These words refer to a short description of the main points of a longer work or presentation. Summary is the most general, referring to any attempt to condense into as few words as possible an extended train of thought: a day-to-day summary of the proceedings in the murder trial; concluding each chapter with a summary of its main arguments. The word implies a pithy paraphrase, with no attempt to catch the style of the original. Also, the word almost exclusively refers to something that follows after and is based on the extended presentation, or even concludes it ?as suggested by the common phrase in speechmaking: in summary . Abstract and précis both refer to summaries written most often by someone other than the original author; hence they are seldom part of the original presentation, though they follow it and are based upon it. Like summary , they stress brevity and the schematic representation of essential points with no attempt to preserve flavour. Abstract most specifically refers to a scholarly or legal citation that gives the gist of what may be a complex argument or study: a quarterly containing abstracts of doctoral dissertations in progress; an abstract of the proposed legislation. Précis may suggest a lengthier treatment than abstract and one in which the exact order of points in the original is adhered to; also, it is not restricted to legal or scholarly fields but applies to any summary of thought or argument in an essay or other non-fiction prose: each sentence in the précis representing a paragraph in the essay; The amount of space allotted was sufficient for abstracts but insufficient for précis of research projects. The word can even refer to a skeletal list-like presentation of whole fields of knowledge: a précis of Renaissance art history.

Outline and synopsis relate to précis in that they both pertain the point-by-point ordering of the original; they are both most often a skeletal setting down of these points, but may be drawn up either by the author or someone else before, as well as after, the writing of the original. Within these possibilities, outline covers a wider range than synopsis . It often suggests a numbered and lettered list which may contain nothing more than key words or phrases, but which may, on the other hand, present an extended prose paraphrase: a summary of French history written in the form of an outline ; drawing up an outline of the author’s arguments. Synopsis usually refers to a plot summary of a piece of fiction. Ordinary prose sentences are most often used, rather than the numbered and lettered list suggested by outline . It may specify, in capsule form, events treated in a completed work or those planned for a projected work: submitting the first chapter of his novel and synopsis of the unwritten remainder; writing synopses of novels to be considered for film treatment. The word may also refer to a paragraph that retells previous action and introduces an installment of a serialized work of fiction.

Abridgement and digest refer to more expanded treatment, suggesting condensation rather than a capsule paraphrase of the original. Consequently, what is presented after this shortening process may still be substantially in the original author’s own words and style. Of the two, abridgement suggests the least modification of the original; it may refer, in fact, merely to the excision of a relatively few passages: an abridgement in which passages involving sexual frankness were omitted. The word can indicate a greater amount of change: several characters and the whole sub-plot that did not appear in the abridgement ; a useful one-volume abridgement of Gibbon. Digest refers to a boiled-down recasting of the original to present its essentials in shorter space. Although the original author’s style and flavour may be retained at times, other passages may be rewritten on grounds of clarity or brevity: a concise digest of the judge’s long dissent. The word may refer also to a collection of condensed some scholarly or technical uses, the word may suggest the sort of brevity implicit in abstract: a digest of all the papers presented at the annual medical convention.