# Does Executive Summary go before Table of Contents?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-executive-summary-go-before-table-of-contents/355407
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 4, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-executive-summary-go-before-table-of-contents/355407 "2006-05-04T16:26:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![samm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@samm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samm)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-executive-summary-go-before-table-of-contents/355407/1 "2006-05-04T16:26:08Z")

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In a professional report, should the Executive Summary go before the Table of Contents? It doesn’t say anything about it in my Gregg Reference Manual and it was too hard to look up on google. As it stands right now, I have the cover page, then the Table of Contents, then an Executive Summary, and then an Introduction. That doesn’t seem quite right. Also, shouldn’t I have an author/department name page in there somewhere? Or a blank page?

Thanks!

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### Author: ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-executive-summary-go-before-table-of-contents/355407/2 "2006-05-05T00:09:21Z")

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The professional reports that I see usually have the Table of Contents first, with the Executive Summary straight after.