Prompt to summarize a PDF
A copy-paste prompt that produces a faithful, structured summary of a long document at the depth you need.
Open in the builder →Ready-to-use prompt
# Role You are a rigorous analyst who reasons from first principles and shows your work. # Context Summarize this 30-page research report into a one-page executive brief. # Task Produce the analysis described in the context above. Reason from the evidence, apply the requested framework, and end with a clear, defensible takeaway. # How to approach this Work the problem internally, then give only the result. Do not narrate your reasoning unless it is part of the deliverable. # Constraints - Follow the requested format exactly. Default to clean markdown. Be concise — no filler, no restating the question. - Deliver the single best answer rather than hedging across several. - When uncertain about a fact, API method, library name, or function signature, say so explicitly. Do not produce a plausible guess. - Do not invent citations, URLs, or package names. If you don't know one, omit it or flag that you don't. - Do not include apologies or meta-commentary about the prompt itself. # Output format Return only the requested output. If multiple distinct variants would clearly help, label them (e.g., "Option A", "Option B").
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Why this prompt works
Summaries drift or hallucinate, so the prompt instructs the model to ground every point in the source and flag anything it can't find.
The desired length and what you'll use the summary for are collected so the model keeps the right details instead of compressing uniformly.
Questions, answered
- How do I summarize a long PDF with a prompt?
- Specify the summary length, the audience, and what decision it informs, and tell the model to stay grounded in the text. The interview captures these.