, and at the end conclusion. It must omit the unnecessary details and certain things that will not create any confusion if omitted.

In businesses, the summary provides a short overview of a lengthy report. It saves the time of the executives and highlights the business plan or report in a short time. A good and useful summary has the potential to clinch the deal for a company. The average length of a summary is 10% of the entire length of the whole document. Its length can vary from a single page to 10 pages.

What is the Conclusion?

A conclusion is a brief and concise text concluding the main point of a text. It is typically put at the end of a document. The primary purpose of a conclusion is to remind the reader about the aims and ideals of the report. In a research report, the conclusion condenses the highlights and findings and briefly mentions its significant points. It tells the methodology which is applied to reach the findings and the results of the research report. A conclusion also lets us know about the objective of the report achieved. A conclusion is not typically lengthy, and its overall length must not exceed one page.

A conclusion is always placed at the end of a text. It never presents something new regarding its document mentioned above; rather, it summarizes what has already been discussed or done. Generally, it is the final verdict of a document. It is an essential part of any document that is placed in the end. The features of a reasonable conclusion are it must be engaging, attractive, give the reader a good impression of the whole document. Furthermore, a conclusion contains the solutions to the problems discussed in the text, research findings, and further recommendations. Every business plan or a report must have a conclusion presented at its end.

Conclusion

Summary and conclusion are two of the two different sections for any academic writing. Both are different from each other based on their placement in the document, content, and length.