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What is a Precis

Uygbnkonhdddvhu

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Kshitij Garg
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7 views

What is a Precis

Uygbnkonhdddvhu

Uploaded by

Kshitij Garg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WHAT IS A PRECIS?

A precis is a summary or the gist of the main ideas of written matter. Thus, precis writing
means summarising. It is an exercise in concentration, comprehension and condensation. In
order to make a summary of an article, a speech or a story, one has to read it carefully and
grasp its meaning. Precis-writing forces one to concentrate on the material which is to be
summarised. In summarising a passage, though the length of the summary is not fixed, it is
generally expected that the summary would be one third the length of the passage. The
summary is known as precises and precis writing means summarising. It involves preparing
a statement concisely so as to convey the essential Ideas contained in a longer passage or
article. In other words, precis is the gist of a lengthy passage. A precis is not a paraphrase.
At the same time, the essential points of the main passage must be presented in the precies
in such a manner that tlle reader may easily grasp the main ideas of the passage

WHY PRECIS?
The primary object of precis writing is to present facts and information to spend time
reading unnecessary details. The necessity of speedily reading documents mainly arises in
business fms and government departments besides other fields of activity. Lawyers,
journalists, students, and secretaries of business executives need to apply the art of precis
writing regularly in their day to day activities. Lawyers have to summarise the main points
of their cases, editors and reporters have'to summarise news and speeches; students have
to make notes from lectures and text-books. The importance of precis writing in business
lies in the economical way of recording and presenting lengthy documents in compressed
form. Busy executives and managers in large organisations can get in the precis all the
essential points and thus can avoid the time-consuming process of going through long
correspondence, reports, etc. An important duty of the secretary of every organisation is to
prepare the precis of business documents including letters, reports and minutes of meeting.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PRECIS The characteristics of a good


precis may be outlined as follows:
1) A good precis is not merely a list of the main ideas of a passage. The ideas are to be
organised and expressed in a logical sequence so that the precis reads like an original piece
of composition.

2) A good precis should contain all the essential ideas in the original passage, omitting non-
essential detail, examples, etc. The ideas should be, as far as possible, in the same order as
in the original. We should remember that in a precis one should not add anything that the
original passage does not contain. There is no need to comment on the original matter
either.
3) The language of precis should be clear, brief and precis, maintaining at the same time
the style and spirit of the original.

4) A precis should be written in indirect speech.

5) A good precis should, as far as possible, be in the writer's own words.

6) It should not exceed or fall short of the length prescribed by too large a margin. Usually,
the limit set for a precis is one third in length of the original.

METHOD OF WRITING A PRECIS –


To write a good precis of a passage one needs to practice a lot. The major steps to be
followed while writing a precis are:

1) First of all, one should read the passage two or three times carefully to understand
clearly its general theme. In short, comprehension of the passage is the first step in precis-
writing .

2) Secondly, it is necessary to write down the main points of the passage by picking out the
essential ideas and leaving out the unimportant details. At this stage, compression or
condensation of the passage takes place. Repetitions, illustrations md examples can be
eliminated. Sentences and clauses may also be compressed into shorter by using, for
instance, a word for a phrase, a phrase for a clause and so on. In compressing a passage,
selection, rejection and generalisation are often useful. The words and sentences of the
Original passage should be avoided to the extent possible. But one has to make sure that
the sentences are linked up properly to show the interrelationship of the ideas in the
passage. While being a summary of the original, the precis should be a piece of self-
contained readable and continuous whole.

3) Next, write down a preliminary or a rough draft, keeping in mind the length of the precis.

4) If it is necessary to provide a title to the summary, a short title may be given which will
express the ideas in the passage.

5) While making the final draft, one should make sure that all the main points are included
in the precis. One should also check whether the precis reads well and is within the length
prescribed. Give it a suitable heading. - If one is able to write a good precis, it is an
indication of his or her ability to think clearly and to distinguish what is important and what
is not.

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