How to Write a Precis
 

(pronounced “pray-see”)

[SIZE="3"][B]What it is[/B][/SIZE]

A précis is a summary of a book or article in which the author’s story or argument is accurately and fairly reproduced, but in the student’s own words.

It recounts the basic narrative of the story (if fiction) or the basic arguments of the book or article (if nonfiction) in ¼ to 1/6 of the original length.

This is beneficial to you as a student because it maximizes your comprehension of the document.

As Michael Seiferth at Palo Alto College puts it,

“your ability to write the precis is central to the basics of analysis, synthesis, comparison, and other key, higher order thinking skills absolutely required for your success in college and in the profession or career you have chosen when you graduate.”

[B][SIZE="3"]How to write it[/SIZE][/B]

1. read the article once

2. read the article at least once more (preferably two to three times, depending on length), mapping out the author’s argument

3. take the resulting argument "map" and re-write it in your own words to the required page length

[B][SIZE="3"]Remember:[/SIZE][/B]

This is not a reflection paper or book report – it's an exact replica of the original, but shorter, and in different words.
Try not to quote the text, and limit paraphrasing unless absolutely necessary (that is, unless there's no other way to say it).
Don’t add any opinion or new examples.
Don’t use expressions like “This passage says…,” or “According to the author…”. You don't want to “stand apart” from the document, but to reproduce its intent, tone, style and mood in different words.


[B][SIZE="3"]Tips for writing a précis of fiction:[/SIZE][/B]

Look especially for plot structure: the exposition, inciting incident, crisis, final resolution, and denouement will constitute your through line.
Identify the conflict in the story and only include that which develops or resolves the conflict.


[B][SIZE="3"]Tips for writing a précis of nonfiction:[/SIZE][/B]

Identify the topic sentences through the document (check the introduction and conclusion to each section). This will likely provide most of your précis skeleton.


[B][SIZE="3"]Sample:[/SIZE][/B]

It is easy to say, ‘Enlarge your vocabulary; first,
that you may enter upon the privileges of a cultivated woman; and secondly, that you may be able to tell the truth easily and accurately.’ But it is another and more difficult matter to prescribe the means by which this is to be done. Every girl must, to a large degree, work out her own method. The reading of the best books and conversation with cultivated folk are both helps to the free use of words. The dictionary is the best friend for your task. Never allow a strange word to pass unchallenged. Usually, it is wise to look it up at the moment. If that is im*possible, it must be written firmly on the memory and traced at the first opportunity. It is good to encourage in yourself the habit of dawdling a little over the dictionary. It is the only place where dawdling reaps a harvest. To learn two new words a day–thoroughly to learn them so that their use will not have a foreign accent–is to insure a large vocabulary before you reach middle age. (189 words)

[B][SIZE="3"]Title: Enriching Your Vocabulary[/SIZE][/B]

[B]Main Points[/B]

1. It is a mark of culture and also a means of self-expression to possess a large vocabulary.
2. Every girl should find her own methodology of enriching her vocabulary.
3. The two most helpful ways are reading and conversation. However, a dictionary is the best aid.
4. A new word should be looked up immediately or as soon as possible.
5. By middle age, one can build a large vocabulary if two new words are learned every day.

[SIZE="3"][B]Précis[/B][/SIZE]

Every girl should endeavor to enlarge her vocabulary for successful self-expression. It is also a mark of culture. Reading and conversation are a great help in this regard. However, the best aid is the dictionary. Every new word should be looked up immediately or soon after. A rich vocabulary can be acquired by the time a person reaches middle age if two new words are learned every day.

[B]Something more about PRECIS[/B]

Oxford Dictionary defines précis as ‘a summary of a text or speech’. Yet another definition says that précis is ‘a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory’. A concise explanation of a précis is ‘a brief summary of essential points, statements or facts’. Therefore, précis means a brief summary of the given passage .It also means an abstract. It is pronounced ‘praysee’. It should be short and precise retaining in a few words the ideas that are contained in the original .Generally, précis should be one third of the length of the original passage. The original should be followed without changing the series of ideas presented therein.

