You've mastered steel-manning arguments. Now comes the ultimate challenge: can you capture someone's entire position in exactly 100 words?

This skill transforms complex debates into clear, actionable summaries. It's essential for reports, emails, and decision-making.

Engagement Message

How could a 100-word limit sharpen your grasp of an argument?

Great argument summaries balance three elements: accuracy, brevity, and neutrality. You must capture their key points without distortion, fit strict word limits, and avoid taking sides.

Most people fail at one of these three. They either misrepresent the argument, ramble endlessly, or inject their own opinions.

Engagement Message

Which element—accuracy, brevity, or neutrality—feels most challenging for you?

Here's your template for 100-word summaries: Position (20 words), Key Evidence (40 words), Reasoning (30 words), Stakes (10 words).

This structure forces you to identify what matters most while maintaining logical flow.

Engagement Message

Why does the template give most of its words to evidence?

Position (20 words): State their main claim directly. "Smith argues that remote work policies reduce productivity and should be eliminated within six months."

Keep it simple and specific. No background context or your interpretations yet.

Engagement Message

Can you rewrite this position statement in fewer words?

Key Evidence (40 words): List their strongest supporting points. "Employee output metrics dropped 15% since remote implementation. Survey data shows 60% report more distractions at home. Three major client complaints cited delayed responses."

Focus on their best evidence, not every detail they mentioned.

Engagement Message

What makes evidence "key" versus merely interesting?

Reasoning (30 words): Explain how their evidence connects to their position. "Smith connects productivity drops to remote work structure, arguing that home distractions and reduced oversight create systemic performance issues."

This shows their logical pathway, not whether you agree.

Engagement Message

How does separating reasoning from evidence help create better summaries?

Stakes (10 words): What happens if they're right or wrong? "Claims company competitiveness depends on addressing productivity decline immediately."

This captures why their argument matters beyond the immediate topic.

Engagement Message

Ready to practice building complete 100-word summaries?

Type

Fill In The Blanks

Markdown With Blanks

Let's build a summary! Your colleague argues: "We should adopt agile project management because our current waterfall method causes delays, agile increases team collaboration, and our competitors are already using it successfully."

Position (20 words): Colleague argues we should [[blank:adopt agile]] because current methods cause problems.

Key Evidence (40 words): Current waterfall method causes [[blank:delays]], agile increases [[blank:team collaboration]], and competitors use it [[blank:successfully]].

Reasoning (30 words): Links method choice to [[blank:performance]] outcomes and competitive advantage.

Suggested Answers

• adopt agile
• delays
• team collaboration
• successfully
• performance