1. A method implemented by one or more computing devices for generating a naturally reading narrative summary including at least one assertion describing the state of an item, the method comprising: receiving, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, data from a database, the data being associated with the item; retrieving an assertion model, the assertion model including at least one assertion template having a data field; filling the data field of the assertion template based on the data received from the database to thereby generate an assertion describing the state of the item; and publishing a narrative based on the assertion.