In the present day busy world, précis-writing has enormous practical value. Business executives and Heads of Departments, who do not have enough time to go through long reports, depend on the précis made by their secretaries .Similarly, all other senior officials, who have no spare time to wade through long reports , documents and notes, want their secretaries to make a précis for them ,which enables them to take significant decisions. The accuracy of the decisions taken by senior executives depends on the exactness of the précis prepared by their secretaries. Students need to make summaries of long essays that are prescribed in their text books. Instead of depending on readymade notes, they should develop the art of précis-writing. This will help them in their future when they seek jobs. Hence, précis-writing is an essential skill that has to be developed and practiced by everyone.


[B][SIZE="3"]How to Write a Précis[/SIZE][/B]

Firstly, read the given passage rapidly to find out the central theme. An all-important idea usually forms the theme of the passage. The central theme tells us what the passage is about. Then, try to analyze the tone of the passage – serious, satirical, critical, humorous, etc. After that, see what type it belongs to – descriptive or narrative or reflective.


[B][SIZE="3"]Selection of a Title[/SIZE][/B]

The next step is to find a suitable title for the précis. The title should be a brief statement which highlights the central theme. It should be short, striking and catchy. A key phrase should be picked up from the passage itself. Most probably, you will find it in the opening lines or in the middle of the passage. Do not choose indistinct or irrelevant titles which mar the effect. Except Articles, Prepositions and Conjunctions, every word in the title must begin with a capital letter.

For example,

§ Self-help Groups to the Rescue of Poor Farm Women
§ Advantages of Sports and Games

You may carefully observe in these two titles that the first letters of each word are in uppercase, except the Prepositions ‘to’ and ‘of’ , Article ‘the’, besides the Conjunction, ‘and’. However, if the title begins with an article, it should be written in the uppercase.

For example,

§ A Stinging Censure
§ The Growth of Virtue and the Growth of a Plant


[B][SIZE="3"]Language Aspects[/SIZE][/B]

The précis should contain an organic plan. It should be developed logically with a clear-cut, unbroken chain of ideas, which are linked accurately. Coherence has to be maintained throughout .The sequence should not be disturbed. Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, the sequence may have to be broken. In such a case, see to it that the précis is cogent and runs smoothly. In any case, the central idea of the passage should not be marred. It is very important to note that the précis should always be written in the Third Person. Even though the passage is in the First Person or in the form of a dialogue, it should be converted into the Third Person.

Aim at variety. A well-regulated précis must have variety. Variety can be achieved by using varied sentences of different lengths and clause structures. Long and short sentences should be used alternatively to make the presentation vivid and striking. Use simple, complex and compound sentences to lend richness to the texture. Two simple sentences can be synthesized to construct one compound sentence. Similarly, a complex sentence can be converted into a compound sentence and vice versa. This is how you can reduce the number of words.

For example,

(1) She is tall. She is beautiful. ( 6 words )
She is tall and beautiful. ( 5 words )

(2) He will win the election. That is certain.
( 8 words )
He will certainly win the election.(6 words)

By using this technique, you may reduce some words, without changing the meaning. So, transforming sentences from one form to the other will be of great help to trim down the passage. You may also use one-word substitutes quite liberally, to cut the length.

For example,

(1) Carving figures in stone, wood, marble, etc., or casting them in metal = Sculpture
(2) Person who is made to bear the blame due to others = Scapegoat

This is how a long phrase or a clause can be replaced with a one-word substitute.

