METHOD OF PROCEDURE

You must make up ur mind from the beginning that precis-writing means intensive brain-work.There is no easy short cut to summarising a passage.To tear the heart out of a passage means concentrated thought,and u must b prepared 4 close attention and hard thinking.

1 READING

a) First read the passage through carefully,but not too slowly,to get the general idea of its meaning.If one reading is not enough to give u this clearly,read it over again,and yet again.The more u read it the more familiar will it become to you,and the clearer will b:
its subject,
what is said about that subject.
Ask urslf,"What is it i am reading?What does the author mean?What is his subject?What is he saying about it?Can i put in a few words the pith of what he says?"
b) Usually u r required to supply a title 4 ur precis.This is a gud stage at which to do this.Think of some word,phrase or short sentence that will sum up briefly the main subject of the passage.Sometimes it is supplied by what we may call a key-sentence.This may b found at the beginning or at the end of the passage.In its absence,u must get a clear idea of the subject from the passage as a whole,and then sum it up in a suitable heading.
THe effort to find a suitable title at this stage will help you to define in ur mind what exactly the subject or main theme of the passage is.

c) Further reading is necessary to ensure that u understand the details of the passage as well as its main purport.Take it now sentence by sentence,and word by word.If the meanings of any words are not clear,luk them up in a dictionry.THis is important coz a phrase,a sentence,or even a word may b of prime importance,and misunderstanding of it may cause you tok miss the whole point of the passage.

c) U should now b in a position to decide what part parts of the passage are essential and what parts are comparatively unimporitant and can b omitted widout any loss.The process of selection must not b in a haphazard or mechanical way.Discard incidentical and unimportant details.
Jot down ur conclusions in brief notes_the subject,the title and the details which u consider essential.

2) WRITING

a) Rough drafts

u shud now b ready to attempt the writing of the precis;but b sure of the limit within which it must b compressed. to b continued_____