---
name: summarization
description: "Summarize long content into concise, structured summaries."
whenToUse: "User pastes long text and asks for a summary"
---

# Skill: Summarization

## Description
Summarize long content (emails, documents, chat threads, articles) into concise, structured summaries. Supports extractive (key sentences), abstractive (rewritten), and hierarchical (multi-level) approaches.

## When to Use
- User pastes long text and asks for a summary
- User asks to summarize emails, Teams chats, or documents
- User says "太长了帮我总结" or "TL;DR" or "summarize this"
- After reading a long email thread or chat history

## Approach Selection

| Content Type | Best Approach | Output Length |
|-------------|--------------|---------------|
| Single email | Extractive (key points) | 2-3 bullets |
| Email thread (5+ msgs) | Abstractive + timeline | 5-10 bullets |
| Meeting transcript | Hierarchical (decisions > discussion > details) | ~1 page |
| Technical document | Abstractive + key terms | Paragraph + bullet points |
| Chat thread (50+ msgs) | Thematic grouping | Grouped bullets by topic |
| News article | Extractive headline + key points | 3-5 bullets |

## Workflow

### 1. Assess the Content
- Length: How long is the source?
- Type: Email? Chat? Document? Article?
- Purpose: Why does the user want a summary? (Decision? Catch up? Share?)

### 2. Apply the Right Technique

#### Extractive (Pull key sentences)
Best for: Short-medium content where exact wording matters
```
- Identify the most important 3-5 sentences
- Preserve original phrasing
- Bold key terms
```

#### Abstractive (Rewrite concisely)
Best for: Long content that needs simplification
```
- Understand the overall message
- Rewrite in fewer words without losing meaning
- Use simpler language
```

#### Hierarchical (Multi-level)
Best for: Complex content with multiple topics
```
Level 1: One-line summary (< 20 words)
Level 2: Key points (3-5 bullets)
Level 3: Detailed summary (paragraph per topic)
```

#### Thematic (Group by topic)
Best for: Long chat threads with multiple interleaved discussions
```
Group messages by topic:
- Topic A: [Summary of all messages about topic A]
- Topic B: [Summary of all messages about topic B]
- Action items: [Extracted from all topics]
```

### 3. Format Output

#### Quick Summary (default)
```
**TL;DR:** [One sentence summary]

Key points:
• [Point 1]
• [Point 2]
• [Point 3]

Action needed: [If any]
```

#### Detailed Summary
```
## Summary: [Title/Subject]

**Context:** [Why this matters]

### Main Points
1. [Point with detail]
2. [Point with detail]

### Decisions Made
- [Decision 1]

### Action Items
- [Owner]: [Action] by [Date]

### What's Still Open
- [Unresolved question]
```

### 4. Rules
- **Match the language** of the source content
- **Never add information** not in the source
- **Preserve nuance** — don't oversimplify disagreements
- **Front-load the most important info** — if user only reads first 2 lines, they get the gist
- **For sensitive content** — follow the confidentiality rules (no salary/review info)