Avoid all kinds of ambiguity, i.e. in the form, meaning and language. The abstract that you have made should be lucid. Your précis should not look clumsy and awkward. Language should be simple and candid. Functional language should be used while making a précis. Use short sentences and simple expressions. Wordiness and padding should be strictly avoided. Avoid grammar mistakes. The sentence construction should be 100% grammatically correct. There is no compromise in this aspect. Spellings should be checked carefully. Do not make spelling mistakes. Look up in a dictionary for the spellings of difficult words.
Vague constructions spoil the effect. The précis should not read like a mere summary or compilation of loosely connected ideas. Try to make the précis look like an original piece of composition. Finally, revise the style, spelling, punctuation and grammar .See if the précis has a smooth flow. Maintain order , coherence and unity of thought throughout.


[SIZE="3"][B]Central Points[/B][/SIZE]

After selecting an apt title, read the passage again, this time rather slowly and try to comprehend every sentence. Since it is for the second time that you are reading the passage, it is easy for you now to extract the main points. Choose the important matter and eliminate the unimportant. Your skill lies in picking up the material which revolves round the central theme and organizing it in an orderly fashion. You should be able to select the most pertinent points and eliminate the inessential.

The points that are superfluous and inappropriate should be straight away omitted. See to it that you leave out repetitions. Some authors have the habit of repeating the same ideas at the beginning of every paragraph for the sake of emphasis. Such repetitions may be eliminated because, economy of words is an essential feature of a précis. Examples, illustrations, quotations, anecdotes, metaphors, similes and other figures of speech can be removed. Redundant words and extraneous stuff also may be dispensed with. Clichéd expressions also should be deleted.

Now, make a list of important points that you came across in the second reading. While picking up the essential points, do not underline in the original text. If you do this, you could be tempted to reproduce the author’s original version .You are not supposed to copy verbatim. Blind copying must be avoided. Précis is not a mechanical reproduction of the given text. It will not make a good précis if you copy word to word from the original passage. As far as possible, attempt to summarize in your own words. But this does not mean that you should completely avoid the words used by the author .Many a time, a key word or a phrase has to be literally reproduced from the original text. Such key words and phrases are indispensable. Nevertheless, the language should be your own. Read the passage once again to locate any omissions that you have made. You should not leave out anything which is important.

Remember that the précis is only a summary and not an essay. Therefore, do not be tempted to add any ideas or thoughts of your own, however brilliant they might be. The précis should not have any ideas which are not in the original. And also, do not add any critical comments of your own. There is no need to analyze the original piece. You need to present only the abstract and not an analysis.

[SIZE="3"][B]Sample[/B][/SIZE]

The chief peculiarity of the modern world is the great mastery over nature, which man possess today. Man was a play-thing of nature for ages. Life was a burden for him and the world a prison. He wanted to escape to a land where there was neither scarcity not sickness neither sorrow nor suffering. Today, however this position exits no longer. Now nature is the slave instead being the Lord of man. He is today neither helpless nor feeble nor even without means. The means of production and commerce which man possesses today are so many and so effective that no one in this vast world need remain without food, clothes and shelter.

If these means were properly utilized, it is certain that poverty would disappear for good from the world. Another peculiarity of the modern world is the essential unity of all nations of the world. The world is today one, and its peace and prosperity are one and individual. The third great fact of the modern world is the conquest of time which man has achieved. One year of his life is equal to ten of his ancestors in point of achievement. But what a cruel irony of fate it is that man with all his power of the gods has neither serenity of spirit nor a security of life. It appears as if this very power has become his great enemy and destroyer.

[B][SIZE="3"]Main Points :[/SIZE][/B]

1. The chief feature of the modern world is man's victory over nature. He is no more a toy in her hands.

2. The second feature is the essential unity of the world nation. The world today is one.

3. The third feature is the conquest of time which man has achieved.

4. But despite all this power man has no peace of mind. His power has become his enemy.

[B][SIZE="3"]Précis :[/SIZE][/B]

One of the feature of the modem world is man's victory over nature. He is no more her slave. If the means of production and commerce which he has, are properly used there will be no poverty. The second feature is that all nations of the world are now united. The third feature is man's conquest of time. But it is strange that despite his great power he has lost peace of mind. His power has become his enemy.

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