Visual representations of a manuscript’s abstract that make the key findings understandable at a glance. Benefits include increased article views and citations, and direct usability in social media and press releases. Many journals recommend them as elements that enhance a paper’s value. 

Summaries that visually restructure a paper’s objectives, results, and conclusions for immediate comprehension. While graphical abstracts are primarily for academic papers and must comply with journal specifications, visual summaries target both specialist and non-specialist audiences and are used across business, PR, marketing, educational materials, and more. 

Concise summaries of specialized content written in everyday language so that people without expert knowledge can understand it accurately. In Europe, EU Clinical Trials Regulation (EU CTR) 536/2014 (January 2022) has mandated lay summaries so that the general public can learn the results of all Phase I–IV clinical trials. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued a notification in January 2023 regarding the provision of clinical trial information, and improvements to the environment for patients, families, and the general public to access clinical trial information including lay summaries are expected.