Summarise a document you actually have to act on

---
name: summarise-a-document-you-have-to-act-on
description: "For a contract, policy, or report where getting it wrong costs you. Separates what it obliges you to do from what it merely says, and flags the clauses worth a second read. Use when the user asks for help with research tasks like reading, documents, contracts."
license: CC-BY-4.0
metadata:
  source: https://promptsbuddy.com/prompts/summarise-a-document-you-have-to-act-on
  author: "Lena Fischer"
  version: "1.0"
---

# Summarise a document you actually have to act on

For a contract, policy, or report where getting it wrong costs you. Separates what it obliges you to do from what it merely says, and flags the clauses worth a second read.

## Inputs to collect first

Ask the user for anything below that they have not already given you. Do not
invent values for these.

- `DOCUMENT` — The document. Paste the whole thing if you can — partial text produces partial answers. (e.g. A lease, an MSA, an insurance policy, a 40-page report.)
- `MY_POSITION` — Which side you're on and what you're deciding. (e.g. I'm the tenant, deciding whether to sign a two-year term.)

## Instructions

I have to act on this document, not just understand it.

DOCUMENT:
{{DOCUMENT}}

MY POSITION: {{MY_POSITION}}

Give me:

**1. What this obliges me to do.** Only actual obligations on my side —
deadlines, payments, notice periods, things I must not do. Quote the clause
for each. Do not include obligations on the other party here.

**2. What it lets the other side do.** Especially anything they can do
unilaterally: change terms, terminate, increase a price, keep something of mine.

**3. The three clauses I should read again myself.** The ones where the wording
is doing more work than it appears to. Say what to watch for in each.

**4. What is missing.** Things a document of this kind normally covers that
this one does not. Absence is often the risk.

**5. Plain-language summary.** Five sentences, no jargon, as if explaining to
someone who has not read it.

Rules:
- Do not give legal, medical, or financial advice. Describe what the document
  says and what it leaves unsaid; the decision is mine.
- Do not paraphrase a clause in a way that softens it. Quote when the exact
  wording matters.
- If a section is ambiguous, say it is ambiguous rather than picking a reading.
- If I have given you only part of the document, say what you cannot assess.

## Notes from people who use this

- Section 4 catches the most: no cap on liability, no exit clause, no defined response time.
- Always read the three flagged clauses yourself. This narrows where to look — it doesn't replace looking.
- For anything with real money or legal exposure, this is preparation for talking to a professional, not a substitute for one.

---

Summarise a document you actually have to act on · by Lena Fischer · v1.0
From PromptsBuddy — https://promptsbuddy.com/prompts/summarise-a-document-you-have-to-act-on
Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Every prompt is also available at /prompts/summarise-a-document-you-have-to-act-on/skill.md — see all install options.